I’m tired of hearing people who know nothing of boxing history talk about Mike Tyson being one of the greatest fighters of all time. Some even have the audacity to to put him up there with Ali, which is an insult to Ali, to be sure. Tyson was an exciting fighter who brought popularity to the sport and attracted bloodthirsty laymen eager to watch him lay waste to opponent after opponent, racking up knockouts in his first 19 fights and becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of all time. The question remains, who exactly was young Mike knocking out before he met a determined Buster Douglas on that fateful night in 1990? Was Buster really that good that night, or was he just the first person to stand up to the fearsome Tyson and prove that’s Mikes muscles may have been “Iron,” but his ability to stand up to a game opponent was suspect at best?

When you ask one of these Tyson “fans” to name the great fighters he beat, you get a blank stare. I mean, seriously, let’s name them. His best win was probably against Michael Spinks, a cruiserweight who was too small to tangle with the heavyweights. He beat a past-his-prime Larry Holmes who admits his heart wasn’t in the sport at the time and he barely trained. He twice beat the promising but ultimately disappointing Donovan “Razor” Ruddock. What all time great heavyweights did he beat in their prime? Tony Tubbs? Frank Bruno? Trevor Berbick? Come on! The answer is nobody.

I’ve also heard the argument that had Tyson fought Holyfield in his prime, he would have “mopped the floor with him,” a preposterous statement if there ever was one. While the argument could certainly be made that Tyson was a better fighter before he went to prison in 1992 than when he was defeated by Holyfield in 1996, Tyson was 31 years old at the time of their first fight. Holyfield was 34. And for the record, they also met as amateurs and Holyfield beat Iron Mike then too. And yes, there are the dirty tactic stories people like to pin on Holyfield to excuse away Tyson’s inferiority. As any true boxing pundit will surely notate, Holyfield has always fought in a style with his head down that leads to head clashes. It’s just his style, unfortunate though it may be. But as to who was the better of the two leaders of the heavyweight division during that time period, there really is not contest.

Mike Tyson was a good fight. There’s no doubt about that. He brought excitement to the Heavyweight division at a time where the middle weight classes were dominating and the heavies had fallen out of the limelight. Lord knows we could use someone like Mike to come along and bring some interest to the sleep-inducing Heavyweight ranks of current times. But in the end, Tyson just never achieved the “greatness” his early career would have promised. If he’d had his head on straight, then who knows? But history tells the tale and Tyson never proved himself as an all-time great. End of story.

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Floyd “Money” Mayweather is a talented fighter. There’s no doubt about that. He’s also a generally boring fighter to watch who has ducked many credible potential opponents over the years. He’s great, but he’s nowhere near as great as he thinks he is. And as far as the trash talking skills he refers to in the video below, “Money” may talk a lot, but he lacks the verbal wit and intelligence of the G.O.A.T., Mr. Ali.

Here’s a video of Mayweather’s recent promotional interview followed by a classic two-part radio interview where RA The Rugged Man takes Floyd to task leading with the question, “Floyd, when are you going to fight someone your own size in the top two? To Floyd’s credit, he is finally doing that by taking on Mosley.

Radio Interview Part 1

Radio Interview Part 2

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Growing up an Atlanta Falcons fans, I used to hate the Saints. They were divisional rivals to my team. On top of that, the red-headed twin brothers I knew in high school were Saints fans, two of the most obnoxious, idiotic individuals I’ve ever met.

But looking back on the rivalry over the years, going to games and seeing the cheerful Saints section complete with brass instruments, banners, painted faces and an almost-constant enthusiasm, it became pretty hard to dismiss their loyalty. And I hate to admit it, but “Who Dat” is much cooler than the Dirty Bird.

As I got older, New Orleans became one of my favorite cities to visit. One of the best times I ever had was a week in New Orleans shortly before Katrina. For those who only know Bourbon Street, believe me, you haven’t really seen New Orleans. After a week of great food, great music, incredible sightseeing and great people, my fiancee and I were about ready to move there. Sadly, Katrina hit about a month later.

I’ve been back to New Orleans a few times since. While the city isn’t quite the same, it is well on its way. The French Quarter was largely untouched, a factoid the news media often fails to mention when showing the constant shots of devastation. Not to sound callous, but tourists were never hanging out around 9th Ward in the first place.

It’s good to see the Saints win a Super Bowl. Sure, it doesn’t erase what happened, but it is another in a long line of steps towards the recovery of one of the greatest and most unique American cities. A salute to the Saints for a great season, great fans and one hell of a ballsy Super Bowl win (did you see that onside kick? Awesome). I wish I was in the French Quarter to celebrate the long overdue death of “The Ain’ts.” I’ll be having some Abita and oyster shots in their honor.

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After days of speculation, Floyd “Money” Mayweather has finally signed a deal to fight “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Although Sugar signed the deal on Friday, it apparently took Money five additional days to read through the contract. Hey, he can box, but he’s never been the sharpest tool in the shed. Next time try Hooked on Phonics, Pretty Boy.

Personally, I think Floyd was hoping to avoid a real fight, but after the circus around the Pacquiao debacle, this one became pretty hard to avoid. Should be a great fight!

Check out the full story over at ESPN Boxing.

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Okay, the latter, Mosley vs. Mayweather, isn’t a signed deal yet, but it’s on the table. Let’s hope it happens. It’s hard to know who to blame for the Pacquiao-Mayweather debacle, though it’s probably fair to say that everyone’s egos got in the way of an event that could well have been boxing’s revival. Oh well. Onward and upward. Clottey is no joke and, in many ways, could provide an even tougher challenge for Pacquaio. Serious props to Jerry Jones for bringing that fight to Dallas. And as for Mosley? Well, he’s a tough opponent for anyone and he’s been chomping at the bit to get his hands on Mayweather for years. Call me a cynic, but I’m still a little doubtful Mayweather will accept such a serious challenge.

Now, wouldn’t it be something if Clottey beat Pac and Mosley beat Mayweather? Wouldn’t that just be a nice slice of humble pie? Fingers crossed…

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What a shame. All that money. A great matchup. Palpable public interest. As so many times before, ego got in the way. Blame Mouthy Mayweather and his foul-mouthed, dumb-ass father, Floyd Sr. Blame Bob Arum, whose ego exceeds Money Mayweather and Pac-Man combined. And hell, maybe Pac-Man is on the juice. Mayweather countered the initial Olympic testing request with an option that would have ended testing 14 days before the fight. That sort of invalidates Freddie Roach’s (Pac’s trainer) claim that it was all about Pac feeling weakened for 3 days after testing. We’ll never know for sure.

Sadly, at this point, it’s a good bet that this fight will never happen. As ESPN commented in the “Too Bad, So Sad” podcast yesterday, it wouldn’t be the first time a fight that should have happened didn’t. There’s Lewis-Bowe, Holyfield-Jones and Jones-Hopkins (apparently they are still going to fight, but no one cares at this point).

The most unfortunate aspect of the whole thing is that boxing needs an event like this without all the drama. After years on the decline, 2009 was a great year for boxing. In spite of an ailing economy and the prevalence of white trash-centric MMA events, boxing soared with record pay-per-view numbers and an almost endless list of classic fights. Mayweather-Pacquiao was to be the feather in the cap of a banner year. But like most strong moments in the history of the sweet science, it was followed by a bunch of bullshit. Whatever the reason may be that this fight isn’t happening on March 13th, the real losers are the fans and the sport of boxing.

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