TIME TO EMBRACE FLAWLESS FLOYD
HE gatecrashed Las Vegas looking to create history but left the ring like all the rest had done before him.
Conor McGregor became just another statistic as he joined the long, long list of people to have taken on Floyd Mayweather and lost.
When it comes to proving talk can be cheap, there’s nowhere on the planet that does it quite like Vegas.
What was it McGregor had said? He’d knock Mayweather unconscious within two rounds. A word of advice, mate – don’t make promises you can’t keep.
One of McGregor’s endless Tweets in the build-up to the bout even saw him proclaim: “I don’t learn, I invent.” In the end all he invented was a whole new level of crassness before, during and after this transparent freak show.
He finished looking like a ball of wool being pawed by a cat. But that’s enough about the irksome Irishman. Instead, let’s focus on the man from the opposite corner who sent McGregor back to his cage.
We didn’t learn anything new about the masterful Mayweather. How could we, because this was the sporting equivalent of world squash champion Karim Gawad taking on Roger Federer at tennis on Wimbledon’s centre court.
Or long-distance legend Mo Farah challenging Usain Bolt to a 100 metre sprint. Do me a favour.
Would you watch these events? Yes. But only an imbecile would do so thinking Farah or Gawad stood a chance of winning.
But what Mayweather did do was cement his status as the best boxer of his generation – and raise the genuine argument that he might just be the greatest of all time to pull on a pair of gloves.
If greatness is measured by results then Mayweather has no equal. This win, albeit against a non-boxer, took his record to 50 wins and no defeats over almost two decades, surpassing another legend in the shape of Rocky Marciano.
Mayweather has also won 26 world championship contests, titles in five weight classes and surpassed $1bn in career earnings.
Don Bradman is regarded as the best batsmen ever because he has the highest average, just like Jack Nicklaus is regarded as the best golfer because he’s won the most Majors.
But there is much more than Mayweather’s incredible statistics, because the man from Michigan has become a pioneer and trailblazer of a sport that chews people up and spits them out.
He’s bucked the trend in a brutal sport that has led so many others to destruction – and for this reason deserves our ultimate admiration.
A decade ago Mayweather had the foresight to buy himself out of his contract with Top Rank and launch his “Money Mayweather” persona.
This decision, coupled with his remarkable boxing gifts, took him on a journey from an upbringing of violence and drug abuse to untold riches and superstardom.
How many boxers have been exploited down the years? How many fighters have been defrauded and taken advantage of ? The list is endless.
Not Mayweather. He is different to the rest. He employed a Harvardeducated manager in the shape of Al Haymon and dedicated himself to the game. Consistency has been his biggest strength. His methodical training regime and work ethic have never changed. Neither has his physique.
There has been no decline in his stature or standing and all of the above came together this weekend to provide him with a farewell to boxing that he both earned and deserved. You might not like Mayweather. He’s loud, brash and arrogant with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. But in beating McGregor he saved the reputation of the profession he has mastered like no other.
He’s also the perfect example to all those wanting a career in boxing of how to do it. The blueprint for success. But above all this, he’s restored respect to a sport that has floundered in the gutter at times – and for this reason he deserves our utmost admiration.