Mayweather, Boxing Still on Top of Fight Game
The weekend of September 18th, 19th and 20th may well have been the best for sport thus far in 2009. Penant chases all over Major League Baseball continued to burn while two of college ball's top 10 were upset and the NFL provided an exciting week two wrought with rivalries, surprises and the stadium of the century. But for all the highly publicized matchups this weekend, none were as highly anticipated for fight fans as Floyd "Money" Mayweather Vs. Juan Manuel Marquez and Boxing Vs. The UFC.
The former because many believed that the fastest hands in the world may have met their match in the urine drinking Mexican fighter and the latter thanks to the war of words between Money Mayweather and the money-grubbing Dana White (President of the UFC).
Dana White rolled the dice this weekend. Would he crap out?
White scheduled a UFC Pay-Per-View event in which no titles were on the line and not one big name fighter was on the card to go up against Mayweather's return to the ring and his first defense of the welterweight crown since he TKO'd Ricky Hatton in 2007. White believed that this would prove once and for all that America preferred Mixed Marshall Arts to the sweet science - which he compared to "Dancing With The Stars". Upon hearing that White believed the public would rather watch nobodies in the octagon over the reigning champ in the ring, Floyd implied that the UFC only existed for white boys who can't box. The stage was set. Well, half set.
While Mayweather took to the press to defend his sport to the haters who prefer MMA's no holds barred brutality to the finesse and style of the sweet science, he would have to take to the ring to silence the haters who believed a two year vacation had slowed him down. The very same haters who believed his mouth was writing checks his ass couldn't cash and who, like myself believed the undefeated fighter had stolen the De La Hoya fight seven months prior to his systematic dismantling of Hatton. Mayweather would be fighting for his pride - and for his sport. The stage was set.
As a former wrestler, I've been a fan of the UFC from the beginning. My friends and I liked MMA before it was cool - before most people knew about it. I've always supported the UFC because of the opportunity it gives wrestlers, but I always thought White was like Don King, only worse. I see the value in MMA and recognize that any given fight has the potential to be more exciting than a boxing match - just not a boxing match starring Money Mayweather.
Not wanting to drop the sum required to order either fight and not wanting to have to choose between events, my friends and I found a bar where we could watch both for a cover charge of ten bucks. We were relegated to the steps. The place was
Seasoned veteran Juan Manuel Marquez, who looked Saturday to become the first professional to defeat Floyd Mayweather
packed. The amount of Tapout and Affliction Banned gear donned by the bar's patrons coupled with the cheers for KO's and submissions in UFC's undercard, and the general lack of interest almost everyone showed in the boxing undercard led us to comment that perhaps Dana had pulled off his coup. Furthermore, thanks to a compelling season of 24/7 and the fact that Money had been out of the fight game for a while, we all thought we might see a new champ. The outcome of the De La Hoya fight had me toying with the notion of rooting for Juan Manuel Marquez. All of these notions would be debunked as soon as the Mexican National Anthem began to play at the MGM Grand. It became immediately clear that the capacity crowd at El Guapo, Hollywood was there to see Maywaether/Marquez. The UFC had provided some great pre-fight entertainment, but the main event on Saturday night was in Las Vegas. Dana may have won the battle for undercard interest, but when it came to the main event, America showed it still loves boxing.
Thanks to the atmosphere in the bar, it also became clear that we'd better pick a side. It was electric and we were over 250 miles from the fight. So electric in fact, that a brief fistfight would break out by the valet stand in the moments immediately following the bout. Maybe it was the chants of USA! USA! maybe it was the news that Floyd was favored 5-1, maybe it was the air of supreme confidence surrounding Mayweather as he approached the ring, but my crew and I decided we would be backing Mayweather in this one.
Almost as quickly as we realized that boxing had won the night, we realized that Mayweather was in complete control. From the opening bell it was clear that we were watching a mismatch as Floyd dropped his gloves and stuck out his chin - daring Marquez to take a shot, only to see the Mexican fighter whiff and be met with a flurry of jabs. When Floyd dropped Marquez early in the second it was already abundantly clear that we were watching a one sided fight.
Mayweather continued to bob and weave, putting on a show as he tired out his opponent. Marquez couldn't land a punch to save his life. Mayweather's punches were well timed and well placed - connecting with 59%. Marquez landed just 11% of his jabs and under 20% total. Between each round he looked exhausted, while across the ring Money sat with his up, smiling, barely a mark on his face. Marquez was cut after round two and the blood didn't stop. Marquez was fighting for his life while Mayweather, in his element was having the time of his. Fighting with the bravado and speed of a Roy Jones Jr., Mayweather spent most of the fight with his gloves down and his chin out, resting on the ropes when he needed to, taking body shots like they were nothing and suffering almost no solid blows to the head. Floyd was smiling and motioning for Marquez to advance, daring the seasoned fighter to approach him - and every time he bit, Marquez paid the price, missing wildly only to get caught by jab- hook combinations.
Say what you want about Floyd, but nobody works harder in the gym and nobody is quicker in the ring. His natural ability, his pure joy for the sport and his knack for talking shit - and backing it up make him and his sport fun to watch.
As I watched the two main events on side by side TV's it occurred to me that Mayweather/Marquez looked like a sport, like a beautifully coreographed violent dance routine, like two fighters punching their hearts out - while the UFC bout looked like two white supremacists from the Inland Empire humping each other. Does this mean I'm done watching UFC? Not hardly. I love the explosiveness of the sport, the takedowns, the knock outs and the roots it shares with wrestling. What it does mean is the next time Dana goes up against a title fight, he better put some guys out there who'll bring the noise. No Mr. White, we wouldn't rather watch a bunch of bush leaguers go at it than a title fight featuring the most exciting boxer of the decade.
Saturday night settled a lot of debates in the fight world and answered a lot of questions. However, we were left with one glaring unanswered query: Where does Mayweather go from here? Who out there can test a man that seemingly can't be beaten? Is there anyone with the skill, the quicks and the bravado to take on the fastest hands in boxing? Two words: Manny Pacquiao.
With a professional record of 49-3-2, the seasoned former Lightweight world champ is the last thing standing between Mayweather and immortality.
-Wild[ad#Adsense1][ad#Google Adsense]