After all the talk and all the buildup, Floyd “Money” Mayweather (44-0) defeated Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-2-1) tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas via a unanimous decision. All three judges ruled the bout 117-111 in favor of Money May.
Both Mayweather and Guerrero engaged in a vicious war of words that added to the hype around this fight, but it was once again the toughness and speed of Mayweather that made the difference in this bout.
As great as The Ghost may be, he’s not on the same level as Money May.
Mayweather’s legendary career continues unblemished as he puts to rest the talk that at 36 years old he is coming to the end of his reign as the pound-for-pound champion. Money appeared to have trouble with the power of Miguel Cotto at times in his previous fight, but that wasn’t the case tonight.
Using the quickness of his hands and the smoothness of his feet, Mayweather proved that Father Time has not caught up with him yet. With the way Money fought Saturday night, the twilight of the undefeated champion’s career is still quite bright.
As for Guerrero, the loss was frankly expected, but the valiant effort The Ghost put forth proved that he belongs in the upper echelon of the elite welterweight division. While Mayweather walked away victorious, Guerrero validated his career by just stepping in the ring with the legend.
While this was a huge win for Money, the prize fighter must start to figure out an exit strategy from the sport. At 36 years old and fighting once or twice a year, it’s possible for Mayweather and his advisers to start mapping out exactly how many fights the champion has left.
At 44-0, Mayweather has done everything in the sport. While the elusive superfight with Manny Pacquiao is still something that could still conceivably come to fruition, the likelihood that Money would risk is record against a fighter like Pac-Man is not likely anymore.
That means Mayweather will have to start fighting the best young fighters the sport has to offer, including someone like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
While this isn’t the marquee matchup many casual boxing fans had hoped for, rest assured, a possible Mayweather vs. Alvarez bout would outdraw all expectations.
Mayweather and his team may be planning the end of his storied career, but Guerrero is entering the best years of his boxing life financially after facing off and standing toe-to-toe with a future Hall of Famer like Mayweather.
An interesting next possible opponent for Guerrero would be the power-punching Miguel Cotto.
No matter who these two men square off against next, the show they put on in Las Vegas Saturday night was worthy of the hype that surrounded this fight.
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