This past weekend Floyd Mayweather dominated his way to a 12 round unanimous decision over the tough Puerto Rican native Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas. While Mayweather was a 5-1 favorite by many bookies, what was not expected was how Mayweather actually fought Cotto.
Mayweather stood his ground and went toe to toe with the heavy handed Cotto and while Mayweather put on one of his best boxing performances to date. However it has been sadly overshadowed by one of the darker days that boxing has seen in while.
Lamont Peterson who handed Amir Khan his second loss this past December was caught using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in surprise drug test that was administered in March. While, the boxing world should be a little more excited that Mayweather actually showed his grit and toughness has been marred by the drug conversation and understandably so. Floyd’s win is overshadowed by a PED case and with a fighter who has just seemed to come into his own and possibly on the cusp of being considered a legitimate champion has set back not only himself and his career but also boxing in general.
PEDs are not a new thing, however what used to be considered only used in a small fraction of sports has been linked to every sport on earth it seems. In the current state of sports and how much money an athlete can make in their respective sport also comes the pressure of being at the top of their game every single day, year round.
While the average individual is concerned about high cholesterol or not being at their ideal weight at age 30 or fitting into their size 32 pants, athletes are expected to be the alpha male, the example that all others should aspire to be in some way and with such high expectations comes the need to find an “edge”.
Furthermore, pro athletes have far more access to designer drugs, masking agents and whatever else they need to stay ahead of drug testing. They also have a little more disposable income than the average individual which allows them to spend however much they need in order to keep
their performance top notch while keeping their name clean.
Lamont Peterson is not the first athlete to get caught cheating, nor will he be the last. In all cases, Peterson may get off of this case if he can prove to the Nevada athletic commission he had paperwork and exemptions needed to use the ever so popular testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Where an athlete claims a doctor prescribes the athlete TRT because he has low testosterone at 28 years old.
Perhaps I am a pessimist, but I have a hard time believing Peterson or any of these athletes who are linked to TRT actually need the therapy, at least not at age 28, or even 33. Then again, I have never gone to the doctor because I felt tired, less than 100 percent, moody or any of the other reasons athletes are giving for excuses these days. I do believe that certain people may actually need TRT just not athletes in their “prime”, unless there was a previous issue, or perhaps they were already a cheater and realize the difference a drug/illegal substance can make.
Finally, a while back I wrote an article about UFC making a splash on FOX. While, I still believe the UFC
is trying to making a move into the boxing fans base, it seems now instead of going up against boxing they are trying to piggyback off of big fights. I do not see it as a surprise that UFC just happened to schedule two of their UFC FOX fight cards the same night as boxing two biggest draws, Pacquiao and Mayweather.
While this past weekend should have been about how good Mayweather look, has turned out to be one of the least talked about things of the weekend. Between Justin Bieber walking in the ring with Mayweather and the Peterson drug test, Mayweathers performance was the last thing on boxing fans minds. At least until he goes to jail in 3 weeks.
@ Kerry, Thanks I truly appreciate the encouragment. Sometimes I wonder how many REAL fans are left out there that truly appreciate the sport at its highest level. Fans that understand that boxing is at its best when integrity and sportsmenship is upheld. I feel bad for all those up and coming fighters that will find out the hard way that they aren’t in a fair fight. I believe REAL fans share that fighting spirit the fighters have, I just think we apply it in different ways than in the ring. I will always luv the sport of boxing I just don’t have the same respect for it anymore. Thx again Kerry for you comment,Good lookin out.
Jay, don’t give up on boxing yet. I seemed to have the same attitude as you after Leonard/Hagler. I felt that the result was scripted and boxing was becoming, (remaining?) controlled behind the scenes. I remember telling people before Mayweather/Cotto that Cotto had better KO Floyd because there’s no way in hell their gonna jeopardize the Pac/Floyd cash cow regardless of how well Miguel does in the ring. The night of the fight, I actually scored it 115-113 for Cotto. Watched it the next day without the volume/HBO Floyd fan club, (Emanuel, Jim, Larry) and had it a 114-114 draw. Whatever happened to the challenger (Floyd) taking the title from the champion (Cotto)? A prime example is rounds 1&2. The judges gave Mayweather those rounds. Really? How did the challenger win those rounds from the champion? The sad fact about all this is that after his stay in prison, I have the feeling Mayweather is going to fight a faded former champ or two, avoid Manny like the plague, mumble about drug testing or a 60/40 split, then retire wondering why he’s not replacing Sugar Ray Robinson on everyones greatest of all time lists. Because we all saw PBF’s head snapping back, his nose bleeding, the thudding body shots drowning out Emanuel Steward talk about how none of Cotto’s shots were penetrating Floyds shoulder roll defense. I know what I saw. I don’t need to hear a “judge” tell me it was a 118-110 beatdown.
Anyway Jay, this started out as a letter to cheer you up and to keep your posts coming. Turned into more of a reaffirmation of what you had posted about what’s wrong with boxing. Seems like i’ve wanted to forget about boxing more times than I can count, then a Gatti/Ward, Corrales/Castillo, Hagler/Hearns comes along and I realize just how cool this sport really is. I’ll look foreword to your post after Pacquiao/Bradley. -KS
I agree with both Tijuana, and Nick. Yeah maybe Cotto lost the fight but I think the judges failed to give credit where its due, I believe they were protecting their cash cow from a close decision, they didn’t want to take a chance on floyd losing a split decision because they want to leave the doors open for a possible Pac vs May fight, in other words $. I’m not saying Cotto won the fight, Im saying that It was alot closer than alot of ppl are willing to admit, which in all honesty is exactly what I expected. In my posts before the fight I said Cotto wouldn’t get a fair shake if it came to a decision, I always knew he would need to Knock Floyd out or beat him to within an inch of his life to win. Nick couldn’t be more right about Floyd having alot of things about him exposed in this fight and that Cotto didn’t get credit for all the shots he landed that weren’t head shots. Tijuana is right in saying that Cotto deserves more credit for his performance. The simple facts are that Floyd didn’t look pretty at all and Cotto may not have won but he still shocked the world in making Floyd look so bad, but its something honest boxing fans and Floyd himself always knew would happen if he took on a real world class opponent. I believe Cotto was showen great disrespect by those score cards. One time I said that even if Floyd was good enough to beat Cotto, Cotto would still walk out of the ring the better man and a greater champion than Floyd can ever hope to be. I believe I was proven right by the way Cotto accepts his losses and the way he carries himself even though he disagrees with the decision. Cotto never needed anyone to make him great, Floyd needed alot of hype and gimicks, and he needed Vegas. Miguel Cotto Still is the better man and is a better champion in my book.
I’m truly saddend by what I’m about to say because I love the sport of boxing. I have lost great respect for boxing in general, the refs, the judges, the promoters, the networks, and the fighters in light of all the nonsence going on with peds. Boxing has turned into a big joke, its become hollywood like. I grew up watching boxing. its actually been a part of my life, but this fight was “IT” for me. I’m not saying I won’t watch some fights but my heart will never be in the sport again, I won’t be buying into the hype anymore or buying fights at all for that matter; its just not worth the disappointment no matter who the fighters are. Pro Boxing was the king of sports to me, MMA can only live in the shadow and hope to be as great a sport as Boxing (WAS). It was the sweet science, the ultimate test of a warrior, an athiets ultimate test of mind ,body ,and spirit. What boxing is now? I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine. I know one thing, its not the boxing I once knew. There was always controvercy in boxing but its gone to a level that makes this sport almost unrecognizable to me. My love for boxing has faded because its turned into just another reality show, its turned into pro wrestling (just entertainment). Never thought I’d see the day boxing would turn into just another business.
Its been great sharing opinions and debating with you guys in here, but I don’t think I’ll be making many comments if any. Had some good laughs here. God bless you guys and take care.
I had Cotto winning several rounds as he didn’t get credit for his body work or the punches he would land elsewhere as a result of his body attack. Maybe more than Mayweather slowing up, Cotto put his punches together and took something out of Floyd. Miguel also exposed Mayweather when he got up on his toes to box in and out. Floyd is a counter puncher and needs to be set. But when forced to come out and attack, he didn’t look very good at all. Don’t agree with the scorecards at all. Cotto made the fight happen which is one reason Floyd landed some good shots and dominated certain rounds. Other than that, Miguel was close to a draw looking at the fight in real time.
Mayweather didn’t look good at all, at times he actually looked slow, possibly in effect of the hard body shots Cotto was landing, when was the last time anyone has seen Mayweather get tag with a triple jab? and bleeding?
Everyone including me thought Mayweather was going to win every round and possible KO Cotto.. That didn’t happen, we need to give credit to Cotto for doing what everyone thought he couldn’t do anymore..Mayweather is slowing down..he took some good shots and I give credit to him for that,, but I think Cotto deserves more credit, he looked much better that anyone thought he would, and Mayweather looked bad compared to what we are accustom to see from him.
I agree Gabreal, such a great weekend of boxing, and the top story is Peterson testing positive for testosterone. Boxing takes one step forward and two steps back…again.
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