I hope Floyd "Money" Mayweather isn't attempting to silence his haters. If they are still yapping now, nothing he does in the ring will ever shut them up.
Money tweeted this, but I'm sure he realizes this mega announcement will only satisfy a portion of the boxing world.
Agreeing to fight Canelo Alvarez was the right move for the sport—as Money and Canelo are two of the biggest names active—and both stand to make a boat load of cash from the event, per Ben Thompson of Fight Hype.
Based on Money's edge in quickness, in-ring intelligence, instincts and experience, he should win this fight by unanimous decision or late stoppage.
But win or lose in the fight, Mayweather won't win over anyone who isn't already a fan. He's 44-0 with 26 KOs and he has a healthy number of future Hall of Famers on his list of victims.
Money is the best fighter of his generation; if that's not enough to garner respect, then nothing is.
Much of the boxing world pined for Mayweather to fight Alvarez; now that he's agreed to it, there are still fans who look to take shots at the biggest fight in the sport.
Haters of the In-Ring Style
Per Martin Rogers of Yahoo! Sports, Mayweather's performance against Robert Guerrero was called "boring" by some fans in attendance on May 4.
While I can appreciate a bloody war like Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios' first fight, there is equal—if not more—technical beauty in a virtuoso Mayweather performance.
We do all understand this is a sport with a points system, different styles and the like, right?
Beyond that, I don't think anyone should describe what Mayweather did in the ring with Robert Guerrero as boring. He was masterful in tagging Guerrero almost at will and avoiding shots.
This sport is defined as the art of hitting and not getting hit, rather than getting hit, but trying to hit a little harder.
Fighters like Mayweather and super middleweight kingpin Andre Ward must beware of falling into the trap of altering their styles to appease those who don't appreciate what they do.
Ward gets flack for his defensive style, but last I checked he's No. 2 on almost everyone's pound-for-pound list and he's undefeated. Check out these tweets from John Wharton of BritBox Magazine after discussion began about a Carl Froch-Ward rematch.
If it isn't broken, don't try to fix it.
The worst thing Mayweather could do against Alvarez is attempt to trade with the naturally bigger man to prove a point. This is exactly what Money did against Miguel Cotto in 2012. Though he won the fight, he looked the worst anyone has seen him look since his first fight with Jose Luis Castillo in 2002.
Knockdown, drag-out battles are not Mayweather's style. He is too physically and mentally gifted in the ring to fight that way. That style is best suited for a fighter without all of Mayweather's resources.
Fighters who are surviving in the sport more on heart than talent and/or in-ring IQ have to fight that way. Some fans will always respect a fighter like that more.
There is nothing Mayweather can do to appeal to that fanbase. If he tries, he'll only put himself in unnecessary danger. When and if he were to lose fighting that style, his critics won't say, "At least he went out swinging."
They'll make and circulate GIFs, memes and other social media mocking him lying flat on the mat. It is a no-win situation.
Haters of the Persona
An equally pointless task would be for Mayweather to try to sway the opinions of fans who don't care for his persona.
Money the fight promoter is brash, braggadocios and cocky. Some fans hate that image and would love nothing better than to see him knocked out.
No matter whom Mayweather fights and defeats, this group of fans will never be satisfied until Money loses. If he fights long enough, ultimately they will get their wish.
Hate Fueled By Misconception
The tweet that set this sub-topic in motion mentioned the Money-Pacquiao saga. "The Fight That Never Was" dominated boxing conversations for the better part of the last four years. Somehow, the perception that Mayweather was ducking Pac-Man seemed to become popular opinion.
However, if you take a look back at news reports like this one from 2009, it proves Mayweather is the one who initially sought out Pacquiao. Somewhere in the talk of Olympic-style drug testing, horrible racial slurs, jail sentences and mega venues, this point was lost.
The racial slur and jail stint are embarrassing black eyes to Mayweather's reputation, but they don't change history—even if the instances did contribute to negative public perception.
The best fighter in the world is unfairly labeled a chicken by fans who are either uninformed or choosing to ignore the facts.
Chances are, this group is too far gone for Mayweather to recover as well.
By all means, Money should fight the best fighters from now until he hangs up the gloves. I just hope he doesn't expect any future successes to add to his fanbase.
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