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Floyd Mayweather Jr. Rips on HBO

July 6, 2008 By 2 Comments

Wow, this interview sure explains a lot. In an interview with The Grand Rapids Press, Floyd Mayweather Jr. revealed a lot about himself and his feelings that can really help to explain what’s been going on his career lately. Before I get to the part where Pretty Boy hammers Jim Lampley and calls HBO’s boxing announcers racist, I’ll share some of what I found quite interesting.

Pretty Boy says that he was coerced into pleading no contest in a case where he hadn’t done anything just to clear the incident up so that he could fight on pay-per-view. He also says that he’s made such strong investments that he expects to be a billionaire by the end of the year. Now that’s highly debatable, but it tells us that he doesn’t need boxing anymore because he’s already seemingly set for life. Additionally, Floyd expressed a desire to be in good mental and physical state later on in life, which helps explain why he’s in no need to fight anymore. OK, now on for the real meat.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. Retiring as Boxer?

June 6, 2008 By 1 Comment

Sometimes those shockers enter your email box and you really don’t know what to say about it. For a while we’ve been hearing rumors by Pretty Boy that he was done fighting. He kept coming back as payday after promising payday awaited. But this announcement from Mayweather’s P.R. group came across to me and it’s pretty surprising to read. From Floyd:

It is with a heavy heart that I write you this message today. I have decided to permanently retire from boxing. This decision was not an easy one for me to make as boxing is all I have done since I was a child. However, these past few years have been extremely difficult for me to find the desire and joy to continue in the sport.

I have said numerous times and after several of my fights over the past two years that I might not fight again. At the same time, I loved competing and winning and also wanted to continue my career for the fans, knowing they were there for me and enjoyed watching me fight. However, after many sleepless nights and intense soul-searching I realized I could no longer base my decision on anything but my own personal happiness, which I no longer could find. So I have finally made up my mind, spoken to my family, particularly my mother, and made my decision.

I am sorry I have to leave the sport at this time, knowing I still have my God-given abilities to succeed and future multi-million dollar paydays ahead, including the one right around the corner. But there comes a time when money doesn’t matter. I just can’t do it anymore. I have found a peace with my decision that I have not felt in a long time.

Finally, I want to personally thank all of my fans for their loyalty and dedication as my career comes to a close. I always believed that their enthusiasm and support helped carry me to victory with every fight I ever had.

It was a great joy to have fought for all of you. Now I hope you understand my decision and wish me well with the rest of my life.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

It’s no coincidence that PBF has been branching out to Dancing With the Stars and wrestling appearances. There’s only so long you can take punches for money, and apparently Floyd has reached that point. He leaves behind a fantastic legacy in the boxing world should he never set foot in the ring again. At 39-0, he will be one of the few boxers ever to leave the sport with a perfect record. It’s not easy to leave at one’s peak, and he is doing it. It’s sad we won’t be seeing a match between him and Cotto because that’s one I really wanted to see. All this being said, he’s leaving a tremendous amount of money on the table, and this news is enough to add another $5-10 million on a payday just to bring him out of retirement. I expect him to be back in the ring once again, fighting for record amounts of cash.

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So That’s Why Evander Keeps Fighting

June 6, 2008 By 6 Comments

I often wondered why Evander Holyfield, clearly way past his boxing prime, decided to keep fighting in the ring, even to the point of endangering himself. Not only was the old man ruining his record with every fight past the age of 40, but he was also getting beat up pretty bad. I was critical of Old Field for getting his ass kicked in October and was hoping he’d quit (even though I have campaigned for Tyson/Holyfield III). From the sounds of things, retirement plans probably aren’t imminent for Old Field; he’s dealing with some serious financial woes:

[Evander's] $10 million estate in suburban Atlanta is under foreclosure, the mother of one of his children is suing for unpaid child support, and a Utah consulting company has gone to court claiming the boxer failed to pay back more than a half million dollars for landscaping.

A legal notice that ran Wednesday in a small local newspaper said Holyfield’s estate will be auctioned off “at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash” at the Fayette County courthouse on July 1. The 54,000-square-foot home — located on Evander Holyfield Highway — has 109 rooms, including 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley.

Honestly, who needs a home with 109 rooms? He deserves to have it foreclosed just for being that ostentatious. Of course, he could be using the rooms to house all his kids. The best quote came from the dude representing one of the Baby Mamas that wants some money from Old Field. As he said, child support of $6,000? That’s probably the light bill at Old Field’s place. No doubt. So yeah, once again, we have an athlete in a serious financial mess. Don’t be fooled however, some do have success in the afterlife.

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Bernard Hopkins Beaten by ‘White Boy’

April 20, 2008 By 14 Comments

It really didn’t get much attention when Hopkins made his initial comment, and it certainly slipped by our pages here. But in case you missed it, light heavyweight boxer Bernard Hopkins said prior to his fight with super middleweight Joe Calzaghe from Wales, “I would never let a white boy beat me. I couldn’t go back to the projects if I let a white boy beat me.” Well fight night has come and gone, and low and behold, Bernard Hopkins finds himself on the losing end of a decision. Despite knocking Calzaghe down in the 1st round, Hopkins wound up losing on two judges’ cards (116-111 and 115-112) but winning on the third (114-113). As Dan Rafael already wrote, Hopkins must now eat his words. Thing is Bernard feels wronged by the decision:

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Zab Judah Wants Mosley Drug Tested

March 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Zab Judah and Shane Mosley agreed to fight at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on May 31st a few weeks ago. It’s an intriguing fight because both men still are big names in the sport and were amongst the most talented fighters in the world not long ago. One problem however, Zab thinks Shane might be a little too talented, or shall I say, Zab is worried Shane might still be aided by illegal substances. And to ensure Sugar Shane isn’t still using steroids “unknowingly,” he wants Mosley to take a private drug test to prove it:

In a March 13 e-mail obtained by The Times, [Judah's promoter Michael] Shinefield formally requested to Mosley’s Golden Boy Promotions that Mosley submit a blood test through a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory.

“We would be willing to absorb all cost associated with this test for both fighters,” Shinefield wrote in the e-mail. “Please understand that this ends any and all speculation of doping by either fighter. With the fight being touted as ‘High Stakes,’ it’s only just that every step is taken to ensure a fair fight. We hope Shane agrees!”

Mosley continues to say what he did was totally innocent and believes this is a ploy by Zab to get under his skin. Probably is. What’s wrong with attracting a little extra attention to the fight, especially if you’re Zab and just returning from a one-year suspension by Nevada? Zab’s looking for any edge he can get. And I do know one thing: Zab is making Rick Reilly proud.

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Floyd Mayweather Thrown Out of the Ring by Big Show

March 11, 2008 By 2 Comments

I told you recently about Floyd Mayweather Jr. agreeing to wrestle the gargantuan Big Show for $20 million. As a boxing fan, I conceded that Mayweather can do whatever he wants because he’s earned it by beating his competition (with the exception of Cotto). Now I’m actually starting to get worried for the guy. Perhaps his safety can be jeopardized by the fight. First it was Floyd and Big Show getting into it a few weeks ago with Mayweather even landing a clean shot on Big Show. Then on Monday night in Milwaukee, this happened:

If the WWE signed Pretty Boy up in order to get mainstream media coverage, it’s worked. Those geniuses. They have me hooked on Floyd, even if I won’t be watching the match. I think it’s just Pretty Boy’s personality — you know, the fact that he enjoys counting out $1 million in cash on camera! Check out the video in case you’ve never seen a million dollars in cash before …

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Judges Used Open Scoring for Peter vs. Maskaev Fight

March 10, 2008 By 1 Comment

Heavyweights Samuel Peter and Oleg Maskaev fought Saturday night in Cancun, for all those who missed it. The fight wasn’t as much exciting as it was progressive in procedure. Michael David Smith points out at FanHouse that the judges used open scoring, meaning their scores were announced after each round. If you recall, I had an interview with renowned boxing judge, Chuck Giampa, and I asked him that very question. Giampa was against the practice, as were Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman (both were commentating for the fight). MDS points out that the fight went just fine with the procedure, and that the fighters paused to hear the score before each round. He says Peter was even the aggressor after knowing he was already winning.

Though Lampley and Kellerman didn’t give reasons why they were against the open scoring system according to MDS, I can come up with a few. For one thing, though it might not have in this case, a fighter can purposely avoid contact if he knows he’s already winning. Secondly, maybe the judges could be influenced by the scores of the other judges, perhaps beginning to second guess themselves. Remember, judges see the fights from different angles, logically resulting in varying scores. Still, I believe the open scoring would help to keep the judges in check, and it would allow a fighter the conscious opportunity to win a fight he’s losing on the cards. Say the fighter knows he’s losing on the cards though he believes he’s winning, he then can resort to head-hunting for a K.O. I really think the benefits of this system would outweigh the negatives.

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