Boxing Challenge:Mayweather stops McGregor

At the end of a big boxing weekend, I had earned 12 points with Ramon Malpica adding seven to put the boxing challenge at 116-102.

In the fight that excited many, but not me, Floyd Mayweather showed signs of age and rust from being 40 and out of the ring for two years before rallying to stop Conor McGregor in the tenth round.
I thought McGregor won the first three rounds, but none thereafter and I had Mayweather ahead 87-84 before the stoppage by referee Robert Byrd.
I'm going to give this a little more than I thought I would so here are a few thoughts.
Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor are brilliant.
Mayweather wasn't going to be hurt by the supposed big bombing McGregor, who learned that being a big puncher in what he does in the UFC doesn't translate to boxing and McGregor wasn't going to be overwhelmed by Mayweather offensively, so neither were going to be hurt.
Mayweather looks to be a spent force at 40 and he needs to take his vow seriously of retiring for good.
Had this been an Errol Spence, Canelo Alvarez, or Gennady Golovkin in the ring last night, Mayweather likely would have hung his first L.
As for McGregor against the same bunch, the fight would have likely ended in half the rounds that this one did.
McGregor looked awkward but looked better than I figured and won a few rounds, which is more than many had done against Mayweather.
Give him credit for exceeding expectations, but keep in mind, the "big hitter" was walked down and stopped by Floyd Mayweather, who hadn't stopped anyone that hadn't dropped their hands to talk to the ref (Victor Ortiz 2011) since Ricky Hatton in 2007!
Better than expected, but still nothing I had to see...
Ramon and I both added two points for the Mayweather KO win.

The undercard was underwhelming as expected.
Mayweather Promotions supposed future superstar Gervonta Davis had a rough weekend as he failed to make weight so he forfeited his IBF junior lightweight title on the scales, got hurt in the seventh round of his bout with Francisco Fonseca before fouling Fonseca with a punch to the back of the head and referee Russell Mora counting Fonseca out rather than penalizing Davis and giving Fonseca a rest period in round eight.
I had Davis ahead 68-65 when the fight ended.
Davis is going to have to do better than this in the future if he is going to be the star that Mayweather hopes he will be.
Ramon and I earned two points each for this bout.

In the most impressive bout of the evening, Badou Jack was impressive in his light heavyweight title debut by taking a secondary light heavyweight title with a fifth-round demolition of Nathan Cleverly.
Jack won every round on my card and I would think that PBC would be pointing him towards WBC champ Adonis Stevenson, but first mandatory challenger Dimitry Bivol awaits.
I would favor the hard-punching Bivol in that bout, so don't be surprised if Jack vacates his minor title for a Stevenson bout, which could be a very entertaining fight.
Ramon and I each earned one point for the win by Jack.

In the PPV opener, Andrew Tabiti won a unanimous decision over former champion Steve Cunningham in a cruiserweight fight.
I haven't seen that fight, so no scoring there.
I added two points for the win by the undefeated Tabiti, while Ramon picked Cunningham.

In a Fox televised prelim affair, Yordanis Ugas won a unanimous decision over Thomas Dulorme in an entertaining scrap.
Ugas knocked down Dulorme twice in the second with Dulorme returning the favor with a seventh-round knockdown.
Dulorme had points deducted for illegalities twice and those cost him the fight as he lost by one point on two cards.
I scored Ugas a 94-92 winner in a fight that would have been five-five on my card if using the rounds system.
I gained two points for the win by the former Olympic bronze medalist with Ramon picking Dulorme.

Over on HBO, two world titles were on the line from Carson, California.
Miguel Cotto won every round from the constantly attacking Yoshihiro Kamegai and won a unanimous decision to win the vacant WBO junior middleweight title.
Kamegai took some huge shots and kept coming, but as good as Cotto looked, he never hurt Kamegai and I told Fred Landucci as I watched that I saw some slowing from Cotto, who was getting hit more than he should from the crude Kamegai.
Cotto says he'll fight one more time before he retires and wants the Golovkin-Alvarez winner, which I'm sure he prefers Alvarez to turn out to be the winner.
Ramon and I each won one point for the Cotto decision...

I only saw the last two rounds of the HBO opener as Rey Vargas won a unanimous decision over Ronny Rios to keep his WBC junior featherweight title.
I added two points for the Vargas win with Ramon adding one.

Now that boxing is finished for the weekend, I hope to start on my New York trip soon.
Keep in mind that Fightheads will be returning in eight days and I've missed it more than I thought.
Can't wait to return to the air... 

Floyd Mayweather vs the Fab Five from the 80's?

I know there is a lot of hype around the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor exhibition right now, but if I'm going to write about Floyd Mayweather, I'd like to write about something interesting and thought about this- If Floyd Mayweather fought in the best era for great welterweights of all time, would he still be undefeated?

I mean, in my eyes, he's not undefeated anyway as being that I have vision and consider myself pretty capable of judging a fight properly, I had him losing to Jose Luis Castillo 116-113 in 2002,( Don't believe me? You watch and score) but in the record book, he is undefeated and that is what matters.

For the purposes of this, Mayweather will take on five Hall of Famers, all of which held the WBA or WBC welterweight titles from 1976-1983, and bring diverse styles that would challenge Mayweather's heart and talent,
So let us toss Mayweather into the TRS Time Machine and see just how he does...

Fight 1-Floyd Mayweather vs Pipino Cuevas.
Cuevas, an all-time TRS favorite (and profiled here in our Forgotten Superstars series) was one of the most devastating punchers in boxing history and defended his WBA title eleven times before being knocked out in two by Thomas Hearns after which his skills declined.
Cuevas would lose in his only other bout vs his Fab Five brethren being stopped by Roberto Duran in four rounds in 1983, but we're taking prime Pipino vs this bout.
Cuevas hurt whoever he hit (he even wobbled Duran past his prime) and if he hit Mayweather, this gets really interesting as few finished foes like the relentless Cuevas.
However, Cuevas liked to wing his punches very wide as he walked opponents down and he wasn't fast on a good day.
This is the most style-friendly fight for Mayweather in his gauntlet run.

Prediction: Mayweather Unanimous Decision.
Cuevas will attack for the distance of the fight (15 rounds, remember), so Mayweather has to be in shape and not get trapped along the ropes or things could change against the heavy-handed Cuevas.
Mayweather avoids the wide punches and dances away from the attacking Cuevas to win a clear decision, but if Cuevas landed one of those legendary hooks, that might be the seminal moment of this event!

Fight 2-Floyd Mayweather vs Wilfred Benitez
Benitez, who won titles in three divisions in a time when that meant something, brings defensive skills that rival Mayweather's in this bout.
The "radar" that Benitez claimed to possess allowed him to slip shots through head movement and would test Mayweather against a fighter who was just as slick as he was.
Benitez was 1-2 against Fab Five opponents with a unanimous decision win over Roberto Duran and losses to Thomas Hearns (majority decision) and Ray Leonard (15th round knockout with seconds to go- the fight probably shouldn't have been stopped, but Leonard was going to win the decision anyway).
Benitez was a slick fighter, but he wasn't comfortable setting the pace and with only one exception ( a highlight-reel knockout of Maurice Hope) didn't knock many out.
This will likely be a fight that Max Kellerman would love, but most would be spending a lot of time at the fridge.

Prediction: Mayweather Unanimous Decision
In a very dull and tactical fight, Mayweather is the fighter who breaks his normal style, throws more shots, and outworks Benitez enough to earn a decision that might even be judged as a majority or split nod.
This fight will likely be best remembered for the pre-fight buildup and staredown than for anything that happens in fight action,

Fight 3-Floyd Mayweather vs Roberto Duran
Duran, who won four titles (and had he not skipped 140 pounds, would have won five) will offer pressure similar to that offered by Pipino Cuevas with more skills.
Duran was 2-4 against Fab Five opponents as the Panamanian stopped Pipino Cuevas in four and defeated Ray Leonard by unanimous decision, while losing to Leonard in eight in the famous "No Mas" bout and a later unanimous decision with both past their prime, losing a unanimous decision to Wilfred Benitez and losing in two rounds to Thomas Hearns in the bout that re-established "the Hitman" as a puncher.
Against Mayweather, Duran would have to set the pace and come towards Mayweather and attempt to walk him down.
Mayweather certainly wouldn't stand and slug with Duran so this one will come down to which fighter can force things into what he wants to do...

Prediction: Mayweather Split Decision
This is the one fight of the five that I can see going either way and I've been back and forth on this one since starting this post.
If this fight was at 135, I'd pick Duran.
Duran is my pick as the best lightweight ever and the lightweight version of Duran overwhelms Mayweather, who was more tactical at 147 than 135 in my opinion.
However, Duran's punch didn't carry as well with the higher weight and even lightweight Duran had trouble with slick boxers with movement.
I lean toward Mayweather by a hairline call on the judge's cards, which would most likely be split and controversial...

Fight 4-Floyd Mayweather vs Thomas Hearns
The "Hit Man" was the first fighter to win titles in five divisions and could punch or box.
Hearns owns two of the most spectacular knockouts in boxing history with his KO's of fellow Fab Fivers Cuevas and Duran and could box as well as shown in his majority decision win over Wilfred Benitez.
Those three wins with his 14th-round stoppage loss to Ray Leonard combined with a draw in their rematch, which was such a robbery that even Leonard says he considers their series a tie at one apiece (Hearns dropped Leonard twice) gives Hearns a 3-1-1 record against Fab Five opponents.
Hearns's only weakness was not having the best chin as he was knocked out in four of his five career losses.
This is a very tough out for Floyd Mayweather in this project.

Prediction: Hearns Unanimous Decision
Styles make fights are one of the oldest adages in boxing and it's true.
Considering that, I just don't see any way that Floyd Mayweather wins this fight.
The one weakness of Thomas Hearns (his chin) won't come into play in this bout as Mayweather is just an average puncher at best at welterweight.
Considering the reach advantage of the Hit Man (78 inches to 72), Mayweather will be held at bay by the Hearns jab and unable to win using his usual boxing manner from the outside, he'll have to make a decision-attack and risk a run into the famous Hearns right hand or be jabbed into defeat on the outside,
Looking at Mayweather's safety first career, it's clear which choice he'll make and Hearns will win a comfortable unanimous decision.

Fight 5-Floyd Mayweather vs Ray Leonard
This is the marquee bout and some of the shine has been removed after the Mayweather loss to Hearns, but Mayweather actually matches up better against Leonard than he does Hearns.
Similar in size, speed, and skills, although Mayweather is a little more of a mover (only two knockouts above 135 pounds) with Leonard being a harder puncher, this fight matches up evenly,
Leonard has a 4-1-1 record vs the Fab Five with two wins over Duran and stoppage wins over Hearns and Benitez to go with the Duran loss and the mentioned Hearns draw that was really a loss.
This would be a clear good vs bad in the buildup with the popular Leonard wearing the white hat against the brash and controversial Mayweather.

Prediction: Leonard KO 10
Floyd Mayweather will test Ray Leonard and I think he'll fight more than he did against Thomas Hearns.
In fact, I'll go as far as to say in this fight, Mayweather will fight more like the lightweight Mayweather, who was a far more entertaining fighter to watch,
I think they will have plenty of toe to toe battles with a much better action fight than most expect.
Mayweather will have a slight points lead on the judges' cards entering round ten, but bodywork by Leonard has slowed Floyd, which leaves him vulnerable.
The famous rolling shoulder rolls to block a Leonard right, but Leonard surprises with an explosive left hook that ends the fight.

Floyd Mayweather finishes with a 3-2 record, which indicates he would be very competitive against these fighters, but certainly wasn't head and shoulders above them.

Hope you liked this and let me know if you'd like to see similar things in the future...

Pacquiao vs Mayweather! Boxing Challenge

Finally,the one fight that so many fans from the hardcore to the casual have asked for will be made as Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao will finally happen on May 2nd in Las Vegas.

Many will say that the fight is too late and they may be correct,but it's still compelling and will have two of the big three welterweight titles on the line and without the silly catchweight that has become the rage in boxing's big fights of late.

I'm often critical of Floyd Mayweather,but give him credit this time for getting past pettiness and stubbornness (much of it his own) and finally giving the fans the fight they wanted after years of giving them everything but that...
Give credit to Manny Pacquiao for taking a little less (I think he'll get by ) to make plenty and get this done as well.

Very excited and interested in seeing just how the undercard looks.
Will it be loaded with showcase fights since the buys will be high anyway?
Or will both sides use the chance of so many eyes on the fight to showcase our sport at its best??

The boxing challenge continues tomorrow with the real middleweight champion defending his title in Monaco.
WBA champ Gennady Golovkin defends against perhaps his toughest test in Martin Murray,who narrowly lost to then-champion Sergio Martinez in Argentina for his only loss.
Keep in mind for all of Murray's talent,we were hearing the same things about Matthew Macklin and Daniel Geale and both fell in three to Golovkin.
We also have a rematch in Germany for the WBO Super Middleweight belt as Arthur Abraham defends against Paul Smith after a fight that all thought could go either way and was scored lopsided by German judges for Abraham....
The challenge is currently tied at six points apiece

Boxing Challenge

WBA Middleweight title 12 rds
Gennady Golovkin vs Martin Murray

R.L:Golovkin KO 5
TRS:Golovkin KO 6

WBO Super Middleweight title.12 rds
Arthur Abraham vs Paul Smith

Both:Abraham unanimous decision

Zanz can't dance,but he'll steal your money

John Fogerty once sang "Zanz can't dance, but he'll steal your money" about Saul Zaentz, the former owner of Fantasy Records, who owned the rights to Creedence Clearwater Revival's music and once sued Fogerty for "Plagiarizing himself" because a riff from a Fogerty single resembled one he wrote for CCR.

Well, Floyd Mayweather can dance and he will steal your money, at least on pay per view as he delivered another lopsided decision that was less than visually thrilling over Robert Guerrero in his defense of the WBC Welterweight crown in Las Vegas,
Mayweather, the WBC Champ, defeated the WBC Interim titlist ( I'll address that ridiculousness shortly) by 117-111 scores by all three judges.
I had the same score, which translates to 9-3 in rounds.

I never bought Guerrero as a legitimate threat to Floyd.
Golden Boy promotions had pushed Guerrero for a Mayweather bout for years and I never took it seriously as either a challenge for Floyd or one that would stoke public interest.
I was correct on both parts, but Guerrero's entertaining win over Andre Berto in a battle of overhyped fighters without a standout victory was enough for GBP to make this one, whether I liked it or not.
Mayweather is too skilled and too willing to fight in a safety-first manner to make anyone but an elite fighter have an interesting fight with him.
Styles make fights, which is why for all the flaws of Manny Pacquiao, he would have made Floyd fight and maybe have the chance of beating him, which for all the talent of Juan Manuel Marquez, his discomfort of forcing the action made him an ideal foil for Mayweather.

I'll stay from too much of a recap.
Just imagine a lopsided Mayweather fight without a knockdown and you get the picture.
Fans are beginning to push for WBC Jr. Middleweight champ Saul Alvarez to be the next contender for Mayweather, but I fear the bigger but plodding Alvarez would follow Floyd around the ring for a dull fight, although Alvarez is capable of landing the blow to end the fight that Guerrero was not capable of, no matter how many thought he could.

I try not to disregard the contempt for sanctioning bodies that so many have, but some of this borders on silly.
Mayweather holds the WBC title, but Guerrero held the WBC "Interim" title.
Interim titles exist because "fighters don't deserve to lose titles by inactivity, yet titles need to be defended".
That is silly, right there. If a fighter cannot defend a title in a year (and ideally less) then vacate the title with a mandate that when he is ready to return to action, he gets a title shot as soon as he wants it.

The WBA is even worse as they have a "Super " champion for champions that have unified belts, a "regular" champ when they have a Super champion, and the always popular interim title even when a champ is defending on a regular basis.
And that, my friends, is why the belts mean so little anymore...