Media Review: Floyd Mayweather, now 45, is still the boxer making all the headlines

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LIKE it or not, the enchantment of Floyd Mayweather endures. There have been a number of battle playing cards broadcast over the weekend, but it surely was Mayweather’s three-round exhibition in Japan that made probably the most headlines worldwide. Video clips of the battle, together with the end, gained hundreds of thousands of views on-line inside hours.

It helped that Manny Pacquiao was ringside for the battle. Even within the days prior, soundbites and quotes from Mayweather’s interviews had been extensively reported on. He could have one other exhibition battle earlier than the yr is finished in opposition to a British YouTuber. Floyd additionally claimed negotiations for one more assembly with UFC megastar Conor McGregor are in superior levels.

When you observe any type of boxing information, you should have seen tales about Mayweather a number of instances over the previous week or so. And all this was for a three-round walkabout that he appeared to have educated little or no for. Oh, and it netted him a reported $20 million.

Now, the precise boxing playing cards that had been on this weekend weren’t precisely blockbusters but it surely’s nonetheless telling simply how a lot consideration Mayweather received over the previous week. At one level he stated that he’s nonetheless the most important identify within the sport regardless of being technically retired – and he’s most likely proper.

Boxing presently has its superstars however none that transcended into the general public consciousness like Mayweather and certainly Pacquiao. It could possibly be a while earlier than we see their like once more.

It was introduced by the BBC that the terrestrial broadcaster will proceed airing reside skilled boxing for the primary time in 17 years after its protection of a Welsh card earlier within the yr – what’s extra, it’ll characteristic feminine skilled fighters, which will likely be an entire first for the BBC.

Unified Promotions are staging a four-fight all-female card in Sheffield subsequent month and the present will likely be broadcast reside on BBC iPlayer. It’s a disgrace the cardboard gained’t characteristic on one of many core BBC channels, however this looks like an vital step in the appropriate route. It’s being reported that, ought to this go effectively, boxing may characteristic extra recurrently on BBC3.

The BBC for fairly a while has left boxing on the sidelines in the case of protection. That’s not simply by way of broadcasting, however even information reporting of the game. So this newest improvement could possibly be extraordinarily thrilling. It may get vastly extra individuals watching boxing, significantly those that maybe weren’t concerned with it beforehand.

It’s additionally one other shot within the arm for feminine fighters. This card will happen one week earlier than the massive all-female card on Sky Sports activities that options Claressa Shields in opposition to Savannah Marshall and Mikaela Mayer versus Alycia Baumgardner. It’s playing cards like these that may attain ladies and younger girls and encourage them to take up the game – that’s the way it grows.

It’s unlikely that the BBC will start closely investing in boxing from right here on in, significantly when you think about the eye-watering sums different broadcasters pay for the game, however that is undoubtedly a constructive development.

In one of many stranger tales to emerge final week, Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing are suing Jake Paul for $100 million. Sure, 100 million precise US {dollars}. TMZ first reported the information.

The dispute stems from feedback Paul not too long ago made in an interview with IFL TV. The YouTuber claimed that choose Glen Feldman – who scored the current Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua rematch in favour of the latter and had Katie Taylor as a large winner in opposition to Amanda Serrano earlier within the yr – had been paid off by Matchroom for these two playing cards.

It’s only a silly factor to say, isn’t it? There’s zero proof that any type of corruption exists in boxing, and positively not on the highest degree. Are there points with judging inside the sport? Completely, but it surely’s not as a result of judges are on the take.

Paul needs to be taken critically as a boxer and, apparently, as a promoter – he’s but to offer us a cause to, and these feedback are simply additional proof that he doesn’t perceive the game. Hearn and Matchroom gained’t get $100 million out of him however authorized motion is the appropriate transfer – you possibly can’t simply throw round severe allegations in opposition to a rival organisation with none proof like that and never anticipate any penalties.

Talking of penalties, it was attention-grabbing to observe the response to Shakur Stevenson lacking weight for his battle over the weekend. He relinquished his ‘world’ title on the scales in addition to a portion of his purse. Prior to now we’ve seen fighters – significantly champions – lambasted for lacking weight, however Stevenson acquired no such backlash.

In truth a whole lot of reactions had been centred round pleasure on the prospect of the younger expertise now transferring as much as light-weight the place the likes of Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis function. Dropping his title and sacrificing cash is a becoming punishment for lacking weight and it was encouraging to listen to him instantly admit that he has outgrown super-featherweight and can instantly transfer to 135lbs.

Ideally fighters ought to simply robotically select to battle at their pure weight slightly than boiling themselves down and rehydrating for battle night time. Maybe we’re beginning to see a shift in public notion the place, slightly than shout fighters down for lacking weight, followers are simply glad to see them dealing with as much as the realities of their our bodies.

This isn’t to rejoice Stevenson, although. He nonetheless missed weight and if he beforehand knew he can’t safely make 130lbs he shouldn’t have taken this battle and as a substitute moved up in weight beforehand.

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Usyk sat down for a prolonged interview on his private YouTube channel and it produced some fascinating insights to how he works. He revealed that in press conferences he pays extra consideration to individuals’s physique language slightly than what they are saying. In his last presser with Joshua, he was reciting a sequence of 45 totally different numbers between one and 100, a activity assigned to him by a member of his coaching crew.

Like his shut buddy Vasily Lomachenko, the Ukrainian maestro trains his thoughts simply as a lot as his physique.