After beating Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-2-1) Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas via a unanimous decision, the boxing world witnessed another chapter in Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s (44-0) storied career.
As great as this marquee fight was overall, it had its fair share of ups and downs.
While the 44th win of Mayweather’s career will be one fans remember fondly over time, the memorable portions of the show Saturday night were hindered by the bad and the ugly that infiltrated the event.
This was the good, bad and ugly of the Mayweather vs. Guerrero mega fight.
The Good
Whether boxing fans witnessed this in their own homes, live in Las Vegas or with friends at the local watering hole, Mayweather beat Guerrero convincingly and added yet another name to his already impressive resume.
There has been contention about the lack of talent Money has fought over his career and whether or not he should be considered one of the top fighters of all time, but Saturday night there was no question that he was the best fighter in the ring and a dominant force once again.
UFC fighter Ross Pearson talked about Mayweather’s talents on just how good the undefeated champion really is:
Even after a year layoff, Mayweather looked like the pound-for-pound toughest man in the sport.
Money wasn’t at his most accurate against the stellar defense of Guerrero— he landed 195 of 476 punches—but hit the big shots when he knew they would be there—he landed 153 of 254 power shots—(h/t Yahoo! Sports).
This wasn’t Mayweather’s sexiest fight, but he got the job done.
The Bad
As much as Guerrero came into this fight heralded as a legitimate contender that could stun the undefeated champion, Mayweather had no problem controlling the pace of the fight and landing the open shots he wanted at will.
Guerrero had defeated Andre Berto in his last fight and was looking to use that same template against Money in the biggest fight of his life. Unfortunately for The Ghost, Mayweather’s defense and speed proved to be too much as he struggled to land any of his shots.
After all the talk about The Ghost nickname coming from his punching speed, Guerrero may have thrown plenty of punches (581 overall), but only 113 landed. Mayweather’s defensive skills and lateral quickness frustrated the challenger all night.
The Ghost couldn’t land combinations on Money, and that ultimately cost him the win.
The Ugly
Floyd Mayweather is one of the greatest champions of the modern era, but as he continues to get older (36 years old), his defensive style and willingness to leave it in the hands of the judges has made his fights less and less interesting to watch.
Not only has Money’s in-ring style slowed and become less aggressive, his choice of opponents and the lackluster depth of the welterweight division in boxing right now is hurting the hype around the upcoming fights for Mayweather.
Some fans may have found this fight interesting, but even boxing legend George Foreman noticed that Mayweather had shifted into neutral in the latter stages of this matchup:
While Guerrero was a serious contender, Mayweather has proved once again that he is the pound-for-pound toughest fighter in the world and he should be challenging the top stars to prove his spot amongst the greatest of all time.
Taking a fight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez would quiet these criticisms, but avoiding him would only confirm the sentiment that he takes the easiest fights.
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