While Saturday’s epic super middleweight championship fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence “Bud” Crawford may not have lived up to the billing, it brought out the who’s who of sports and entertainment to fabulous Las Vegas. In the end Crawford the longtime welterweight with an unblemished (42-0) record, outclassed Alvarez the sport’s cash cow, by unanimous decision, becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.
Even more impressive was Crawford, who spent most of his career between 135 and 147 pounds, but jumped to 154 last August and jumped up two more weight classes for this fight. From the onset he looked like the stronger and much more prepared fighter in the matchup. In many ways Crawford’s willingness to take the leap and fight someone as accomplished as Alvarez (63-3-2) in his illustrious career is what the sport has been lacking, and longtime sportscaster Jim Gray believes Floyd Mayweather Jr., helped diminsh the sport.
Gray’s Definition Of Greatness Differs From Mayweather’s
Speaking on the “Nightcap” podcast with host Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco, Gray, who’s long been known for speaking his mind flat out said, “Floyd ruined this sport.”
He went on to say that what Crawford did in taking on the challenge of fighting Canelo and “fighting the best” is what “greatness and legacy is all about, and not just being undefeated,” which he believes was way too big of a factor for Mayweather. The aforementioned Sharpe agreed wholeheartedly.
Gray Isn’t The First To Say Mayweather Ruined The Sport
What Gray said to Sharpe and Ocho has long been the opinion of many boxing fans and experts who believe his defensive, non-knockout-focused style made fights boring, and his handpicking opponents is also something many fans and experts didn’t agree with. Mayweather’s focus soon became to make as money as possible while protecting the undefeated record he’d accumulated.
That meant not taking on some of the top fighters until they were older or past their prime, like Sugar Shane Mosley or Manny Pacquiao, fights fans wanted to see a lot sooner before they actually happened. Even his fight against Oscar De La Hoya was later than some believed it should’ve been. And for that and other factors the claim is he helped ruin the sport, because his focus was on the “sweet science” and the defensive aspect of it hampered exciting knockouts and serious fisticuffs in the ring.
Mayweather Did A Lot Of Good For Boxing
Not everyone liked Mayweather’s style or how he goes about his business, but he got results. From his (50-0) record to making the most money ($1.2 billion) ever for a boxer, Mayweather made it work for him.
He gained notoriety for buying out his own contract to gain promoting freedom. That empowered other fighters to hold out for more money, which led to less big time fights that fans crave.
Saying Mayweather ruined boxing is a bit much, while he did impact change in many areas, he also led the movement of shifting power from the promoters to the boxer, which is the same thing LeBron James and Kevin Durant have done in the NBA.
On a night where Crawford and Canelo did a lot for the sport, there’s no need to take shots at a boxer who helped fellow boxers fight for their worth.
