Floyd Mayweather and Bernard Hopkins are saying they plan on being more active. While that may be good news for boxing fans looking to enjoy the swan song of two all-time greats, it may not be the best thing for either man's legacy or business. Some fighters rot with long rest periods... certainly Lennox Lewis didn't get any sharper between the Tyson and Klitschko fights... but many others look their best after a year off. These two men alone have recently demonstrated.
Speaking of May and BHop, there are different approaches. Careful matchmaking is something in which Floyd can be almost counted upon engaging. However, Hopkins has the admirable, if ill-advised propensity for fighting his useless mandatories, and it almost never works out. Who can forget Morrade Hakkar running for his life, or the losses Hopkins suffered to Taylor and Dawson. Something is telling me Murat might be the latest to help Hopkins follow something historic, with something disappointing.
Speaking of something disappointing, Kell Brook is taking a useless fight, and will likely never get in the ring with Devon Alexander. Like Ricky Burns before him, it looks as if he'd rather be exposed slowly and domestically, as opposed to drastically in the states. One can hardly blame his management, but it would be nice if we were never teased first. Sven Ottke and Daruisz Michalchewski were scared shitless of coming to the US to be exposed, but their management did everything short of admit it. Don't tease us.
Speaking a tease, Audley Harrison is likely un-retiring almost immediately after retiring. Don't get too big for your britches, Audley... you were never good enough to go away and be missed. He was a big, frightened 3-round fighter, who didn't even consistently excel in those 3 rounds. He's also in his forties, and for his own good, needs to go away. Roy Jones may be having a pathetic 40-something career, but his 20-35 was magical enough that it won't matter legacy-wise. Audley, in retrospect, might have been better off staying amateur.
Speaking of going away, I really hope Floyd does not retire at 49-0. Sticking around for one more fight would eliminate the mythical 49-0 of Rocky Marciano, and replace it with a new 50-0. There have been fighters who got close, but always with an asterisk (kept fighting on, had a draw, had lots of controversial decisions, no competition, etc.). If Floyd can remain unbeaten until 38 years old, and 50-0, and do so fighting 3 times a year for the last few years, he is standing next to Sugar Ray Robinson. Not an exaggeration.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
