Floyd Mayweather Jr: "God doesn't want me to lose."

As you're content to renounce your two most credible tests, while sporting a record of 40-0, you have nothing to worry about in terms of losing - inside the ring.

Floyd Mayweather confirmed in yesterday's interview with David Skretta of the Associated Press, that he is not going to wait around for the winner of the November 14 Pacquiao vs. Cotto mega fight, nor is he interested in challenging welterweight champion Shane Mosley. Mayweather returned to the ring last month, scoring a lopsided unanimous decision over lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather proceeded to tell the Associated Press, “I sit back and think sometimes, God doesn’t want me to lose.”

Mayweather is reluctant to face the two or three of the top contenders currently campaigning in his weight class. Taking that fact into account, Money May's most critcal yet logical detractors will continue to question why he chose to return to the ring for any motive that excludes monetary compensation.

On numerous occasions, Mayweather was quoted in saying that he's the face of boxing, he is the cash cow, and he is his own boss who can call his own shots on who he elects to fight. Additionally he claims that he continues to fight for the love of the sport. He continues to fight because he wants to; not because he has to. Given such passionate implications, what exactly prevents the undefeated, former pound for pound best fighter in the world from solidifying the super fights that can further cement his legacy as an all-time great?

Assuming Mayweather does in fact control his own business endeavors [being his own boss, as he often likes to boast], fights with Mosley and Pacquiao should be relatively easy to make based on the sincere self-proclamations that he, not anybody else in the sport, is the face of boxing. Given his love for the sport and his firm belief that he is greatest fighter of all time, one would think he has more than enough internal devotion to prove such greatness against the world’s best.

During his interview with the Associated Press, Mayweather elaborated, "“I wonder, 20 years from now, what are they going to say?” “What are my grandchildren going to say?” Perhaps it was his advisor and confidant, Leonard Ellerbe, who had the best answer to those questions. “Once you reach this level that Floyd’s at, he’s hands down the best." Ellerbe continued, “Can you just imagine if boxing was a mainstream sport, and we had the same opportunities that the NBA does, that the PGA Tour does? When you look at Floyd, he can generate $30 million or $40 million or $50 million in one night, and that’s just plying his craft.”

While Mayweather's undefeated professional boxing record is still intact, and his penchant for generating record high PPV revenue remains unscathed, there are sure to be historians twenty years from now who will question his inclination to face the best available opposition anywhere north of the super lightweight division.

Earlier in his career, young Mayweather appeared more than willing to square off with the best fighters available. At the weight limit of 130lbs, Mayweather defeated Genaro Hernandez and Angel Manfredy. He took on Hernandez based on the face that many viewed Hernandez as the best at 130lbs. Following Manfredy's win over Gatti, he too had emerged as one of the best fighters in the world at 130lbs, so Mayweather fought him and scored a 2nd round TKO. At this point, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Mayweather was the best fighter in the world in that weight class. Upon entering the lightweight ranks Mayweather fought the champion Jose Luis Castillo in what was his debut fight at that weight class, twice defeating the tough Mexican in consecutive bouts.

Once Mayweather arrived at the 140lb weight limit, his tendency to face perceived threats would gradually begin to dwindle. Rather than face Miguel Cotto or Ricky Hatton at 140lbs, Mayweather chose to fight DeMarcus Corley, Henry Bruselles, and Arturo Gatti (God rest his soul). Later in his career, from welterweight to super welterweight, Mayweather's biggest wins would come against Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Oscar De la hoya, and Ricky Hatton who was coming up in weight from 140lbs.

In the golden era of boxing back in the 1980s, when rivals such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, and Marvin Hagler were actively competing, fans were consistently treated to the spectacle of exciting, highly anticipated showdowns between these warriors. These fights did not only take place for the millions of dollars earned, but because each fighter was determined to prove to himself, given his own respective level of pride, that he was the very best in a group of proud, evenly-matched competitors.

Let's fast forward to the present day, shall we? In the last two years, this reporter has seen several fights between the elite world-class welterweights [which happens to be Mayweather’s weight class]. Allow yours truly to name a few of those fights. Margarito vs. Williams. Cotto vs. Mosley. Cotto vs. Margarito. Margarito vs. Mosley. Cotto vs. Clottey. On November 14, Pacquiao will be facing Cotto. There is one fighter whose name does not appear in any of those matches. Can you guess who it is?

While Mayweather was accurate in his statement to ESPN's Brian Kenny that all of these guys are fighting each other but nobody has ever beaten him, he fails to acknowledge that they are beating each other up because they are proving their willingness to face one another!

Following Hatton's publicly televised challenge to Mayweather after his win over Castillo in 2007, Mayweather quickly answered Hatton's call and made a fight with Hatton. Soon after Marquez pursued the retired Mayweather following his win over Juan Diaz earlier this year, Mayweather came out of his extended retirement to face the lightweight champion of the world at a catch weight of 144lbs. Mosley, the welterweight champion, approaches Mayweather about the prospects of putting together a fight with him that the fans want to see, yet Mayweather is not interested? There lies an inconsistent pattern of behavior on the part of Mayweather.

Boxing fans will not have to worry for much longer, as Pacquiao who is currently the pound for pound king at Boxingchronicles.com would be happy to oblige Mosley, should he emerge victorious against Cotto. Both of their promoters, Golden Boy and Top Rank respectively, have ironed out their fundamental differences and would appear to have the capacity to put together such a match up. 

What makes matters even easier is when the promoters are fortunate enough to have two foes who are more than eager to face one another, as it takes two to tango.  That is the reason why the consensus rate Pacquiao as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Such a designation has even been approved by none other than Money May himself. According to an article on GMANEWS.TV, Mayweather was quoted as saying, “Pacquiao can be called the best pound-for-pound, you can just call me the cash king. You know stats don’t lie. I don’t fight for bragging rights, I fight for checks!"

Message to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

At the end of the day, Mr. Money May, you’re right. God probably does not want to see you lose. Not in the square ring, or life in general. After all, does God really care to see anybody lose? Is our God a vengeful God? This reporter doubts as much, but winning and losing are necessary facets of life. People in this world can not have one without the other. However, it is quite likely that God wants to see you make the most of your ability in your craft. God may or may not want to see you lose, but God does want you to learn a lesson just as well as anybody else. We fall so we can learn to pick ourselves up, but such a lesson can never be determined if one renounces the most legitimate tests within his craft. Greatness is not necessarily measured by one’s ability to remain unbeaten, but the degree to which one rebounds following adversity.