The Mayweather’s: A Lingering Bitterness
By Ricardo Lucero: I was checking up on boxing news on the net when i came across this article from fighthype – Floyd Mayweather Sr. asking – “What award they gonna give my son when he whoops Pacquiao?” He also went on to cite Pacquiao’ s losses and draws while saying that his son is undefeated in this decade and in his career.
In my previous article, I wrote all about Floyd Mayweather’s resentment, insecurities, anger and bitterness. And now with his father’s words, whatever doubts harbored are vanished.As with his son’s words, there is so much bitterness in Floyd Sr’s words…..”It makes no sense.”
In their minds, and I’m sure,in most Mayweather fan’s minds, a zero on a record automatically makes one eligible for recognition. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
Take a look at this list here:
Samson Dutch Boy Gym
Jemal Hinton
Ji Won Kim
Ricardo Lopez
Jack McAuliffe
Sven Ottke
Pichit Sitbangprachan
Ricky Womack
Rocky Marciano
Apart from Mr.Rocco Marcheggiano, and perhaps Sven Ottke, most of these names will sound unfamiliar to many. These boxers all have “zero” loses on their resumes. And to delve further on the argument, let’s take a look at some fighters of the decade:
Sugar Ray Robinson – 1950-1959
Muhammad Ali – 1960-1969
Roberto Duran – 1970-1979
Sugar Ray Leonard – 1980-1989
Roy Jones Jr – 1990-1999
Now, inversely, all these fighters have loses on their records. And another glaring fact is that they all had loses at the time they were named fighter of the decade.So what does an “0″ mean in a record? In this vein, not much really. It will look glossy and impressive, but that’s about it. The point is, it will not automatically bestow greatness to a fighter. It may be subjective to most, but on a larger scale, there are more compelling factors to consider regarding the matter.
Floyd Mayweather Sr. also said that this is the reason why “boxing is on the ropes”. The boxing writers are the reason for boxing’s woes? I don’t think so.The sports of boxing have been beset with a lot of problems throughout it’s history. From the days of Frankie Carbo and Blinkie Palermo, during Boxing’s Golden Age. During that time,when a boxer hears these words from these men just before a fight – “Kid, this ain’t your night,” there was nothing else to do. Boxing had been on the ropes for many years. But every once in while a fighter comes along to put it back in the center. Then the cycle continues. But it survived. Somehow, boxing survived.
So putting the blame on the choice of writers for an award is understandable,but still, illogical. One thing we always have to remember is that these writers are, first and foremost, journalist. They are not boxers. Their job is to write about the sport.So, one fan will say -”So, these writers are not boxers, what do they know about boxing?”…so ok,l et’s go along with that logic. Now, let me ask a question -
“Should the White House Press Corps and writers be limited to Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Ford etc.? Do you need to be an ex-president to write about the Whites House or the Presidency?” “Or should Hollywood scribes and writers be limited only to ex-actors and ex-actresses?”
A biographer is someone who writes about someone else’s life. Someone else, not his own.Writing about events of which he was not present, experiences he never had, people he may have never met.
So do we limit sports writers to ex-baseball players, ex-football players, ex-tennis players, ex-basketball players and ex-boxers? Unanimous answer – nope. Our world,our society, doesn’t work that way.
Now, I admit there are good writers and bad writers. What is the criteria for a good writer and a bad one? Let me quote some established writers of the sports of boxing:
Tim Smith – NYTimes, NY Daily News:
“I think you have to be critical in the sense that you need to examine all sides and understand the dynamics of each story and put it all together in a way that is balanced and fair. Grinding axes and putting forth one’s own agenda makes one a bad boxing writer.”
George Willis – NY Post :
“The standards of good journalism should apply on any level: tell the truth, be fair, don’t be biased, expose wrongdoing when it needs to be exposed and remember there are two sides to every story.”
Tim Dahlberg : 1999 Nat Fleischer Award for excellence in boxing journalism and the 2006 Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi National Sports Column Writing Award:
“I believe a good boxing writer is someone who not only loves the sport but the characters involved. Some of the best stories in boxing happen outside the ring, and the good writers are the ones who tell those tales.”
Writers have an un-written responsibility to the sector that they write about. For sports writers, boxing writers in particular, they have a responsibility to every individual player in the sports, especially the fans. If a person, a so-called writer, just want to muck-rack and express his dislike for certain fighters, then he needs to create his own blog site, or write a book. A serious and sensible writer must not, in any way, use a respected institution or any other medium as a sounding board for one’s personal gripes. Every visitor on this site knows, we do not need to look any further to stress my point.
So, it is not fair to say that all the writers are the ills of boxing. The bad writers are.And most of the professional writers out there, I’m sure, are not. Floyd Sr. may not agree on the choice for the awards. But these writers see the sport from a bigger perspective. It is one of the advantages when one is “outside looking in.” They see more of how a fighter created an impact. And in that sense, to most’s eyes, Manny Pacquiao’s achievements shone brighter than that of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s.
Like him and like his father, some may not agree with the choice. But like most everything that passes in this world,i t is now a part of history.
Bitterness and hate and envy are like rust that will eat away at our souls. Acceptance is halfway to attaining peace with one’s self.
And like I said in my previous article about Floyd Mayweather Jr., the only way to prove them wrong is by fighting Pacquiao and beating him. Then all these titles and awards will only be meaningless trinkets and baubles. If he loses, then there is comfort in the fact that he tried. And to most,that is what counts more.
Conquer the King and you conquer his Crown, his Throne, his Specter and his Kingdom.
