How to Beat a Mayweather

by Paul Magno

As Shane Mosley and Naazim Richardson prepare for the daunting task of trying to beat one of boxing's modern day masters, The Boxing Tribune has set out to aid the duo and help establish the blueprint for beating Floyd Mayweather.

No fighter is undefeatable and, while not an easy job at all, Mayweather is surely not invincible.

Sure, all of this is easier said than done, but the point is that it can be done...It's just going to take a hell of a fighter to put it all together:

It's not you, it's me

There is one major mistake trainers make when preparing for Floyd Mayweather- They put too much focus on Mayweather. They study tapes, dream up strategies and make plans to counter and befuddle Mayweather's unique style. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing. Mayweather opponents should familiarize themselves with Mayweather's style and trainers should come up with a proper strategy to nullify it.

But the answer to the Mayweather riddle doesn't lie within Floyd's steel trap defense or sharp focus. Frankly, there are no weaknesses to exploit, no glaring lapses in technique.

Instead of focusing on Floyd, a trainer would be better suited focusing on his own guy, making him sharp and as error-free as humanly possible. Taking a fighter and making him a flawless paragon of his own style is key.

Play the Angles

Mayweather employs the famous “shoulder roll” style that turns traditional boxing geometry into a null and void jumble of missed shots and uncomfortable angles.

Fighters learn their craft in 1-2 steps...Mayweather works on 1.5, 1.7, 2.3...Off to the side and always at odd angles, Mayweather is a mystery to most....and as the fight progresses and desperation sets in, that mystery deepens.

What anyone fighting Floyd has to understand is the basic logic taught to us in Geometry: The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

The fighters who have success with Mayweather are those who can throw sharp, tight, straight punches. A sharp jab has been pointed to as a key to solving the riddle, but sharp, compact straight rights and lefts can also lead to success.

Swinging for the fences will lead to zero success against Floyd; Tight, straight compact shots, at the very least, will cut the distance and put some leather on Mayweather.

Waste not, Want not

Mayweather feasts on wasted movement. When his odd angles throw opponents off balance or his defensive stance forces foes to over-commit, his job becomes frighteningly easy; It's really just a matter of stepping off and unloading on off-balance, defenseless targets.

Make no mistake about it, if you overpursue, you will get pot-shot to death from a supremely quick-fisted and always in command Mayweather.

Fighters who have found success against Floyd have been mature, fundamentally sound boxers who don't burn through logic and reason by trying to take the fight to Mayweather. Instead, they focus on what they do best, stay within their own skill set and don't make a counter puncher's job easier by deviating off the script.

These are the types of fighters who make Mayweather's life miserable. These are the guys who Mayweather, in order to ensure the victory, has to go after and beat rather than just wait for exploitable errors to take advantage of.

The “Money” Mayweather of 2010 has become spoiled and has relied too much on being so much more fundamentally sound and technically superior to his opposition; He hasn't been made to force the issue against a fighter who simply refuses to give Floyd anything to exploit and counter.

Jose Luis Castillo, Oscar De la Hoya and Zab Judah are examples of fighters who “wasted not” and, as a result, gave Mayweather some of his closest battles.

“Think Buddha”

“There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt... It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.” -- The Buddha

To beat Mayweather, one has to focus on the here and now. You have to take each exchange as it comes and focus on doing the right thing on a case by case basis.

Be fundamentally sound, don't waste punches or movement, keep punches short and straight, make Mayweather take the intiative and make him pay for every exchange you get into...Those are the nuts and bolts keys to beating Floyd Mayweather.

The psychological key to the entire task, though, may be just as vital. Anyone fighting Mayweather will be frustrated and demoralized at times...The secret is being strong enough to push those moments aside and focus on the big picture.

Beating Mayweather is no easy task and it becomes increasingly more difficult when doubt begins to creep in and affect the sharpness of a fighter's performance. Mayweather's vanquisher will focus on winning rounds and will have the maturity to put the setbacks aside, little by little, taking the fight away from Floyd and forcing him to deviate from the script.

“A jug fills drop by drop.” -- The Buddha

This Saturday, May 1^st, we'll see if Shane Mosley has the mental and physical goods to handle this huge task.

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Save Our Heroes: Take The Legends on the Road and Away from the Main Stage

by Paul Magno

A few years ago I had the honor of co-promoting an event which featured a comeback of sorts for Mexican legend, Ruben "El Puas" Olivares. Actually, it was more of quick money grab for the 59 year old former bantamweight and featherweight world champion.

Olivares was having a tough time and was just about broke. I can attest to his sad state because I was a co-trainer in his gym down here in Central Mexico and I had to deal with the unsavory characters that would burst through the doors looking to collect the debt; These were the types of guys who made other guys disappear, if you know what I mean.

It was a sad state of affairs for a national hero and one of the true greats of the sport.

Obviously, "El Puas" couldn't make a real comeback at his age and in his condition. The alternative was to cash in on his fame and put some bucks into his pocket. We put some feelers out among the population and came up with more than a few businessmen willing to associate themselves with Olivares.

Ultimately, a local gym owner put up a purse of twenty thousand pesos for the privilege of going a few rounds with a legend. A card was constructed around the exhibition and fans were jam-packed into an auditorium to catch a glimpse of a legendary figure in Mexican sports. The fight itself was more of a low-end sparring session; Three rounds of two minutes each with 16 oz. gloves, but from the fan reaction, you would've thought that this was the Olivares of old, battling Bobby Chacon at the Forum in Inglewood, CA.

That night, Ruben Olivares added some much-needed money to his bank account and was able to bask in the adulation of his fans. It was truly a win-win for all involved.

The initial reaction among fight fans is to condemn exhibitions like this as exploitation of a legendary name, but nothing could be further from the truth. It was a celebration of the fighter and not much different than the fantasy camps that exist in just about every organized sport.

This leads me to thinking about Erik Morales and his comeback bout, schedule for this Saturday, March 27th in Monterrey, Mexico.

Morales swears that he's not doing it for the money, but he can't seriously think that he'd be able to pick up the pieces of a career that he was pushed out of three years ago. The Erik Morales that steps into the ring on Saturday will be the one who hasn't won a bout since 2005 and the loser of five of his last six.

At some point, common sense has to enter into the picture and if the fighter can't execute it himself, it should be forced upon him by the commissions and the promoters. Unfortunately, boxing has never executed such common sense and it isn't likely to do so anytime soon.

Look at Jose Luis Castillo's performance on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard. Castillo has been notably shot as a fighter for years now and his exercise in futility against a club-level Alfonso Gomez was a waste of time for all involved.

All of these guys, from Morales and Castillo to Evander Holyfield and Hector Camacho, are just taking up space that would otherwise be going to other, legit, fighters. None of them will ever be serious challengers for a world title; None are likely to break the top ten anytime soon.

Whether they're fighting on for money, attention or, in the case of Johnny Tapia, for psychological redemption, they are just wasting everyone's time on the main stage.

Why not take these legendary names and give them a payday, an ego-boost, and something to do that wouldn't jeopardize their well-being?

Why not create a "Legends Show" where fans can bid for the honor of being batted around the ring by their heroes? Limit the exhibitions to three 2-minute rounds with 16 oz. gloves, just like the previously mentioned Olivares exhibition. It's no different than wealthy businessmen paying 20k to spend a week with the old-timers in a baseball camp or some executive paying the same amount to play one on one basketball with Michael Jordan.

Take the show on the road, 8-10 dates a year in exhibitions against novice fans in packed auditoriums. Names like Holyfield, Tapia, Camacho and Morales will sell out all the reasonably-priced seats. Money-wise, the legend's opponent pays the purse and extra money can be added from a percentage of the live gate.

Seeing their favorite fighters engaged in exhibition bouts against middle-aged businessmen might be a little melancholy for some, but is it any sadder than watching these legends fool themselves into thinking that they're still relevant? Is it any sadder than watching them beat to a pulp by fighters who aren't worthy of carrying their gym bag?

It's time for the sport to start exercising some common sense. Tell the heroes of the past that enough's enough already...They can still get paid, still be treated like stars, but let's stop pretending that anything good can come from a fighter sticking around way too long.

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Dallas Weights: Clottey 147, Pacquiao 145 3/4

Manny Pacquiao tipped the scales at 145 3/4 pounds and Joshua Clottey at the 147-pound limit for tomorrow night's WBO welterweight title fight in Dallas' Cowboys Stadium.

Pacquiao didn't look as ripped as he did for his November bout with Miguel Cotto, or Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya fights for that matter. He also looked dry, but I doubt he struggled to make weight. Clottey as always, looked in tip-top condition.

Lightweights Humberto Soto and David Diaz successfully made weight, with Diaz coming in at 134, and Soto at 134 1/4. They will fill the WBC lightweight vacancy left by Edwin Valero, which Diaz held before being knocked-out by Pacquiao in 2008.

Jose Luis Castillo came in at a very impressive 144, which suggests he's taking this fight seriously. Gomez came in at 145. In my opinion, this fight will be the most intriguing of the whole card.

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Controversial Fight Series: Mayweather-Castillo I

"Which Champion is the Best?" - WBC Lightweight Title

JOSE LUIS CASTILLO (45-4-1, 41 KO, WBC Titleholder)
vs.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. (27-0, 20 KO)
April 20, 2002 | MGM Grand - Las Vegas, NV

by Dafs117/Damon/Richiemerc

April 20th, 2002

After defeating Stevie Johnston in the upset of the year, followed up with a defence against former champ Cesar Bazan, Jose Luis Castillo still came into the ring as an underdog as he defended his WBC lightweight crown in Las Vegas against the highly backed Floyd Mayweather Jr., who had vacated his WBC super featherweight title after eight one-sided defences to fight at lightweight.

Nobody predicted that this fight would be the most debated in Mayweather’s undefeated career, and when Mayweather goes on and on about his spotless record, the haters have an asterisk next to the first contest between the two, touting is at the toughest contest the Pretty Boy has ever been involved in.

Mayweather controlled the first half of the bout with his slickness and skills, which earned him a lead over the opening half of the bout. But did Castillo stage enough of a comeback to scrape a decision? Or did he fall short? Should he have gotten the nod in a bout where he dominated the punch stat numbers?

The Boxing Tribune have replaced the judges with our own balanced panel. The three judges will be Dafs117, Damon and Richimerc, and they'll give their round-by-round opinion, with a quest to find if Castillo was robbed at ringside.

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Dissecting The Decade

by Dafs117

When deciding pound-4-pound rankings, minor details make the difference between making the cut, or just missing out. The depth of the division, performances against the highest calibre of opponents, and the fighters’ defects on the big stage are just some of the things someone should take into consideration when rating and separating the best from the rest. In boxing, it’s always a tough task, and it’s commonly whatever takes your fancy.

So before I disappoint you all and make you start waving your fist in fury at the computer screen, I’ll give you a little insight in the mind of yours truly.

What I tend to look for is longevity. If someone has been at the top of his game, and able to maintain his performance output throughout the decade, for me, it seals the deal. How much of a decline a fighter goes through after hitting his prime, did he adjust his style to deal with his age, or was he like fine wine, getting better with age?

If there are many great fighters with a nano-meter of distance separating their achievements, I search for the career defining moment. The outskirts of the top 10 is always tricky, but without further ado, here are my top 20 fighters of the ‘00s:

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