Dougie’s MASSIVE Mayweather Monday Mailbg

May

YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT

Floyd Mayweather's fans are going to give you a extra big helping a Crow. I can't wait to read the Monday Morning Mailbag. I just didn't think without a jab he could win, and Shane doesn't move his head. He fought just like Senior said ” all jittery and s__t”. — Big Swa

I hate to say it but Roger and Floyd Sr. were right about Shane Mosley’s flaws and quirks. At the post-fight press conference Roger said Mosley “had no jab, and the jab is the key to boxing.” He and Senior are nasty old farts, but they know the sport inside and out and tell it like is.

They were right about Mosley as you were and, oh I don’t know, I’m guessing maybe 90 percent of my peers in the media.

As for the wrath of Mayweather’s fans, it comes with the territory. Thus far, it hasn’t been as bad as I expected, and even if it was, I can handle it. As I’ve said before Mayweather fans aren’t the legion that De La Hoya, Tyson, Lewis, and Jones Jr. fans were and over the past 10-15 years I’ve had to hear it from them when I picked their opponents to beat them in big fights.

For the record I had Vargas over De La Hoya and Rahman over Lewis in the rematch, and man, did their fans go off on me when their guy won. I never picked against Jones in a big fight, not until recently anyway, but his fans were still mad at me because I didn’t “admit” that he was the G.O.A.T. (sound familiar?). And Tyson fans went nuts (and I mean that quite literally — Zab Judah was one of his many faithful who actually threatened to kick my ass among other things) any time I suggested he needed to hang ’em up or picked someone to beat him (as I did in the Danny Williams fight).

Mayweather’s fans aren’t that bad. They’re just REALLY irritating. Like this guyÔÇª

GREAT CALL

Hey dude great call on your prediction on the Mayweather fight last night. You really nailed this one!- Juan

Thanks a lot, a__hole.

HE'S THE BEST, UGH!

Sorry Dougie,
I bet you're getting hammered by know-it-all/know-nothing Floyd fans. I hate him so much but… he's the best. After what I just saw… he kills PacMan. He's Barry Bonds without the ‘roids — the best, I dislike him, and I wish he'd go away. Final props: he stood and fought. I can't believe it. He's retiring people.

On to next week: Who, if anyone, could have more to complain about Antonio Margarito than Kermit Cintron? The guy is fighting in what will be a great scrap. He should only have one ‘L’ on his record (to Sergio Martinez, who is p4p top 7). This fight takes place down the street from me, and I am “meh” about it. Any chance you'll be there? I'd love to finally meet you.

Paul Williams by UD. I haven't seen much power lately from Cintron and Williams throws more than Alfredo Angulo. — Anthony

I agree with your Williams-Cintron prediction, and I partially agree with your take on Mayweather.

Williams should eventually overwhelm Cintron with pressure and volume. I thought Cintron barely beat a sick-looking Angulo, who’s a lot smaller and less busy than Williams. But I expect a good fight. I will be ringside at the Home Depot Center’s outdoor tennis arena this Saturday so don’t be a stranger if you see me.

Regarding Mayweather, I thought he fought his best fight since his junior lightweight days on Saturday, and I believe that he collected the most significant scalp of his hall-of-fame career. Mosley was rated higher pound-for-pound than any of Floyd’s other top wins (such as G. Hernandez, Hatton, Corrales, and De La Hoya — who wasn’t P4P rated when he fought Mayweather).

I don’t rate him the best P4P based on that performance, but I believe one can make the argument. I think Mayweather has to beat Pacquiao to be the best. After the Pac-monster beat Clottey I didn’t think Mayweather had much of a shot of doing that because I didn’t believe he could hurt the Filipino star and would thus be soundly outworked over 12 rounds. However, the power and precision Mayweather exhibited versus Mosley changes my mind about Floyd’s ability to hurt Pacquiao. I think he can hurt Pac, and I view their fight as an even-money encounter.

And, yes, I know this opinion makes me the “ultimate hater” in the eyes of all Mayweather fans. So be it.

While, I’m playing the “hater” role I might as well express my opinion that I don’t believe that Margarito’s wraps were loaded for either of his fights with Cintron. Yeah, I know. I’m not just a “hater” I’m a hater with West Coast/Mexican bias.

YOU'RE STILL A HATER

dude, your a f___in idiot. the fight was boring? really? i thought it was an entertaining ass whoopin, and floyd was really close to knocking sugar shane out. i can picture you watching the fight with your lip puckered out and looking like a angry kid who just got yelled at by his mom. give floyd his props you jackass. he ''undressed'' sugar shane, and all you can say is '' boring''. your a hater. just admit it. — Ivan

If I admit that I’m a hater, will you stop emailing me? I’M HATER! I’M A HATER!! HATE!!! HATE!!!!

Anyway, I may be a hater and I may very well be the f__in’ idiot you say I am. But that’s better than being the guy who hates the “hater,” reads the columns of an “idiot” and then actually takes the time out to EMAIL that “jackass” with his thoughts! That’s YOU, buddy!

How does it feel?

Get a grip, Ivan. If you thought Saturday’s fight was entertaining that’s fine. I have no problem with your opinion. I didn’t write that the fight was “boring.” I wrote that it was “rather uneventful” and I don’t think I was making things up.

The second round, when Mosley connected with that big right hand, was the only point in the fight when the crowd erupted in excitement and anticipation. The silence was deafening for the remainder of the fight. My fellow “hater” and “f___in’ idiot” Steve Kim likened the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena to a library during much of the fight and that was an apt description.

Regardless of how the crowd reacted to much of the fight, I thought Mayweather’s performance Saturday night was spectacular. I agree that he could have knocked Mosley out (or forced a stoppage), and I thought I gave him credit for his skill and heart in my column.

I’m sorry if that wasn’t clear to you.

Further more, the main point of my post-fight column was that Mosley was more to blame for the uneventful nature of the bout than Mayweather, so I’m not entirely sure why you’re up in arms.

FOR THE MAILBAG

Eat it. — Stuey

I have no choice but to, Stu. Thanks for rubbing it in, though, d__k.

Ya gotta love Mayweather fans, folks. They don’t have their hero’s talent or money, but when it comes being nasty little malcontents they are just as much of p__k as he is.

CROW EATING

Doug,
Well I am enjoying this fine plate of crow right now. How's yours taste? I wrote to you about a month or two saying there was 'no way' FMJ could hurt Mosley, and that Mosley would overwhelm FMJ and I was D-E-A-D W-R-O-N-G!!!!

I give Floyd all the props for his performance. I think his quick, solid, accurate punching was very impressive. He showed he has an excellent chin (but a big puncher could catch him). However his ability to compose himself when in, and then to recover from, a very dangerous situation was probably the most impressive. He fought his fight and prevented Mosley from finding his own rhythm. Excellent performance.

I would like to see him vs. other top welterweights such as Berto and Williams (if possible). I do not consider him the greatest fighter ever by a long shot.

I think after this performance that he is definitely too big for Manny. Manny could catch him but so could Floyd, and I give Floyd's accurate punches a very good chance vs. a sometimes wild Pac-Monster. Manny should clean out 140, which is where he belongs, not at welter.

Hope you don't have to deal with too much BS from the Pretty Boys. Keep up the good work! — Anthony, San Diego

Thanks. I haven’t heard from too many Pretty Boys but the few I am dealing with are spewing A LOT of B.S., so it guess it evens out.

You might be right. Mayweather might be too big for Pacquiao. He dwarfed Juan Manuel Marquez and he seemed equal to Mosley in terms of size and strength.

If the superfight with Mayweather can’t be made it would be nice if Pacquiao dropped back down to 140 pound to defend his RING junior welterweight title. Valero — the guy I wanted to see him fight the most at 140 is dead — but the winner of Bradley-Maidana would definitely make for a worthy and entertaining challenger.

Mayweather is not an all-time pound-for-pounder, but he’s one of the best (top 2 or 3) of the past 20 years. I wouldn’t mind seeing him face another 147-pound contender, but aside from Pacquiao, I don’t give anyone in the division a chance in hell of beating him.

Mayweather vs. the winner of Williams-Cintron at 154 pounds is intriguing to me.

My crow has been dry, nasty and hard to swallow, thank you very much.

THE MORNING AFTER

I’m not prepared to live in a world where Floyd Mayweather Jr. is (by far) the best fighter of my young generation (sigh).

Nobody forget everyone said things like this after Jones beat Ruiz. Who knows what’s next. — Tony Knopp, LA

True.

A SYMPATHETIC EMAIL

Hey Doug,
First of all I wish you strength the coming days, since I imagine there are gonna be a lot of smug Mayweather sycophants flooding you inbox with “Nah Nah I told you so” and not much else. You're my favorite writer and I greatly respect that you went out on a limb and went with what your gut told you. That's why were all fans of boxing, because this sport is all about believing in someone, be they a massive favorite or a serious dog. I know you're probably used to this and don't need any help from me, but ignore all the people who don't know s__t about boxing and don't love the sport, and only want to kiss the ass of someone who they'll never meet anyway.

Its a shame you had to be wrong, but you really got me rooting for Shane. That said, May's performance was nothing short of immaculate. He impressed me like I've never been impressed before by him. May didn't get on his bike and run away, but stood there, trading, boxing and gave it his all. He showed some great recovery skills when he got buzzed in the 2nd, and didn't change his plan, and didn't refuse to engage. I'm guessing it's the same for you. I'm also coming around to the idea that May will always fight at the level of his opponent, and that these big fights bring out the best in him. I still think Pac poses some problems that will cause May fits (southpaw, high volume) even if this fight should cause every Pac-maniac (of which I am one) to rethink the “Mayweather will get destroyed” mantra.

Either way I'll let you get back to you overflowing inbox. Just keep writing and keep putting yourself out there when you think it's right. You'll certainly keep this boxing fan really happy. Cheers. — Sander from the Netherlands

When you stick your neck out, Sander, you have to be prepared to have it kicked and chopped at. Mosley over Mayweather is not my first longshot who didn’t come through and he won’t be my last. I’ve had plenty that did come through and nothing beats that feeling when they do. The highs would not be as high without having experienced the lows.

But thanks for the pick-me-up. I really do appreciate it.

I agree that Mayweather proved that he fights to the level of his competition. It’s too bad he didn’t take on one of the perceived threats three or four years ago. It would have saved fans and media a lot of needless debate.

I was very impressed with Mayweather’s ability to stay cool after being rocked and the mettle he showed in taking it to Mosley in the very next round.

Mayweather’s performance vs. Mosley changed the way I view the Pacquiao showdown, too.

STILL CAN'T STAND HIM, BUTÔÇª

I know his persona's an act, but still can't stand it. Boxing's an art (as he's shown us) and I relate much more to the fiery starving artist type than the pop star sellout, but that's just me. The real reason Floyd drives me crazy is because he seemed to be the most talented fighter never to prove it. Well tonight he finally proved it at welter. He may have broke my heart because Shane is truly what a fight fan dreams of, but Floyd proved he's special.

All I ask now is this… Floyd keep proving it. Let's see if you are truly as great as you say you are. I would hate to see the potentially greatest fighter of my generation never really let us know what he's capable of. This sport already takes enough from it's fans (let alone most fighters). — Matt O., ATL, GA

Well stated, Matt.

Bring on Pacquiao. If the monster millionaire egos involved in that fight can’t come to terms on the drug issue, then bring on the Williams-Cintron winner or Alfredo Angulo at 154 pounds.

TOLD YOU SO

Hey Dougie,
I don’t want to say I told you so but I told you so. I wasn't going to get either of Maywather's last two fights but I did, because by reading you I ended up thinking we might get a fight when my get feeling was we wouldn't. Man I hate giving Mayweather my money for stuff like that!

Yeah, he is great, a cut above the rest, truly phenomenal. Hey it's all about hit and don't get hit and if I was a boxer I'd want to be Mayweather. But he fights like an accountant and I won't miss him when he is gone. He so outclasses his rivals that with his style there is nothing much left to watch…

This is easy to point out now but once Mosley's speed is beaten he doesn't have much of a defense. You don't want to be fighting Floyd with your left hand down.

On a positive not I really liked what I saw from that Canelo guy. — Stephen, Montreal

Saul Alvarez passed a tough test in Jose Cotto. He will be fun to watch as he matures. Maybe one day we’ll see him and Mike Jones or Antwone Smith duking it out for a world title. I hope so.

I agree with your thoughts on Mayweather. He’s a cut about the rest (except maybe Pacquiao) but when it comes to watching him “ply his art” he’s not my cup of tea. (By the way, that sentiment makes you a hater.)

MAYWEATHER-PACQUIAO

Hey Dougie,
That was a dominant performance from Floyd, props to him. He took Shane's best shot, adjusted and took the fight to Shane. Shane looked really “old” in the middle rounds.

The Pacquiao fight needs to happen. I see a competitive fight despite what we saw from Floyd tonight. Pac is too unorthodox not to see openings/angles that Shane could not find, plus he's faster, punches harder (in bunches) and a lot younger than Shane.
Floyd may be the best all-around fighter right now but Pacquiao is still much superior with his offense. And being better in one critical area could be the difference in the fight with Floyd. “The Fight” needs to happen. — BD

I agree.

IF PAC-FLOYD DOESN'T HAPPEN, SO WHAT?

Matey,
What a colossal disappointment. I didn’t expect Mosley to win – even though my heart wanted him to – but at the very least, he should have gone down fighting, i.e. throwing.

After the 2nd round, he disappeared. Vanished…gone awol…and he gave virtually nothing, nada, zilch, kaput, zero etc.. What a way to finish his career and yes I think he should seriously consider calling it a career. And from what I could make out in the corner, Naazim was giving him the right advise. Even DLH gave Mayweather a bigger challenge.

I revved myself for this fight by watching some old Leonard v Hearns, Duran v Leonard and the Hawk v Arguello. I was ready to go 12 rounds myself after watching that on the 'Tube.

And then I watch Mosley sleepwalk through the 3rd to the final bell (well, I’ll be fair on Sugar Shane; his problem was he was a) stiff, b) tired and c) looking for the KO punch instead of piling the combos). Pacman would never look for the one punch haymaker these days….he will throw 1 million mitts each round.

Bahhh…who cares? If Pac and Floyd fight then great. If they don’t then who cares. The last thing I want to read is Floyd raving about drugs again. — Perry

As much as I want to see Mayweather and Pacquiao settle who’s the best of this era in the ring I agree that the pre-fight hype leading into that promotion might be insufferable. Normal fans will have to put with A) another over-produced 24/7 series featuring the embarrassing rants of Floyd, Roger and Senior, B) constant baiting and allegations from Mayweather’s classless drones, C) the Pactards incoherent message-board jabbering, and D) Bob Arum and Golden Boy Promotions going back and forth in the media. Every online debate between fans will probably get ugly and racial (African Americans vs. Asians). Who needs all that? Not me.

SURPRISED AND SHOCKED

I have watched the Mayweather vs. Mosely fight twice now & I'm really surprised it went down the way it did. I picked Floyd to win a close decision but really wasn't confident in it & as the fight got closer I thought Shane could possibly stop him. Clearly something changed in round 2. My thought is that Floyd was able to stay upright to the best Shane had & then he got discouraged. What do you think happened? I was also surprised that Floyd was able to hurt Shane in spots, especially with right hands of his own. I am still in shock honestly. How many knockouts could Floyd have if he actually tried to stop people? I know that you picked Shane & has rightfully been a Floyd critic, does this fight make you look at either man any differently? — Tyrone

This fight makes me consider Mayweather to be a legit elite welterweight and it puts him right up there with Pacquiao at the top of the pound for pound list. It also, unfortunately, makes me agree with the common pre-fight sentiment that Mosley can’t compete with world-class boxers. (Sorry Shane.)

How many knockouts could Mayweather have scored if he actually tried to stop people? Lots. Even before the Mosley fight I thought Mayweather could have stopped Marquez, De La Hoya and Baldomir had he went for it.

What do I think happened on Saturday? I think you said it well: “Floyd was able to stay upright to the best Shane had & then he got discouraged.”

MAYWEATHER IMPRESSIVE

Doug,
So did I call the fight or what? Although I can't say it was boring, as seeing Floyd stumble around the ring was a surprising sight. I was impressed at how he handled being stunned, then came out firing in round 3. My question is regarding Mayweather's current legacy. I don't see him with the Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, but I do believe he's right alongside someone like Pernell Whitaker. They were dominant at 130 (Floyd) and 135 (Whitaker), and Mosley is better than any welterweight Whitaker beat, so I think Floyd deserves it. Where do you think he stands right now among the all-time greats? — JY

I still rank Whitaker ahead of Mayweather at welterweight and pound-for-pound (they were about even at 135/140 pounds — and that’s an interesting mythical matchup). Mosley was more accomplished than any welterweight that Whitaker fought but Sweet Pea took on younger, fresher studs (the undefeated 1997 version of Oscar De La Hoya) and superior boxers (Buddy McGirt).

Yeah, yeah, I know, this opinion makes me a hater. You don’t have to email me back to tell me this. (Neither does anyone else for that matter).

Mayweather is one of the best of this era (the last 25 years). He doesn’t crack my all-time pound-for-pound top 10 or top 20.

Again, I know this opinion strips me of all credibility and I fully expect the website to lose 75 percent of its traffic over the next few weeks and be forced to shut down before the fall, but I gotta keep it as real as I know it. Sorry folks.

If you guys think Mayweather’s an all-timer, cool. But I don’t really care to hear about it unless you can give me a respectable top 10 or top 20 and explain to me why he deserves to be in there.

NO. 1 POUND FOR POUND

I didn't realize how much I've grown to dislike Mayweather until I thought Shane had a chance to KO him in round 2. But all that aside, he just outclassed the consensus #3 pfp fighter. AT LEAST, he should probably be tied for #1 pfp now. Btw, I think pacmans best chance is by early KO, which appears to be Mayweather’s only small weakness, the fact that he can be hit hard early, before he figures out and locks in. I'm also interested in seeing Mayweather move up to face Martinez or Williams. — Kemet the Jedi

Williams is interesting at 154 pounds. I think Martinez is too big at 160 pounds and wrong for Mayweather stylistically (southpaw, mobile and fast).

Mayweather is tied with Pacquiao as the sport’s No. 1 P4P player, in my opinion. (And yes, I’m aware that by not making Floyd No. 1 and Manny No. 2 means that I’m not only a hater, but a racist.)

MOSLEY'S DOWNFALL

Hey Dougie,
I have to say I'm a wee bit disappointed with your article regarding the Money v Sugar fight. Sure, Mosley didn't do very well but that was 100% Floyd's doing.

Your piece implys that Mosley did not give his all and that somehow he could have done better. I know you went out on a limb a little picking Mosley but don't blame him for 'not being himself' as I have seen the same performance from Shane many times, for instance Mayorga, Forrest 2, Wright 1, De La Hoya 2, Cotto etc.

You got it wrong, Mosley could never beat Mayweather and I am a big Shane Mosley fan and a non fan of Floyd. As a boxer he is superb though.

I think your article was self serving, but maybe I'm wrong? Regards, Dave Morrison. — Glasgow, Scotland

I’m sorry my article came off as self serving. The point of the column was to discuss or explain where Mosley might have gone wrong during the fight. It was also meant to give Mayweather credit for containing Mosley and to absolve him of much of the blame for the fight not being entertaining.

I wasn’t saying that Mosley didn’t try or give his all. I was saying that he didn’t make the right choices during the fight. And I credit Mayweather for this.

When I wrote in the second graph that perhaps fans could blame the uneventful nature of the bout on Mayweather “for being a master ring general who specializes in being elusive while landing a ridiculously high percentage of his counter punches” I was giving him props for “mastering” Mosley.

After I wrote that Mosley didn’t do what he should have (simply fight), I followed it with this graph:

“Perhaps Mayweather didn’t let him. Maybe he got into Mosley’s head. Maybe he hit Mosley with something that robbed the perceived live underdog of his confidence.

If that’s the case — and it probably is — all credit must go to Mayweather.”

I wasn’t implying that Mosley could have beat Mayweather. I was saying that he could have made the fight more interesting had he thrown caution to the wind.

I thought that was clear. If it wasn’t I apologize.

It’s not easy to compose a column immediately after an event. RingTV.com co-editor Michael Rosenthal and I usually split up post-fight column topics. The last time Mayweather fought, I wrote about Floyd and Rosenthal wrote about his opponent (JM Marquez). This time he wrote about Mayweather and I took the opponent.

To be honest, I didn’t want to write at all. I was tired. It had been a very long week with a lot of work, not just writing but doing some broadcast and production work for the Marquez-Diaz rematch promotion. I really didn’t know what the hell to write about after watching Mosley get dominated. It would be nice if I could just write:

“Damn, Shane got his butt kicked.”

And leave it at that, but I can’t. Rosenthal suggested that I pen a piece about what went wrong with Mosley’s gameplan. I took the idea and ran with it as best I could. While watching the fight I was thinking (probably along with many others) “Shane needs to stop trying to box Floyd and start fighting. He may get knocked out, he may look even more sloppy than he does now in trying, but at least we’ll get some intensity going.” So that became the theme of my post-fight column.

Listening to complaints from the other ringside media, I knew that more than a few writers were going to slam the fight for being boring. I thought I’d stick up for Mayweather by stating in my article that Mosley was just as much to blame — if not more so — for the non-action.

Of course, Mayweather fans still didn’t appreciate my words, but what else is new?

MAYWEATHER WON, BUT SHANE ROCKED HIS WORLD

I give Floyd credit for dominating the fight, but can't take away Sugar Shane's near-KO. Not since Demarcus “Chop-Chop” Corley have we seen Floyd shuffle his feet like he was one of the O'Jays. Y'think the Pac-Man can land something flush and cause havoc? — JB

Yes I do, but that’s probably just hate.