By: Sean Crose
“Do not go gentle into that good night.” These words from the poet Dylan Thomas were directed towards his father who was close to death. And although no one is expecting or hoping Floyd Mayweather to die anytime soon, the man may well admire the poets’ words. For, years after his last professional fight which was against UFC star Conor McGregor, Mayweather is once again in the spotlight. Sure enough the man is regularly in the spotlight. Now though he’s ubiquitous across social media. Why? Because word is endlessly circulating that he’s coming back and not exactly in exhibition form. And against a major competition no less.
Not that long ago word was out that Mayweather would fight Mike Tyson. Then word arrived that he would be having a rematch with his arch rival Manny Pacquiao, a man also well beyond over the hill. And now word has arrived that Mayweather will be facing the young buck Ryan Garcia. Reading Garcia’s social media posts, it’s hard not to at least suspect the fight may go down between the two men. It will be ridiculous, undoubtedly lucrative, and will prove yet again that novelty fights are not yet riding off into the sunset as many of us had hoped.
Seriously, is any of this worth getting excited about? Not if we care about the health of our aging athletes. Boxing is a beyond dangerous sport and even though Mayweather practiced a safety first style even he wasn’t immune from solid blows. Just ask Shane Mosley or Pacquiao himself. Mayweather simply put is arguably too old to be fighting. Yet fight again he may, ridiculously in the case of Garcia against a man who is far far younger than him. Would it not be a fiasco? Mayweather would likely lose, see his perfect record fade away and become another sad case of a boxer crossing a bridge too far.
To make matters even more frustrating, Mayweather will have been beaten by a kid he could have easily handled not all that long ago. No offense to Garcia who’s a talented in popular fighter, but he’s nowhere near the realm Mayweather was in his day. Few were. Mayweather is rumored to have money problems, but is that enough to get him back into the ring, especially against a power hitter like Garcia? The thought of the man facing Pacquiao at least seems like a battle of equals. They’d both be too old to fight of course but at least they’d be fighting a fellow albeit aged opponent from a previous era.
Tyson simply put his too big for Mayweather. Plus after the Jake Paul disaster who wants to see the former heavyweight legend back in the ring again? Tyson arguably doesn’t need this no matter how lucrative it might seem. Boxing is a serious sport, not a circus. Knowledge of this is something Mayweather and Tyson and yes Pacquiao have in common. The siren song of one more big event that can bring down a lot of money is no doubt enticing. Is it worth these guy’s health however?
The truth is that George Foreman was an anomaly. Yes he came out of retirement looking less than impressive at first but he had the skill and the mindset to carry himself through to a second heavyweight title reign. It’s worth keeping in mind however that Foreman was far younger than most of the fighters mentioned here when he defeated then champion Michael Moore in grand fashion back in the mid-90s. To try to emulate the man is a dangerous endeavor.
