Floyd Going Gaga

Floyd going gaga: Key to Mayweather – Pacquiao Fight Happening

@boxingnews24

By Rasheed Catapang

There’s no denying the talents Mayweather have that makes him such a massive force to be reckoned with in boxing. In fact, I’d go on to say that at the moment there’s no one at or near his weight that could defeat him. He’s just that good.

Sergio Martinez might be the Middleweight King. I’m sure he’ll lose his crown if he steps into the ring with Floyd. I’d love to see the fight get made though and see the whole process unfold just as I had imagined. Floyd is just that good.

He could be better.

Floyd has that Rubicon he dared not cross. He’ll easily beat anyone at or near his division but the one man who sits atop his own. Perhaps by recognizing the gift of preternatural skills he had in himself, he was alerted the moment the same gifts manifest in others. And for one as risk-averse as Floyd, it must be one scary thought. Pacquiao, by Mayweather’s past and current stance, appears to be just about the man - the sum of all his fears.

We always hear Floyd declaring “Pacquiao’s on power pellets, on this, on that…” but not once did we hear him, or perhaps ever will, saying “the die is cast.”

He had perfected the art of dodging that it might be really wishful thinking at this stage to see him fight Pacquiao. Floyd is just that good.

He’s not great though and will never get there unless an all out war with Pacquiao takes place. Floyd owes it not only to himself but to all boxing fans to cross that rubicon. We’ve travelled this far with him. It’s just one step now to get to that special place. Otherwise, the empire crumbles and we’ll be reminded once more that the emperor really has no clothes.

Mayweather, at the end of it all, will be stripped naked and weighed. Judge against the backdrop of a harsher light, the scale won’t tip in his favor. He’ll certainly be found wanting lacking the scalp of the fighter who matters the most during his time. Mediocre Fighters, Average and Above Average Boxers – he fought them all. But never did he fight an All-Time-Great. The undefeated record won’t stand the scrutiny of time either because we all know by now that Floyd defeated Castillo in their first fight the same way Paul Williams did Erislandy Lara recently – which is he didn’t.

But there’s hope yet. Floyd going gaga in episode 1 of HBO’s Mayweather-Ortiz 24/7 offers hope no matter how slim. He just went ballistic with his dad. All those vitriol, malice and ill will must have come from one deep dark eternal well. Now, if Floyd could just channel those dark thoughts to the proper recipient, he might just go crazy enough to go head on against his real nemesis.

We can only hope because it really is up to Floyd. That Rubicon won’t be there for far too long. It might not be sooner or later than Floyd thinks. It might be too late.

Mayweather’s next opponent is no chopped liver. Ortiz will be more than happy to be the one to cross that line and claim that coveted place. Not farfetched a scene in boxing where stranger things have happened.

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2011/08/floyd-going-gaga-key-to-mayweather-%E2%80%93-pacquiao-fight-happening/

Pacquiao - Marquez 3

Pacquiao – Marquez 3 and the Ultimate Guide to Mayweather

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By Rasheed Catapang

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2011/08/pacquiao-marquez-3-and-the-ultimate-guide-to-mayweather/

“There are 4… 5 ways to beat Pacquiao,” Floyd had said so many times. None of them, it seems, involves him getting in the same ring with the little man. Of course we want Mayweather to show us how. But with such reluctance, he appears every inch afraid to try. And nothing in his current stance suggest otherwise.

It might be a bit unfair to question the courage of one who makes a living fighting. In this instance, the words of Blaise Pascal applies: “The heart has its reasons which reason does not know.” Does that make sense to you, Floyd? How apt.

And while we contemplate on that, Juan Manuel Marquez gets the chance to do the job with his third try.

While Marquez gave Pacquiao hell in their first two fights, the soothsayers had end-of-days written all over Marquez this time around. Either people perceived him now to be diminished goods or Pacquiao to be just too evolved – way, way ahead of him by leaps and bounds. No matter though, give it to Marquez because he still believes he’ll win as he believed he’d won their previous fights.

And maybe he will. After all, battles are first won in the minds.

In which case, Mayweather who might as well be 5 fighting levels above the Mexican Warrior, denied himself 3 times (to which Judas by the way did a far better job). By default, he had already lost his war to Pacquiao.

Tyson had beaten Spinks even before he threw the first punch. Mayweather would be damned to go through the motion against Pacquiao. He’s wiser then than I care to imagine. So much for being undefeated.

In reality, Marquez will pretty much once again suffer the pain and humiliation of losing to Pacquiao. There should be no shame in that – it’s just that real champions demand so much from themselves. It’s a better poison though than the pill Mayweather will constantly swallow – enduring the shame of denying destiny’s call and going thru the rest of his life not knowing.

Just who is the better man?

Well, Victor Ortiz might have a say on that if Mayweather is too far gone. This is boxing after all where anything can happen so long as you keep on punching.

What a Loss to Ortiz would do to Mayweather's Legacy

What A Loss to Ortiz will do to Mayweather’s Legacy

August 16th, 2011

as published in Boxingnews24

By: Rasheed Catapang

Come September 17, Victor Ortiz will take away the one thing Mayweather values the most and will crown himself in glory.

There ought to be no shame in losing to Ortiz. Unless you're Mayweather. In which case, it won't only be a matter of losing face but the end of the world as you know it. Welcome to humanity, Floyd.

Some good things never last and all that jazz.

No matter the betting odds, the possibility of Ortiz winning is just as high as the fight ending with Floyd's hands raised for the umpteenth times. Ortiz has the youth, stamina, southpaw stance and the tools to make Mayweather's nightmare a reality. If Ortiz comes to the fight with the same mental toughness he showed in the fight against Berto, he'll be one complete menacing package perfect to do the job.

Self belief is essential, though, for Ortiz to actually pull it off. In a way, he has to be like Floyd come fight night. Be his mirror, his spitting image - spitting in his face. Floyd will be his usual elusive self so Ortiz has to bang the body, bang the head, bang whatever he could take.

Maidana prevailed over Ortiz because he kept coming back, Mayweather if hit with the same force and frequency will go down and stay down. Old Mosley had it right before he gassed out in the Mayweather fight. Ortiz could learn from that and take it to another level.

So a loss to Ortiz will mean what to Mayweather's legacy?

Well, his best scalp belongs to an old and faded champion. Weighed against the scale of the All-Time-Greats, Floyd is surely found wanting. And that "0" really amounts to nothing. Finally, there's the affirmation that Mayweather is not the best boxer of his generation.

So much for the bragging rights.

As for Ortiz, the world is his oyster - the very reason he'll do everything to win. And he will.

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2011/08/what-a-loss-to-ortiz-will-do-to-mayweather%E2%80%99s-legacy/