By Mike I.
Unless you are a very
casual boxing fan or a huge fan of Logan Paul’s, no one was shocked Floyd
Mayweather beat him easily in their recent bout. However, any hardcore boxing
enthusiast, loyal to boxing was shocked he didn’t knock him out in two or three
rounds.
It can be debated that
Floyd is getting older, or Paul was so much bigger and younger, despite being
completely out matched experience wise. No matter the circumstance, there is no
other reason Floyd did not destroy Paul other than he just carried him for
multiple rounds. Many could say there are all kinds of reasons for that, but in
the end, that seems to be what he happened in this bout.
There is literally
video of Mayweather hitting Paul and holding him up to keep him from hitting
the canvas. What may be the real reason that Floyd looked like a king cobra
playing with a little mouse instead of looking like a Jack Russell Terrier
viciously nipping away at an awkward and confused St. Bernard is simple: Paul was just no challenge for the greatness
of Floyd.
This bout looked more
like a glorified sparring session than a bout of any quality. Although it
looked like a sparring match with Paul, there was an actual sparring match
years ago with another Paul. That Paul is Paul Spadafora. Known as “The
Pittsburgh Kid,” his roots in the tough fight city of Pittsburgh was where Spadafora
became one of the purest boxers of Floyd’s time.
Spadafora is the one fighter
who would be a challenge for Floyd. Spadafora was one of the true greats of
Floyd’s time, and whipped him handily in a sparring session some time back.
That sparring session was recorded and the footage leaked on the internet. This
footage made the boxing world curious, as it was rumored the Floyd camp was
even interested in giving Paul a shot at him to set the record straight about
who the better fighter was.
Unfortunately,
Spadafora had multiple problems outside the ring, and to promoters and
matchmakers, the fight must have seemed like too much of a risk as the contest
never happened. Now Spadafora is in boxing exile.
For anyone saying, “Well
that was just a sparring session,” or, “Floyd was out of shape for that
session,” I respond with this: Floyd is never out of shape, and there was a rumor
that Floyd said this sparring session made him commit to never be out of shape
again. So, if there is nothing to fear now and he is always in shape, what does
he have to worry about now?
Some may ask why Floyd
would risk his undefeated record for a guy who blew his chance with Floyd years
ago because of his bad behavior outside of the ring. The simple answer is it is
not worth it. Yet, Floyd is a special athlete, and I think for him there can be
special rules in place for a potential matchup between Spadafora and Mayweather.
Seeing how Floyd breaks the rules all the time with these crossover fights, who
is to say what the rules need to be right?
My proposed rule for a decision in a potential showdown with Spadafora is if by some chance Floyd loses to Spadafora, the loss will be expunged from his record. This would make it worth Floyd’s time to even consider a guy who is a risk in more ways than one. I’m confident Floyd would have his hands full with Spadafora. The main thing that makes this interesting is the footage of Spadafora beating Mayweather up round after round in that sparring session years ago.
To be clear, I am not mad
that Floyd is making a mockery or circus out of boxing. Boxing has always been
a bit of a circus and has always had crazy circumstances around it. Jack
Dempsey, arguably one of the most famous boxers in history, went around the
country to bars and asked owners to let him fight the troublemakers in the bar simply
for a steak dinner and some whiskey in return. It is hard to think Floyd is
doing something to diminish the respectability of boxing. As Mike Tyson said
about the bout on Logan Paul’s podcast, “How low could boxing go? Boxing can
only go up. You can’t take it any lower.”
I agree with Mr.
Tyson. Boxing can only go up, and one way for that to happen would be a fight
between Floyd and a respectable fighter who Roy Jones started fighting after a
comeback to the ring, Paul Spadafora. To paraphrase Mr. Tyson in that same
Logan Paul podcast interview, he said things like crossover matches can broaden
the public’s horizons about boxing, and it can show the sport as a skillful art
form.
Now that Floyd has
maybe done that with this last bout, maybe he could take it even one step further
and show people the real art boxing is and bring the guy who is the other true
pure boxer of his time to the main stage with him, so they can show the world
in style the real beauty of the craft. However, if he continues to literally
carry opponents like he did with Logan Paul, then I don’t see how he is showing
the public the beautiful side of boxing. Maybe that is just me though.
Another point for a
Mayweather vs. Spadafora fight is that it would be a dream come true Spadafora,
and Floyd would be giving the mainstream public and hardcore boxing fans alike
a great show. Spadafora, who has the potential to be a modern-day “Cinderella
Man” with a victory, has a history worth looking into. After losing his father
at a young age, having a mother who really wasn’t able to support him, and
having multiple alleged problems with drugs alcohol and with the law, Spadafora
was still one of the most talented, yet unrecognized fighters of Floyd’s time.
If there is one thing boxing fans love more than a great match up between two
greats, they love a great comeback story. That comeback story potential is
there for Spadafora, who is a walking, talking comeback story.
Boxing fans just want
to see the guy who may have quite literally whipped Floyd into shape for the
rest of his career, and they want to see how much of a fluke that really was. I
will tell you this: Even if it wasn’t a
fluke, Floyd adjusts in the middle of rounds and throughout fights. He has one
of the highest ring IQs of all-time, so no matter what, Spadafora will have the
fight of his life on his hands against Floyd.
In closing, I urge
Floyd to give boxing fans one last show in a fight against the one guy of his
era who needs a shot more than ever. That will give us the type of fight worth
paying the money people put out for the Logan Paul fight.
Paul Spadafora (Photo Courtesy of BoxRec)
