(Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images)
I once had a boxing journalist tell me that the sport only has to storylines.
1. The newcomer looking to climb the ranks and emerge as the greatest by defeating all od the established knowns.
2. The dethroned veteran looking to reclaim lost glory. This is exemplified by George Foreman’s return to the ring after a two year hiatus in an attempt to reclaim his title after a loss to Muhammad Ali.
Could it be possible that Floyd Mayweather Jr. will complete both storylines without ever losing a fight?
Beneath the thug mentality that Mayweather portrays publicly there may be a career mastermind at work. The wheels turn and click to create a more memorable storyline and solidify a legacy.
Mayweather was once the newcomer who rose to prominence and beat storied fighters who were crowd favorite, particularly true of the match with Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya.
Now two years removed from the sport of boxing Mayweather again claims the stage as a return to the sport is chronicled on HBO and his time away opens the door to discussing him as both a favorite and an underdog.
De La Hoya has said publicly that he believes Juan Manuel Marquez is the precise type of fighter to take down Mayweather. Much in the same way that Joe Frazier was the matchup to challenge Ali, De La Hoya has gone so fare as to call the fight a Marquez victory before either fighter steps in the ring.
Mayweather is renowned as one of the best defensive fighters of all time (Willie Pep anyone?), but De La Hoya insists that beyond the three punch combinations Mayweather starts to stumble and could fall to five or six punch combinations by Marquez.
Mayweather ascended to boxing greatness and after a Michael Jordan and Brett Favre like retirement will attempt a return to greatness against Marquez.
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