Don’t Hate The Player, Hate His Game

Day 15: With day #15 down, today we take a look at Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the arsenal that makes him one of the sports most complete packages, possibly in history. His words pierce the skin like the lethal jabs he shoots but don’t dare tell him to tone it down…That’s when they cut the most. This piece will take a look at “Prettyboy” Floyd, the showman, and the Boxer. Sometimes He’s Cocky: “I think I’m the best fighter to ever put on a pair of gloves”….”I can do photo sessions after my fights”. Other Times Humble: “As a kid growing up my dream was to be the best fighter to ever live”…”With the blessing of GOD and a strong team, when it’s all said and done, I’ll be the best fighter in the world”. Then There’s The Plain Arrogant Side: “I was born ready. You can’t talk about Boxing without talking about Floyd Mayweather Jr., If you do, it ain’t real”. Love him or hate him, the man is bad! Left jab, right jab, left cross, right cross, uppercut, bodyshot, pause…(This is the part where he briefly steps back to admire his work)…Then the assault commences as he closes the show with another body head combination starting straight in the gut. All of those shots and he barely broke a sweat. This is why Floyd Mayweather Jr. is who he is. It’s so easy to say, “Damn, he talks too much”!; Now lets say you’re actually right in that assessment. My response would still be the same question. Who really gives a damn?, the man is nice?!!! You have a lot of fighters out there like the Ricardo Mayorga’s and the Fernando Vargas’ of the world who talk a good game and pack a bit of heat, but aren’t nearly in the same class in terms of a total package. The scary thing about Floyd is that he’s barely 30 years old so the peak of his career is possibly still untapped territory. Unfortunately hat famous “R” word (retirement) has begun to surface in his interviews and lately there’s been alot of reasons to consider the fact that this could be the last time we see him fight. Now, what would his legacy be if he did ride off into the sunset and call it a day? All depends on the way he walks away. If he barely scraps his way past the “Golden Boy” then the jury would still be out. If he loses, he gives light to the words of his critics. But if he absolutely destroys Oscar and leaves no doubt in the mind of the world it would be quite hard to ever say a bad thing about him again. Short of the late great Rocky Marciano, no other man has ever finished his career undefeated. Floyd being able to do that would definitely be a first, particularly for one who enjoys yappin’ as much as he does. That would in fact give him lifetime credentials as not only pound for pound best in the biz, but he’d be eligible to steal a page from Mike Tyson’s book as he would undoubtedly be the “Baddest Man On The Planet”. Who could ever deny him? That’s a question that no one would be able to answer…But one thing for sure, it would be clear that 38 others couldn’t. You may hate his words, you may hate his name; But if he wins on May 5th, don’t hate the player, hate his game!!! Competiton is none/He remains at the top like the sun/And’ll burn who ever comes/In a chamber of torture he caught ya/Maybe you shoulda bought ya/Neighborhood to support ya!!! -Words of Rakim…(Famed lyricist and idol of rapper 50 Cent) Tomorrow’s installment of the Oscar Dela Hoya/Floyd Mayweather Jr. countdown, (Day #14), will be a piece with a look at how things may turn out on the night of May 5th in: “Boys To Men”: Which ‘Boy’ Will ‘Man Up’? Will it be the Golden Boy, or the Pretty Boy? Too early to answer, but that sure as hell won’t stop us from trying. Don’t meet me there beat me there as the countdown continues.

About Tim Starks

Tim is the founder of The Queensberry Rules and co-founder of The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (http://www.tbrb.org). He lives in Washington, D.C. He has written for the Guardian, Economist, New Republic, Chicago Tribune and more.

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