Silverman: The Best Ever? Floyd Mayweather Jr. Needs To Calm Down Just A Bit
By Steve Silverman
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Less than a month from now, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will step into the ring with Andre Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and supposedly put the cap on his career.
There's every reason to believe that Floyd means what he says and he intends this fight to be his last before he hangs up his gloves. However, there's something that takes over most boxers who try to retire and compels them to go back into the ring.
Rocky Marciano was the rare exception. "The Rock" dominated the heavyweight division in the late 1940s and '50s and is widely considered to be one of the hardest punchers the division has ever known, but after he won the 49th fight of his career -- against Archie Moore -- the "Brockton Blockbuster" never got back into the ring. He retired with a perfect 49-0-0 record.
That's what "Money" is aiming for as well, but he thinks such an undefeated record will earn him recognition that would put him on top of all the greats that preceded him.
TBE, the best ever.
Mayweather has always been the height of arrogance, and he sets a new standard in this area with this proclamation that's been all over the Twitterverse. He also revealed his top five boxers in the sport's history, and it's a joke.
Not surprisingly, he puts his name at the top, followed by Roberto Duran, Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Muhammad Ali.
Just contemplate that for a minute. Ali, who called himself the greatest while he was promoting his many fights, had massive respect for Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Marciano. Those four fighters would certainly rank higher than Mayweather, and others who had more to offer in the ring include "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Harry Greb, Joe Gans, Benny Leonard, Henry Armstrong and Sam Langford.
That's at least 11 fighters who were better than Floyd, and I would venture a guess that there are at least four more who could fit in that category.
Mayweather is a calculating and a brilliant fighter, but all of the fighters listed above left a piece of themselves in the ring every time they fought. They made their legacy by fighting their heart out every time they got into the ring.
Floyd fought as if he knew what his legacy could be and that the most important thing was coming out of the ring with a zero on the loss side.
Tactically, Mayweather is certainly among the best, and the same holds with his defensive skills. He prepares for each fight and when he gets in the ring, he knows what his opponent's strengths and weaknesses are and he uses that knowledge to his advantage.
But when it comes to fighting memorable fights and putting on a show for the paying customer, Mayweather is simply not interested. He is not a crowd pleaser, and that has never been his intention.
Manny Pacquiao is a brilliant fighter and Floyd outflanked him and was strategically the better and more effective fighter. But did Mayweather let loose at any time and try to show that he was the dominant fighter in the ring? Did he have bad intentions against Pacquiao, Marcos Maidana, Canelo Alvarez, Roberto Guerrero and Miguel Cotto?
That's not in his gameplan. Mayweather has incredible skills and talent, but he uses them to make sure his record ends with that zero.
He has never put himself at risk and he does not leave it all in the ring. He has gotten by without giving his all. He is not the greatest ever and the sad part is that perhaps he could have been.
All of the greats knew that you had to open your soul and leave a piece of it in the ring. Mayweather has never done that.
Perhaps he is smarter and sharper than any other boxer because he has not put himself in harm's way. He's clearly the best businessman in boxing history, but he is not the best fighter and he's not even close.
Follow Steve on Twitter at @ProFootballBoy
