He arrived in the welterweight division in 2005 I believe. From 2005 to 2009, he could have fought: Mosley, Williams, Cotto, Margarito. But instead at the weight he fought: Sharmba Mitchell, Carlos Baldomir, Zab Judah, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez And this was after he exited 140 without fighting the clear number 1 in the division, Kostya Tszyu. Floyd has great ability, and it's great that he is fighting Mosley now, but do not try to pretend he is not a proven ducker. He clearly is.
The difference I see in opinion with Mayweather fans and haters is that if Baldomir and Margarito are both available yet Baldomir offers more in terms of belts with the WBC or financial gain. So Mayweather then chooses a guy like Baldomir to fight. He is then considered scared of Margarito. But fighting for the most financial gain and better belts does not prove that one is scared of the other fighter. Granted retiring then coming back to fight JMM makes a great case for why people should be suspect of Mayweather being scared. You can see in that case why people would come to those conclusion given that string of events. At the same time we know he fought JMM to get to Pacman the number one rated P4P so it was another business calculated move. Didn't mean that he was scared of Mosley. Also how was Mayweather to know that Cotto and Margo were both going to end up getting washed up. The question is did Mayweather plan on retiring to come back and fight those guys all along. Or did he only come back when they looked like they were washed up. Mayweather fighting Mosley today may answer that question. There was no way that Mayweather being the fighter he was his whole life was going to retire so young and stay retired. Fighting Mosley today shows that when he did inevitably come back that he probably would have fought Cotto and/or Margo if they were both still on top.
I thought it was the same....although Floyd publicly stated a blatant lie. He said he made $20 Mill against Blado!:rofl But I thought I read that he made a cool $8 Mill against Blado. Which was the purse for Floyd if he chose to face Marg.:smoke
I can't believe a word mayweather says. He said 12 on the radio, 20 a different time. he said he got 20 for wrestlemania!!!! 20 million to wrestle?!!? he's ****ing crazy if he thinks we believe that ****.
buying out his contract from arum has a lot more to do with him not fighting marg than the haters will ever admit
first time around: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2420382 anything after that (after he bought out arum) you know was going to be blocked by arum
The money was the same. The difference is that Baldo held the WBC which is a more prestigious belt. Baldo also didn't lose a fight 10yrs at 146 and didn't lose a fight in like 20fights or something like that. Baldo also became a decent name by defeating both Judah and Gatti. While Mayweather also defeated both Gatti and Judah. It was only logical that they fight each other having defeated common opponents the last few yrs. Plus he was in an interview getting ripped for not fighting Baldo. Those things all add to him choosing Baldo over Margo. Also how was Mayweather to know who the tougher opponent was. Margo was bigger then Baldo but Baldo beat better comp. Margo also was the WBO champ at WW since 2001 though he lost at 154 to Santos, yet failed to fight any of the top WWs or even challenge any of the top comp from 147 to 154 He didn't fight Forrest, Mayorga, Spinks, Judah, Mosley, hell even Baldo from 2001 until 2005-06 when he first started to land a fight with Mayweather. Why is that, were they all scared of him. How many of them did he call out. Margo was a WW champ for 4yrs before he decided to fight freaking Kermit Cintron.
It was a logical fight, no argument from me. It just didn't mean **** to his legacy or resume to have a win over baldomir on it.
Floyd may have been a little reluctant to face challenges at times, but no one can blame everything on him and forget about Arum. All of his fighters seem to end up in the middle of some bull**** in negotiations... Pavlik, Pac, Margo.
Not saying Floyd was not the favorite, he clearly was, however: When you say Baldomir is a not a "legitimate" victory to point to, I will just point back to history directly. From ESB..... “First of all, we’re ecstatic to see the ‘true grit’ abilities and determination of the modern day “Cinderella Man” taking on the likes of Mayweather, clearly on the road to becoming one of the greatest of all time,” Goossen declared. Secondly, Mayweather-Baldomir on paper, conjures up thoughts as a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate and from a sports fans perspective this bout represents the linear World welterweight champion in Baldomir going against the pound for pound best in Mayweather. “Mayweather continues to face champions in higher weight classes. This spectacular extravaganza will determine if ‘size matters’ when Baldomir tries to impose his will and strength on Mayweather or will the “Pretty Boy” show the world once again ‘size doesn’t matter’ when fighting the best pound for pound fighter in the World?” That is what Goosen said when the fight was signed. Funny how things change after the fact. From ESPN...... Against Baldomir, Mayweather can win the recognized world welterweight championship. He previously won titles as a junior lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight. The Mayweather camp also had conversations with handlers for former junior welterweight champ Kostya Tszyu, who hasn't fought since losing his title to Ricky Hatton 14 months ago. Those talks, however, quickly died when it became apparent that Tszyu wasn't going to fight for the rest of the year. -- For people who said he did not want Tszyu Also if you watch the HBO commentary before the fight. Emmanuel Steward claims that he felt this was "Floyd's first 'real' fight..." Amazing, again, how things change after the fact. Say what you want about the Baldomir fight, but it was a legitimate fight. Baldomir had the title, he was champion, THE MAN, however you want to say it: Baldomir had to be fought, period. And don't forget to listen to Godfather Bob Arum. Amazing, again, how things change after the fact. (Like Mayweather leaving Top Rank and making his own money WITHOUT Bob Arum. Now Bob Arum claims Mayweather is a punk and is ducking his fighters. Right.........) [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tma-5riGoc[/ame]