(ThyBlackMan.com) Floyd (I’m not calling him “Money”) Mayweather Jr.’s opponent this weekend really doesn’t matter-the fact that it’s Marcos Maidana again after only four months speaks more to how the boxing game is suffering for quality matches than anything else. Back in May Mayweather won the first fight by a decision. One judge even had the nerve to call the fight a draw. Maidana came out of the gates blazing only to realize that Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s greatest gift is his fitness.
The man does not run out of gas. Maidana and his camp will undoubtedly come more prepared to this fight on that front. The point of this column on the eve of fight night is to point out the ever shrinking significance of fight night itself. If Mayweather ((46-0, 26 KOs) wins this fight who are we going to look forward to seeing him fight next year? His dad.
The sport of boxing deserves better than for this lopsided matchup to be it’s crown jewel of 2014. Vegas has Maidana as an 8-1 underdog in this match. Even Floyd Mayweather Jr., who everyone knows has a penchant for gambling (and losing big) can see this is a bad bet. Maidana’s (35-4, 31 KOs) two best fights came in loses- in the initial Floyd Mayweather Jr.
meeting and back in 2010 vs. Amir Khan in a 140 pound title fight-and his luck is not about to change now. What boxing needs now more than ever is a super fight or a Floyd Mayweather Jr. lose. We have a better chance of Roger Goodell doing the right thing and resigning than we do the later.
For the price of what would be a decent meal at a respectable establishment you can buy the fight on pay-per-view. I can vividly remember this being more of a social event than it seems to be now. Maybe I’m a little further removed because of what I do for a living but the “big fight” doesn’t seem to dominate “water cooler” talk like it used to.
This reminds me of back in 2004 when Roy Jones Jr. was all the rage and only a DQ (against Montell Griffin) could stop him from lighting up the stage. Jones Jr. was exciting but boxing was growing stale due to too many of his fights with non-contenders and wanna-bes. Antonio Tarver and to a lesser (lesser, way lesser) extent Glen Johnson assisted in dulling his star for what ended up being for good. parity was back in the light heavyweight division.
A Mayweather Jr. lose could do the same but so could a huge Floyd Mayweather Jr. win. When Mike Tyson was at his zenith his fights lasted as long as your first bag of microwave popcorn did at my parents house back in Brooklyn on fight night Saturdays. In other words not very long. Those explosive wins were just as good if not better than a slugfest a la the Ward v Gotti (R.I.P.) franchise. You wanted to see the best display his gifts at the highest level on the biggest stage. Floyd Mayweather Jr. beating up on Maidana for an hour is not going to draw new fans to the game.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. needs to come out of his corner on Saturday night with more than just another huge fight purse to pursue. He needs to keep in mind that he’s his sport’s number one attraction for what seems to be the near future. It’s Showtime (no pun intended) and the lights are on, it’s time to perform…if for nothing than boxing sake.
Staff Writer; Donnell Suggs
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