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04/09/2006 Archived Entry: "“Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather: The Professional"
“Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather: The Professional
By Brian Correa
Photo by Mariane Iamele
Floyd Mayweather, shown here at left throwing the jab versus Sharmba Mitchell
LAS VEGAS - Someone I looked up to once told me that no matter what you did for a living, do it as a professional. That means showing up on time, every time. It means mastering your craft and doing the very best job you could every time. It means demanding the best from yourself and demanding your best to flow into your work, no matter if you are a carpenter, garbage man, or president of the good ole US of A. A “professional” is the word that best describes “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather.
As if being one of the most naturally gifted fighters in the sport isn’t enough, Mayweather is also the most dedicated to his craft by his unbelievable work ethic, year-round training, and overall commitment to excellence. His only deficiency seemed to be his cockiness outside of the ring and his contentious relationship with the media, and now it seems he has overcome even these shortcomings, assuming the unlikely role of media darling prior to his bout with Zab “Super” Judah.
Indeed, one couldn’t help but think that only a fighter like Judah could make Mayweather look so good to the media and to the public at large. Both fighters are popular in the world of hip-hop and rap, Judah in particular, but as for the general public, both fighters have been viewed with a certain amount of distain. Both had been viewed in a less than stellar light by most, at least in terms of their public personas in the wake of Judah’s lackluster performance and subsequent loss to unheralded journeyman Carlos Baldomir in which Zab managed to retain one of his “Championship” belts by way of the fact that Baldomir did not pay the sanctioning fee, and thanks to Mayweather’s over the top entrance to his match with fan-favorite Arturo Gatti, where he was carried to the ring atop a golden chariot. For one of the men fighting Saturday night, these prejudices, whether deserved in the first place or not, were about to change.
In the weeks leading up to the showdown in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather had been a model of courtesy and approachability, taking on all interviews and virtually promoting the bout by himself. Zab Judah, claiming to be so solely focused on the upcoming match that he could not even entertain a single press conference in the final weeks leading to the match, was no where to be found. But there was Mayweather, relaxed, smiling, fully engaged with the media. He even boasted that he would take on all media requests, and indeed, he was not just more accessible but downright likeable. Was this the new Floyd Mayweather? A more mature, composed version of the old? Or just a ruse to sell more PPV buys that would be revealed at some later date?
This was to be the tale of two fighters with lightning speed & with unbelievable natural talent. Two friends corrupted into enemies. A feud most likely born out of Judah’s jealousy of Mayweather’s glory, and even more of his superior skill, or so Floyd and everyone else thought until the bell rang Saturday night.
This was the backdrop that brought us to Saturday night. Round one, the bell rings and as a 5 to 1 favorite, Mayweather trots out to meet Zab and do what he came to do. But as so often happens in life, things didn’t go as planned. After a first round where both fighters seemed to be feeling each other out, Zab showed his speed in the second, knocking Mayweather down in an apparent knockdown that wasn’t called by referee Richard Steele. Granted, Floyd’s glove barely grazed the canvas, but grazed it did, and besides, who saw this coming? The great “Pretty Boy” Floyd was being outworked, out-muscled, and out-gunned, looking confused.
Had Mayweather ever seen this kind of speed in the ring before? I think not. Perhaps it was the fact that Zab is a lefty, and his wide stance was exacerbating Floyd’s difficulties, but the result was undeniable. Floyd is losing, and not in a way we’ve seen before. He is losing because Zab’s faster, he is losing because he is not, or can not, adjust. He looks…well he looks plain human in there, and it appears that Zab has brought his “A” game. Possibly, the jump to 147 was beyond Floyd’s natural limits. When fighting a natural 147er you had a size advantage and a perceived advantage in the power department. Indeed, the blinding hand speed of Mayweather was not quite there, and the hand speed and reflexes of Judah most certainly was. Was this the night the world was to witness the first loss of the anointed one, “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather? Could it be? Nope. Not tonight.
Displaying the professionalism that has been the hallmark of his career, Floyd started to make some necessary adjustments in the 5th and took over in the 6th, showing the work ethic that he has come to be known by; after all, how many other fighters train year round, or weight the same at fight time as they did at the official weigh-in? Not many.
As the fight progresses Mayweather takes control, slowly at first, then completely; dominating Judah with punishing accuracy and masterful defense, the turnaround is complete. This is a fighter on top of his game mentally, adjusting his game to accommodate and compensate for what Zab had brought to the table. By the 8th round, blood is coming from Zab’s nose and mouth. By the 9th round, Mayweather is a vulture picking at a carcass, landing shots with ease, beginning the familiar toying of yet another opponent and seeming to smell a fresh kill looming. Mayweather is simply too much and there is nothing Judah can do to…
BLAM!
Midway through the 10th round a desperate low blow by Judah creates utter bedlam in the ring as Roger Mayweather rushes into the ring when a vicious rabbit punch to the back of Floyd’s head after he his already on his way down from the low blow; the rabbit punch seems intentional, and both camps are now in the middle of the ring, ala Holyfield-Bowe and the parachute man. Complete mayhem has ensued and all bets are off. Is the fight over? Will Steele call a DQ due to Mayweather’s corner rushing in? Zab punches someone in the Mayweather camp and goes unnoticed with all of the people now crowded in the ring. It is complete pandemonium.
And the end result? Absolutely nothing. No DQ, no point deduction for a low blow or rabbit punch, nada, zip, zilch, zero. After dropping the ball in the 2nd round by missing the apparent knockdown of Mayweather, Richard Steele continued with another non-call but this time not electing to address any of the chaos. No point deductions for the low blow or the rabbit punch, and there is sure to be a continuing controversy as to whether Mayweather should have been disqualified for his corner’s actions that instigated the melee.
The last two rounds are a little murky, with Mayweather seeming to win the 11th and Zab the 12th, but Mayweather didn’t look the same for the last two rounds, admitting after the fight that he “wanted to get it over with” and indeed he wasn’t the same in the last two rounds. Judah looked recharged, by being able to have a 5 minute breather and also seeming to feed of the result of his actions in the ring in some perverse way; but it was unanimous, and rightly so, as a victory for Mayweather.
But it is the 10th round that will define this bout, and define both fighters as well. As if by extension of Mayweather’s new and improved public persona, he remained completely composed, never lost his cool, and behaved like a consummate professional after the melee. He did not retaliate, instead showing a tremendous amount of class and in the process help win over many converts to the Mayweather camp, myself included.
I’ve always marveled at his ability and skill, but I have has a feeling of general dislike for him for his entire career, always rooting against him. Of course, a man like Judah makes it easier to pull for Mayweather, but this fight has changed that. His newfound maturity, his approachability before the fight, his courtesy before the fight were all impressive, but left me wondering how genuine it all was. After the 10th, I was a convert to the new Mayweather, a true believer that this is the man who represents greatness in the squared circle, for his god-given boxing skill, and because a man he has shown the ability to change and adapt outside of the ring just as gracefully as he has always done inside of the ring. Because he is not only great, he is not only gifted, he is a professional.
Queue to Judah, who with whom despite all of his antics, had a real shot at redemption even through a loss. He hung in there, showed he really belonged with the best pound for pound fighter in the world, he was bringing it. I was almost fooled into thinking that perhaps this was a new Judah, a more dedicated Judah, one who really did ditch the media to prepare as fully as possible and took this fight seriously.
It is no shame to lose to Floyd, I thought to myself, and hell, he might warrant a rematch if he hangs tough and can learn to adjust, because he has all of the tools, I whispered to no one.
In the most karmactic of moments ever, the whole thought went rushing out of my head all at once, like 1 million gallons of water rushing through the levees in New Orleans, when Zab reverted and regressed to the same old Judah we have all come to know and hate. Gone were the thoughts of redemption, of respect for his abilities, of actually entertaining the idea that anything was to be different about the man. With a single act of childishness rage, a thug acted like a punk brat and did what punks do…he went for Floyd’s balls. And after he got his balls, he went for the back of the head, and there is not a soul on this earth who could convince me he did not do it intentionally. If there has ever been a starker contrast in how two fighters handle themselves, I’ve never seen it.
I could write a novella extolling all of the man’s shortcomings inside and outside of the ring, but it seems like a waste of energy to reiterate what everyone already knew to be true. This fight and Judah’s actions in the 10th just cement his foul legacy for the next few years, because after that he is doomed to be an afterthought in the annals of Boxing history, another wasted talent, another misguided young man whose unlimited potential was never realized because of his deep flaws as a man.
And that seems to the damned shame of it, because he was right there. He was bringing it earlier in the fight, reminding us why we watch, hands like rockets, sticking, moving, bringing his “A” game.
But I will not travel down that road again, at least not in this article. Besides, at the end of the night, the moment belongs to Mayweather, and rightfully so, for he delivered yet another world-class performance, with some real competition, emerging gracefully as the victor. Mayweather’s troubles early on exposed his ring mortality, of less than super-human invincibility, and the looming shadow of Ricky Hatton now seems to be setting the table for what could be the fight of the decade, not just a career defining fight, but the career defining fight for both men when it happens.
On Saturday night we witnessed the career defining fight for one man, and it wasn’t “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather. No, this fight ultimately will define Zab Judah; when he had his chance to shine, to overcome, to really make a mark, he simply ran out of gas and reverted to his thuggish ways by his ugly actions in the ring. He will always be defined as a thug.
As for Mayweather, his best seems yet to come because that is what a professional does. He works his hardest, every day, to bring his best, every time.
