hope this doesn’t deteriorate into another trash talk thread because if it does it’s a waste of my time.
I’ll assume because it’s pinned it won’t.
Is Floyd the man at 147? Yes! Even though Bado was unquestionably one of the weakest belt holders in the division he was sill recognized as the liner champion. In retrospect, I don’t blame Floyd, he had the money and the ability to leap frog tougher fighters to get a shot at a champion hell bent on cashing in on his new found notoriety.
Any problems or perseved backlash with Floyd were self inflicted, not for what he’s done but what he professes to be and what he has not yet done. Floyd consistently raised the stakes in what started off as a bad boy marketing strategy. Once crowned P4P king he demanded tribute and right fully so. As P4p king Floyd called down good fighters only to deliver sub-par sparing matches against far less then originally proposed opponents. Floyd further raised the stakes when he attempted to quell any challenges by denigrating and verbally disqualifying any fighter that might pose a threat. The tide was beginning to turn, boxing insiders and fans alike begun questioning Floyd’s actions. Floyd and his minions denounced anyone that dared question him or his motives. What happened next was the sin of all sins, Floyd’s proclamation as “the best that had ever lived”, better then Ali or Robinson along with other PROVEN ALL TIME GREATS. Floyd’s hubris had finally gone too far, his self appointment as Cesar and emperor was too much. The Baldo fight in and of itself was not a flash point as much as it was an awakening, the emperor had no cloths. Floyd further punctuated that fact with his diatribe and subsequent announcement of retirement in his post fight interview.
In short, Floyds claim to be the all time greatest was by self appointment and not consciences or deductive conclusion.
Is Floyd the best that has ever laced up the gloves? We don’t know but what has become clear is that self declaration isn’t enough, he’ll have to prove it in the ring.
From this moment on the ball is in Floyd’s court.
Floyd is now the man to beat and every fighter from 140 to 147 wants a shot at him just as they should. Right here and now Floyd has the ability to define himself and prove that he is the best at 147 by taking on all comers. If Floyd has no intention to defend his status or continues to create unreasonable obstacles then he will risk going down as one of the best up to 135lbs and a collector of trinkets, cashing in on his long past accomplishments. If that’s enough for Floyd fine, it should be enough for any fighter but that doesn’t make him the best that ever laced up the gloves, or even the best from 140 to 147 because he hasn’t fought the best.
To fight the best Floyd has to face the realization that there isn’t a promoter on the planet willing to guarantee him 10 million to fight Cotto, Tony, Hatton or Williams to name a few. Unless Floyd drops his massive demands to a level that’s remotely viable there’s little chance of him attaining that defining fight. It seems that even Oscar these days thinks Floyd has priced himself out of the market and coming from the all time highest walking paycheck that’s a lot.
There are ways to attain all time greatness but self appointment and the demand for tribute is not one of them.
Floyd has options, he can accept fighting a challenging opponent for what the market can support and then prove it in the ring. Accept what he has done as great enough and retire, although a far cry from his lofty declaration. Last and hopefully least Floyd can continue to blame others for what he’s not getting.
That's my two cents for what it's worth! <!--IBF.ATTACHMENT_1877118-->