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December 2001
Each month we bring you a selection of articles from the current and past issues of BOXING MONTHLY. To buy the magazine, see our subscription or back issues pages, or use our world distribution map to find a news-stand copy. Why not use our Interactive Forum to express your own boxing comments and opinions!
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GOD-GIVEN GIFT Team/family disputes and hand problems threatened Floyd Mayweather's standing, but the super feather champ emerged from the slump in style against Chavez and has now set his sights on Tszyu. GRAHAM HOUSTON reports from San Francisco |
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OVERWHELMING: the speed, power and precision of the champ were too much for Chavez
- Get Big Pic Those of us who were starting to have doubts can feel
reassured. Floyd "Pretty Boy" Mayweather Jr. does indeed belong with
the world's elite boxers, no argument, after the thrilling boxer-puncher display
he put forth in retaining his World Boxing Council super featherweight title
against Mexican-reared Jesus Chavez in San Francisco on 10 November. This was not the retreating, grimacing Mayweather who, nursing
sore hands, was an unimpressive points winner over durable but limited Carlos
Hernandez in May. On this rain-sodden night in the City by the Bay, the real
Floyd Mayweather Jr. showed up. Chavez was a willing and worthy challenger but Mayweather
reduced him to a bemused target. Chavez's trainer, ex-contender Ronnie Shields,
sensibly retired his man at the end of the ninth round. There was no point in
sending him out again. Chavez had given everything and was starting to get
hammered. Mayweather, 24, will now give up the 130lbs (9st 4lbs) title
after struggling to make weight. His promoter, Bob Arum, plans to match him with
Jose Luis Castillo, Mexico's WBC lightweight champion. Already there is talk of
Mayweather going on up to light-welterweight to take on Kostya Tszyu. At 5ft
8ins, Mayweather has the frame to carry the weight. But with Mayweather under
contract to Home Box Office and Tszyu to rival network Showtime, don't hold your
breath on that fight happening. There seems little doubt, though, that the undefeated
Mayweather is moving onwards and upwards after this pleasing victory in his
eighth - and final - defence of the WBC belt. His struggling performance against
Carlos Hernandez can be put down as one of those offnights that sometimes befall
even the best in the business. Against Chavez - a virtual punching machine until Mayweather
had slowed him down - Pretty Boy resembled what the old-timers would call the
complete professional. On nights such as this, when he is of a mind to take care of
business, Mayweather has you wondering just how good he might yet become. The crowd of 7,000 that packed the Bill Graham Civic
Auditorium - plus TV viewers on HBO television in America and Sky in Britain -
witnessed a blend of artistry and aggression and, in the ninth round, a touch of
heavy artillery, too. Mayweather is not considered a big puncher but he has now
stopped 20 opponents in his 27 consecutive wins and Chavez stood up to shots
that would surely have finished many fighters. And this after a weight-making
ordeal by Mayweather, who said afterwards: "I'm a lot stronger at 135 and
140 pounds. For this fight, for the last four days I couldn't eat no food. The
only thing I could do was eat a little salad and a little fruit. I couldn't
drink no liquids at all for four days. My weight went up once I started training
so I had to monitor my diet." But if Mayweather was weak at the weight you would never have
guessed it as he levelled big punches at Chavez in the last couple of rounds. He had, though, prepared diligently under the direction of his
uncle and trainer, ex-champ Roger Mayweather, who told me beforehand that Pretty
Boy was back to doing all the right things in his training - which he had not
done for Carlos Hernandez. They knew that Chavez was hungry and motivated - no
pushover - and certainly the Mexican proved to be a willing, worthy challenger.
True to his pre-fight pledge, he threw everything he had at the champion. But hard though Chavez fought - and there were moments in the
early rounds when it looked as though his swarming aggression just might give
him the chance of an upset victory - he was ultimately outclassed by the
superior talent and power of a truly gifted fighter. Mayweather's performance, in fact, could be considered in
keeping with the great boxing tradition of San Francisco, where legendary names
such as James J. Jeffries, Abe Attell, Terrible Terry McGovern, Battling Nelson
and, in more recent times, Rocky Marciano (against our own Don Cockell), Sandy
Saddler and the incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson performed in title fights. There were moments when Mayweather seemed to be under pressure
on the ropes as Chavez poured punches at him, even if mostly hitting arms and
gloves. But, as he told us afterwards, he was just letting Chavez punch himself
out. The high-volume output of Chavez kept him very much in the
fight for seven rounds, but Mayweather was the one doing the damage with his
sharp jabs, right hands and a series of right uppercuts that had the
challenger's head rocking back on his shoulders. It was also noticeable from ringside that Mayweather was going
to the body every so often with short jolts from the right hand and stiff jabs,
well-placed punches that, as Chavez admitted afterwards, gradually took their
toll. Mayweather said afterwards: "I try to throw my shots
short - not hard body shots. I knew he was going to be strong in the early
rounds. But in a big fight, you've not got to be worried just about the early
rounds, you've got to be worried about the late rounds, also. So I was like:
"I'll keep going right here, in the solar plexus, keep going to the body -
eventually, in the late rounds, I'll be able to run off my combinations to the
head and body.' But he still was coming. He put up one hell of a fight." His suspect hands did not give out on him this time although
he said: "I always have a little problem with my hands." But he said
the Japanese-made gloves, Winning, which apparently offer greater protection for
the hands, " made a big difference". Chavez, 28, said he felt his body attack was slowing
Mayweather down but added: "I give it to Floyd. He got my number. I could
see his punches coming but I couldn't get out of the way in time." Although Chavez had won 31 fights in a row in a record of 35
wins and one loss (24 KOs) going into the bout, he was stepping up to meet a
superstar-level champion and his earnest hustling was not enough. The crowd encouraged Chavez's spirited assaults but Mayweather
was cool and self-possessed, even calling out words of greeting or assurance to
the HBO commentators and other acquaintances at ringside. At one point referee
Jon Schorle told Mayweather not to hold and Pretty Boy protested that his arm
had got caught in the ropes, then shrugged it off in an "Oh well, why
worry?" fashion. When Mayweather went to the ropes it was with the guile of a
Roy Jones, well-covered and alert, turning his body and moving his head so
punches that weren't blocked were seldom landing flush. We saw a little of everything, from Muhammad Ali's
rope-a-dope, to a Willie Pep sidestep that had Chavez facing the wrong way, to
Sugar Ray Robinson-type two-fisted barrages. There was also a round of
stick-and-move stuff in the sixth. (The crowd didn't like that, nor did the
judges, all of whom gave the round to Chavez.) And there was a lot of clean, accurate punching, especially on
the outside when Mayweather had his man clearly in his sights. There were moments when Chavez seemed to be doing rather well,
fists churning, hitting whatever he could, but then Mayweather would check him
with corrective counter punches, at times moving Chavez back with the right
hand. Then Chavez would come storming in again, and the crowd loved it. But
Chavez couldn't keep taking it Mayweather suffered a slight cut over the right eye and some
puffiness and discolouration under it: every so often Chavez got through with
the left hook on top or even some useful left jabs that had the three-inch
taller champion looking a little surprised. But the really hard punches, the
shots that shake a man down to his boots and crumble his resistance, were coming
from Mayweather. This was shown on the scorecards of the judges. Lou Filippo
had Mayweather ahead by 89-82, Marty Sammon saw it 88-83 and Tom Kaczmarek
87-84. Chavez didn't win a round after the sixth on any of the official
scorecards. Chavez started the eighth round with a rush but was being
punished severely by the end of it, with Mayweather's right hands, right
uppercuts and left hooks coming in fast and hard. In the ninth Chavez again started the round in aggressive
fashion but he had been broken down to the point where Mayweather was easily
able to push him back and pound him with combinations. Now Chavez was starting
to sag a little when he was getting hit, his resiliency compromised by the
accumulative effect of the blows he had taken. He is a game fighter but there was something in his body
language that indicated he had had enough; an expression of resignation in his
eyes. Trainer Shields saw it, too. He didn't ask Chavez if he wanted to continue
(very few boxers would answer in the negative to such a question); he took the
decision himself to pull his man out. There were boos, a brief chant of
"bullshit", but Shields did the right thing. Chavez hadn't been
knocked down and, to those seated farther back it might have seemed that the
challenger was still in the fight. But in actuality, he was in the vulnerable
position where another series of punches could have hurt him - as in really hurt
him. Chavez said afterwards he agreed with the corner decision to
stop the stop the fight. "I was getting beat," he admitted. "I know that Floyd was the better man tonight. I take my
hat off to him. What can I say? I gave it my best shot. I tried hard. I know I
gave him a hell of a fight. There'll be better times." Mayweather said: "My game plan was to take my time and
stay focused and let my experience work for me. Even though he's got a lot more
fights than me, I've been in a lot more bigger fights than he has. It was a good
fight for me. This was what I needed. It was my last fight at 130 [pounds]. I'm
looking forward to moving up to 135 pounds, hopefully 140, because I'm a lot
stronger at those weight classes. "For this fight I had to lose a lot of weight. I wasn't
that strong [at 130lbs] but I feel like I was built for boxing: I have a
God-given talent." So you have, Floyd. |
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