Sorry I'm late with my review about Floyd Mayweather's win over Juan Manuel Marquez, but NFL over the weekend and the trip to Los Angeles has slowed down the blog this week. Fortunately for you, I'm writing this here in the hotel computer and have given you an article to read before I write my football friday spot as well the eventually completion to my N.Y. Rangers What If's column once I return.
Now, about the match, there isn't anything much to write; Floyd was dominant over Marquez. A battle between two defensive fighters which Mayweather was the faster and quicker (yes, there's a difference). Mayweather had a knock down in the second round and as I tweeted, figured he would take the decision and go the twelve rounds as he did. However, the end of the fight turned out to be the real story as Max Kellerman brought over Shane Mosley to talk with Mayweather. During the match, I heard the HBO commentators discuss about Floyd giving Sugar Shane a wink, that seemed to represent him saying "You're next." Thus, Mosley came over and he and Floyd had a shouting match (sorry, the best I can find on YouTube) that was reminiscent to a war of words and mini-fight involving Larry Holmes and Gerry Cooney which Howard Cosell was in the middle of and took a punch in the mouth, before they eventually fought.
Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports (who I must say have the best writers of any website when you think of Dan Wetzel, Jeff Passan, Kevin Iore, etc.) wrote that Floyd shouldn't get distracted by this nonsense with Sugar Shane and fight Manny Pacquiao. I fully agree; this is the fight that I as a boxing can't dream of missing and is the only fight that can beat what UFC does. I went out to the city to watch the fight Saturday night. I walked from 42nd St and 2nd Ave, over to 3rd Ave where there are plenty of bars, as still had to go to Jack Dempsey's on 33rd and 6th, while passing a few places that had UFC 103 plastered all over in each bar. The heavyweight division will never be on that level again, unless Cris Arreola achieves the promise that Iore thinks he has. All the other division, while good in their own way, don't have captivating fighters for the casual fan, the guy who would rather watch Brock Lesner, Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva instead of a Kelly Pavlik or Antonio Margarito.
Later this year, Pacquiao will face Miguel Cotto since Mayweather used Marquez for a tune up match. Barring an upset by Cotto, we will be set with the best fight since Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad in 1999, two fighters, in their prime who have opposite tendencies and most importantly, a fighter who Floyd Mayweather would never be able to let hang around because of Pacman's punching power. So Floyd, don't screw this up like the rest of the sport of boxing always finds a way to do.
