Help Me, I'm A Hater

I don't know what it is about a consensus overrating a fighter that makes me dislike that fighter. It's unequivocally an emotional reaction that has no rational grounding. Just no real logic behind it, because the fighter himself did nothing wrong.

Surely, it stems from something within group dynamics, something I would have discovered in my Sociology textbook if I had actually opened it. Something about how a consensus view different from yours tends to either pull you towards conforming with it or fuel your non-conformist opinions further. The latter creating what's widely known today as hatin (an insult hurled mostly by the consensus).

There's one particular boxer - besides Arturo Gatti - that inflames the infliction. It's more of a nagging dislike than a passionate hate, one that simmers beneath the surface and rarely makes appearances outside of the subtle. In this case it's especially perplexing, since he's not unlike Pernell Whitaker, Roy Jones, or Bernard Hopkins. Fighters I'm a big fan of.

That's right, I'm a Floyd hater.

I wanted to be impressed with the De La Hoya victory. I really did. I was at the edge of my seat when Oscar was landing his jab consistently on Floyd's head and chest during the evenly-contested first half of the fight. I was anxious to see how Mayweather, the supposed pound-for-pound king, was going to adjust. Finally, he gets to truly prove that he's worthy of the hype, I thought.

Then Oscar inexplicably abandons his jab, without any noticeable adjustment from Floyd, and the rest of the fight is one-sided and uneventful. While it must be noted that DLH has since put fault for his half-assed performance on a chronically injured left arm, that's beside the point. Who knows if that's true and who cares. The point is, it was a prime opportunity to see Floyd tested for the first time since his pair of fights against Castillo in 2003 and the ball was dropped. So sorry for not being wildly impressed, 'consensus', but quite a few fighters around the Jr. Middleweight division could have done the same thing against a jab-less De La Hoya.

There's a few prevalent assumptions about Floyd that bugs the hell out of me.

1) He's a flawless fighter.
Wrong. He's a special talent, no doubt. He may have the best defense in boxing, though Hopkins and Wright would disagree. He has phenomenal footwork. He possesses pinpoint counter punching skills. He's incredibly smart.

No one's perfect, however. He's currently a pot shotter who hesitates to throw combinations even against limited opposition. He doesn't have much pop at these higher weights. His hands are still brittle. And he lacks a certain bloodlust, as he tends to cruise rather than finish a guy off.

In other words, there are several boxers who have a far deadlier offensive arsenal than the one Mayweather brandishes.

2) In a P4P matchup, he'd easily beat anyone else in boxing.
This cracks me up. Zab Judah takes four rounds (1, 2, 4, and 12) pretty clearly and scores an unofficial knockdown against Floyd, but guys like Manny Pac, Hopkins, Wright, and the Marquez Bros. would just get humiliated on a P4P level. For my money, I'd make some of those cats a slight favorite over Mayweather in a mythical bout.

3) He beats everyone from 154 down.
Sure, he'd be the betting favorite over anyone from 154 down. I think Travis Simms beats him if they fought tomorrow though, as he's shown to have problems against quick southpaws (and who doesn't?). On that note, Paul Williams also gives him all he could handle. Moreover, I'd be very interested in seeing how he does against Ricky Hatton, and especially Miguel Cotto (Margarito, while incredibly tough and strong, is probably indeed too slow for Floyd's foot speed). Light hitting pot shotters are vulnerable to relentless pressure.

That's just one hater's point of view though.

It's not too late for me to convert to a believer. It happened before with Cotto after he scrubbed his ass with Carlos Quintana, a prospect I was high on (and still am to a degree). I honestly hope he proves me wrong, so I can get back to hatin on folks who deserve to be hated on (*ahem* Paulie Malignaggi).

It's on you, Mr. Mayweather. Save me from my hate.