The Money May Way

"This is my canvas; I'ma paint it how I want it..."

- J. Cole

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. tied Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0 last night in the uneventful fashion that we are accustomed to from a Mayweather fight. He completely dismantled his opponent with ease, never being in trouble, but with very little action. Pinpointing punches and dodging any that came towards him to a near shutout on all scorecards. All of his post fight actions indicated this was his last fight, so of course the question on everyone's mind was, 'is he the greatest?'

Many describe Mayweather as a polarizing figure, but in truth, as a person, he is one of the least polarizing athletes in the last couple decades. He's an asshole. Outside of his immediate friends and family, everyone hates him; no objective point of view would ever say otherwise. His life is marred with domestic abuse charges, petty arguments, and an overwhelming arrogance. This level of arrogance is only matched by his level of skill in the ring. Because in the ring, he is a genius; an artist.  His command of the sweet science is like nobody we have ever seen. His speed and agility are matched by none. His way of dispatching opponents throughout his career was so impressive that we stopped caring. And this is where the polarization occurs, the only reason most people have watched him in recent years was on the off chance that he would lose, but the demise never came.

49-0...let that sink in. Floyd Mayweather stepped into the ring 49 times, but not once did he leave the ring on the losing end, a feat accomplished by very few. That zero has defined his career, but those zero losses actually robbed us from the opportunity to see how great he truly was. At some point, that zero become his obsession and fostered the unexciting fights that he is remembered for. We never got to see him fight someone in the middle of their prime, especially in recent years. So enamored with the thought of never losing, he cherry picked opponents on HIS terms and on HIS timeline, to the point that the public never really thought they were a threat. The caution in which he chose his combatants was followed with a caution in the ring. Stick and move was taken to a whole different level, but his command and ability to fight in that manner was like his record: flawless.

When discussing the greatest of all time, no-one can give a definitive answer when comparing former eras to current eras. As the telecast ended, Showtime commentator Mauro Ranallo declared, "I can't put him above Sugar Ray Robinson." Robinson's last fight was in 1965 and Ranallo was born in 1969. Ranallo's revelation was based solely on research well after the fact. However, if Floyd Mayweather's career teaches us anything, it's that living and experiencing the era of a fighter is truly the only way to get the whole story.

Throughout the Floyd Mayweather era there were a plethora of exciting, great fighters in his weight class: Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquaio, Miguel Cotto, and Canelo Alvarez to name a few. Although they were all more exciting, that list also doubles as a few of Floyd's greatest victories. It may not have been the timing, or the manner of victory the public wanted, but he beat nearly everyone that was considered great in his era. He had a clear goal: to remain undefeated and make a lot of money. He accomplished both. Many disagree with the way he went about it, but he did it his way. Mayweather was able to completely control his career, as well as the sport of boxing because of his talent and because his will was stronger than anyone else in the sport. His ability to irk pretty much everyone with even a passing interest in the sport, made him the biggest draw. He was never forced to do anything he didn't want to because his standing gave him the leverage to control his own destiny. No fighter, beloved or not, has ever enjoyed the in and out of ring success that Floyd Mayweather has.

So is he the greatest? Only time will tell. When we look upon a career of a past fighter, we tend to look at the facts with a certain level of nostalgia. We look at the record, the list of opponents, the video of dominating performances. When the next generation looks back, they will see that Floyd Mayweather went undefeated and beat all of the great fighters of his era. Will his negative qualities stand the test of time?  I highly doubt it. Muhammad Ali is treated simply as a legend, but the disrespect with which Ali treated his opponents, at times, was simply deplorable. This fact does not diminish Ali's accomplishments at all. Floyd Mayweather, Jr's greatness cannot be discounted, even if he did it HIS WAY.

"For what is a man, what has he got

If not himself, then he has naught

To say the things he truly feels

And not the words of one who kneels

The record shows, I took the blows

And did it MY WAY"

-Frank Sinatra