EVEN if you missed watching his fight, you would still have guessed that he won it.
That was Floyd Mayweather Jr. again on Sunday (Philippine time) when he fought—or sparred with?—Andre Berto.
Mayweather won by unanimous decision in a familiar fight staged in a familiar place: Las Vegas.
While it is said that Vito Corleone was the “Godfather” in that classic Mafia film series, Mayweather is King of Las Vegas. Mayweather can’t be beaten there.
And Berto wasn’t just Floyd’s 49th straight victim, the win also gave Mayweather a record-tying 49-0 mark that could stand the test of time.
Mayweather is in good company as he is now in league with Rocky Marciano, the late world heavyweight champion who retired after capturing his 49th successive victory.
But superb as it is, Mayweather’s feat oozes with sarcasm and is hoots-laden.
However, who said Mayweather’s fights are the most admirable in the first place?
You don’t praise a Mayweather victory. Never. You just treat it an everyday thing, as ordinary as a lazy stroll in the park.
It is hardest to find even just one fight in those 49 Mayweather encounters that would stand out.
If Mayweather’s a heartbeat, it shows a flat line. All the time. Different foes, similar results. That’s what you get, always, from Mayweather.
You think of a Mayweather fight as not boring, you could be watching another bout.
Only the purists would heap praise on his style; some do it grudgingly.
Mayweather is the last of those breed that treat boxing as basically defense, winning a fight by avoiding brawls and amassing points on hit-and-run tactics.
Mayweather is famously known to even run and run and run, mixing this style with hundreds of clinches when there is threat of uncontrolled enemy fire.
For Mayweather, you can’t be touched, but you keep landing punches—including harmless hits—and, more often than not, you get the majority nod of the judges.
Mayweather made a fool of Berto, yes, but overall, he made a fool once more of us, hopeless and hapless followers of the so-called sweet science.
In his 48th victory scored against Manny Pacquiao in May, Mayweather stashed away more than $200 million.
In Mayweather’s booed bout with Berto on September 13, he earned $32 million. That’s not bad for the usual day’s work in the office.
The question is, why does Mayweather keep on pocketing wads of money with a fighting style that most of us dislike anyways?
Because boxing breeds suckers by the hundreds a minute.
Thus, the one who says a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch next year will not materialize doesn’t know his boxing at all. He ought to relearn his boxing 101.
THAT’S IT. Nobody was surprised when Novak Djokovic won the US Open. However, everybody was surprised when Serena Williams lost to the unheralded Roberta Vinci of Italy in the women’s semifinals. When everybody was saying Williams will complete only the second Grand Slam in a calendar year after Steffi Graf did it in 1988, it didn’t happen. Worse, after her magnificent feat of ousting Williams, Vinci lost to nondescript Flavia Pennetta in the finals. The drama did not end there for world tennis: After her victory, Pennetta, 33, announced her retirement. “Isn’t it nice to retire when you are on top?” she said. Wow! When was the last time we heard that uttered by a great and glorious athlete?