The teacher turned the student into a dunce in a summer school lesson in boxing as Floyd Mayweather Jr. conducted a masterful clinic at Robert Guerrero’s expense to score a unanimous 12-round decision before 15,880 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last Saturday.
Mayweather, 36, said he’ll wind up his six-fight contract with the Showtime network in 2015 and call it quits with enough dough in the bank to last several lavish lifetimes. That means he’s got five more bouts to go and the next one will probably be against unbeaten 22-year-old WBC/WBA lightmiddleweight champion Saul (Canelo) Alvarez of Mexico on Sept. 14, falling on Mexico’s Independence Day weekend. Will Manny Pacquiao fit into the schedule is a question mark.
At the moment, Mayweather is undoubtedly the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. He’s got a 44-0 record, with 26 KOs, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone in the horizon with a chance of staining his mark, including Alvarez. If Pacquiao gets a shot, maybe, the Filipino ring icon might make Mayweather finally eat humble pie – he has the tools to do it, the concern is if the fighting Congressman from Sarangani still has the desire to get it done.
Against Guerrero, Mayweather was simply untouchable. He made the challenger look like two cents, weaving in and out of harm’s way with dizzying footspeed and crafty positioning. Whenever Guerrero charged in, Mayweather either stopped him in his tracks with a jarring right lead or stepped away. Guerrero, nicknamed the Ghost, disappeared from view. Mayweather had no difficulty finding his target and landed an incredible 60 percent of his power shots, 153 of 254. On the whole, Mayweather’s connection rate was 41 percent to Guerrero’s 19 percent. The disparity in competence was like night and day.
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Guerrero had boasted he would deal Mayweather his first loss, that he would outsmart, outgun and overpower the Money Man. Nothing like that happened last Saturday. Mayweather proved too quick and slick to be outmaneuvered in a tactical encounter. He was in control from the onset, jarring Guerrero with rights and keeping him at bay. The only chink in Mayweather’s armor was his inability to put Guerrero away but he quickly dismissed the notion of his fading power by claiming injury in his right hand. Guerrero was badly cut over the left eye and thoroughly outpunched yet never appeared to be in danger of going down. Despite the injury, Mayweather used the right hand almost exclusively from start to finish, making fans wonder if he was really hurt. In the eighth round, Mayweather dumped 23 of 33 power shots on Guerrero but couldn’t close it out.
“Mayweather barely threw any left hands, beating Guerrero basically with one hand which his father Floyd Sr. noticed,†wrote Dan Rafael of espn.com. Mayweather’s father made a successful comeback as chief trainer after a 13-year disengagement and displayed his influence on defense. Floyd Sr. said his son called him back to work on his defense because that was an aspect where he needed improvement. In beating Miguel Cotto last year, Mayweather was bloodied and got hit more than usual. He was also rocked by Sugar Shane Mosley in their 2010 duel. “I’m back working with my father,†said Mayweather quoted by Gareth Davies. “My defense was there for him – the less you get hit, the longer you last.â€
What was startling in Mayweather’s performance was his display of hand and footspeed. It didn’t look like he came off a one-year rest from his previous fight, like he was released only last August after 70 days in jail, like he was 36 fighting a 30-year-old. Mayweather was in shape to go the distance and did it without almost raising a sweat. Guerrero’s failure to execute a Plan B made Mayweather look more impressive. But that shouldn’t be an issue against Mayweather who exposed Guerrero’s lack of appreciation of tactics. Floyd Sr. said his son will even be more dominant in his next fight. “I was hoping he would throw more hooks behind the right but he hasn’t fought in a year,†said the proud dad. “He did the majority of everything he could and tried to do a lot of different things.â€
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The fighter who will beat Mayweather must be smarter, quicker and stronger. He’s got to be able to cut the ring off on Mayweather and take away his lateral movement. He’s got to force Mayweather to engage, toe-to-toe, blow-for-blow. He’s got to make Mayweather doubt himself, commit mistakes and lure him out of his comfort zone which is in the middle of the ring. Mayweather will try to rake a southpaw like Pacquiao with the right hand lead – if Pacquiao neutralizes that weapon and counters off it by stepping into Money’s attack zone, he might just be vulnerable after all. But until then, Mayweather is on top of the world.
Assuming the Mayweather-Guerrero fight brought in 1.5 million pay-per-view hits, the gross will amount to over $90 Million. The “regular†access fee was $59.95. The high-definition subscription was for $10 more. Additionally, the fight was shown in about 400 movie theaters across the US at $15 a pop. Mayweather was guaranteed $32 Million for the fight and because he’s his own promoter, he’ll bankroll roughly 90 percent of the net profit from every conceivable revenue stream. He could punch all the way to the bank with close to $80 Million like he did in the Cotto bout.