Floyd Mayweather: What the Experts Are Saying About the Boxing World Champion
Floyd Mayweather Jr. won a unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto Saturday night, and as expected, boxing experts had plenty to say about his win.
It doesn't appear that anyone disputes he was the victor, but some may have issues with the official scorecards. Two judges scored the fight 117-111—as did I—and the other judge scored it 118-110.
Let's take a look at what four prominent boxing experts had to say about the bout.
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Experts Chime in on Margin of Victory
Showtime's Al Bernstein was one who thought the scoring was a little off. He tweeted:
"Did not score fight but it was closer than judges had it@normwamer
— Al Bernstein (@AlBernstein) May 6, 2012"
I could see how someone could have felt the six-point edge was too much. But I think we may be a bit spoiled by the way Mayweather generally dominates his opponents.
This is something Max Kellerman of Max Boxing touched on in one of two interesting tweets about the fight:
"Eye so unused to seeing @FloydMayweather hit cleanly, when he is, even against a fighter Cotto's caliber, registers as big deal.
— Max Kellerman (@Max_Kellerman) May 6, 2012"
I couldn't agree more with Kellerman's sentiments. Examining the punch statistics shows Mayweather had an edge in all areas.
Mayweather landed 26 percent (179-of-687) of his total punches thrown; Cotto landed 21 percent (105-of-506).
Mayweather's jab was not as accurate as usual. He connected on 17 percent of them (51-of-305), which was the same rate as Cotto. But he threw more than Cotto, out-jabbing him, 51-30.
The power punches really told the biggest story. Mayweather landed 34 percent of his (128-of-382), compared to only 23 percent for Cotto (75-of-329).
What this means is that even though the numbers weren't as lopsided as we have become accustomed to seeing in Mayweather bouts, he still clearly won the fight by a good margin.
Does Excitement Equal a Better Fight?
Kellerman also added this overall assessment of the fight:
"Good, old fashioned prize fight; worth pay-per-view $. @RealMiguelCotto was very good. @FloydMayweather was brilliant. 116-112 (8-4).
— Max Kellerman (@Max_Kellerman) May 6, 2012"
Most people seemed to come away from the fight feeling the same way. It was one of the best pay-per-view boxing events in a while.
Mayweather's willingness to trade delighted Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix. He tweeted:
"Boxing is a stronger biz with Mayweather and Pacquiao fighting competitive, action fights. If nothing else, I hope that continues.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) May 6, 2012"
On one hand, I understand that point of view, but I also appreciate when a fighter is so great that he makes it look easy. In my opinion, when an aging fighter that used to seldom get hit begins to find himself in wars, it's an indication of eroding skills.
Floyd is 35 years old, so it wouldn't be strange if that were the case.
Superfight, Anyone?
Many folks are still locked in on the possibility of a superfight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. But if you listened to Mayweather after Saturday night's fight, it doesn't seem likely that the fight will ever happen.
Bryan Armen Graham of Sports Illustrated tweeted this while attending the post-fight press conference:
"Mayweather said he called Pacquiao, offered him $40M and said he'd wire him $20M within 24 hours. Manny demanded 50/50, Floyd said no deal.
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) May 6, 2012"
I don't view any of that talk as a death sentence for the superfight. This comes down to money and posturing. The one thing that can derail the fight more than these back-and-forth negotiations is a loss by either man.
Mayweather had a tough test on Saturday night, and Pacquiao is set to have one against Tim Bradley on June 9. A slip-up by either man is the biggest threat to this happening sometime in 2013.
Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay.net for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games.
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