By Shannon Cummings
Inspiration
My point is straight and clarity clear, so within this article is a voice that I may want to be heard but all in all I just give my honest humble opinion.
I am an avid boxing fan, starting from the first time as an 9-year-old watching from the kitchen dining area with Dickie Davies in tow presenting for ITV, Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world by knocking out Trevor Berbick.
Unbeknown to me that was the tiny embryo that grew into a man who then became increasingly appreciative of a sport derided by many but loved by the masses.
To The Point
Surveying the world of boxing in the year 2011, I now have to comment on what I truly believe and honestly see happening between now and the next 3 years, which could be the beginning or the end of boxing as we know it.
Firstly, I will comment on the boxer I believe is the best I will see in my lifetime his name is Floyd Mayweather Junior. I am a black man from London and of West Indian descent but I have been brought up to be color blind and see only talent.
I said on a blog two months ago that I thought Shane Mosley would knock out Manny Pacquiao, I was obviously very wrong.
I scroll through tons of opinions and press available to me, but the one thing I forgot to listen to was Floyd Mayweather Junior saying that when an opponent has lost to him they are never the same fighter, I seemed to forget the savage beating Mosley took from Mayweather and it was savage.
As an enthusiast I just saw the punch in the second round to the jaw, and the temple which had mean intentions, and in the early rounds Mosley’s power and precision rocked Mayweather to his soles, but he sucked it up and gave Mosley a lesson in the art of boxing.
In Mosley’s next fight of note against Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao he looked not only a shot fighter but a novice apprentice looking for a pay day to keep his Mrs in Gucci and Prada, milking the limelight of his appearance on Fight Camp 360.
Why did I not listen to Mayweather! He called it and was so right. In present times Floyd has come out of a long vacation to take on the 24-year-old “Vicious” Victor Ortiz, for the WBC Welterweight Championship in his first fight in nearly 2 years.
I believe this fight could prove to be an banana skin if Mayweather does not stay totally focused as he is no longer in his twenties and he his fighting a fast southpaw power puncher, and not to mention his own inactivity for nearly 2 years.
Greatness & Styles
I’m now going to give my opinion on the next 3 years in Mayweather’s career and also start a debate about FMJ style as I have my opinion with which I’m going to share with you now.
Firstly, about FMJ, with what I believe will be his last 3 – 5 fights! I think these will prove to be the most dangerous of his career, as he knows he is steps away from maintaining a unblemished career record. I do believe that FMJ is saving his best boxing for his last remaining fights, all that defensive stuff will come in handy, but what the general public don’t understand is that Floyd has got an tremendous amount of attacking arsenal which I believe he will unleash on the way to achieving his personal quest and holy grail of being undefeated.
My belief is that he will beat Victor Ortiz after coming through a crisis, then I think that he beats Pacquiao a lot easier than the victory over Victor Ortiz in both fights if they have a rematch, I then hope he shuts up Amir Khan but I believe by this time he would have already suffered his second loss as Amir might have speed but he is not good enough defensively and does not have a chin.
Styles
Having watched Mayweather for a number of years, I have finally found a near enough comparable fighter of the past to which apart from the obvious style of Pernell Whitaker, FMJ to me fights with the same mentality. What makes FMJ so special is not only his speed but his flexibility, and a number of levels to call upon at any given time when needed, he is constantly thinking but most important I believe is the array of different combinations and punches he can do at angles but with accuracy.
I love the history of boxing. I love documentaries about the sport, the controversies, the highs the lows, the debates about who wins, and why, and mental side of the sport which I believe holds the key to boxing and to FMJ.
FMJ as a boxer has a lot of similarities to Gene Tunney the Heavyweight Champion 1926 -1928, not only did Tunney beat the great Jack Dempsey twice he did it in a comprehensively. Jack Dempsey was a Pacquiao type fighter a really good brawler who would knock you out.
Gene Tunney retired from boxing having only lost once from 86 bouts and never while he was champion. Tunney was a slick defensive fighter great at counter punching but also adept to attacking wisely and never wasting punches.
Dempsey was the first fighter to get a million dollars for a fight so he was as big as you can get in 1926, he was an extremely popular champion, where as Tunney was an unknown figure to the public, he was a very intelligent individual an avid reader, a quiet man. I believe that a Money Mayweather clash with Manny Pacquiao provides the same styles as Dempsey and Tunney, with Pacquiao not so much as a surprise package as Tunney was.
I welcome everyone’s opinions on what I have written, I beg all fans to respect one another and to use constructive ways of communication and not blind faith, I would love to hear if anyone has a different take on what I have written.
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I fell in love with boxing from the age of 8 or 9 when I watched Mike Tyson knock out Trevor Berbick, I was hooked from then but it was only a fascination at that tender age.
My favorite fighters are: Lenox Lewis, Nigel Benn, Ricky Hatton, Thomas Hearns, Gene Tunney, Floyd Mayweather Jnr.