GROWING PAINS

Nat Gottlieb takes a look at what may be Mayweather's biggest challenge to date.

by Nat Gottlieb

Floyd Mayweather's path to greatness has reached a major obstacle in the road in Carlos Baldomir. While Baldomir may not be Hall of Fame material like Mayweather, he is undeniably the biggest man Floyd has ever faced in the ring, a true welterweight and a champion. Can Mayweather, who started his meteoric career at 126 pounds, beat the boxing axiom that says weight eventually is the great equalizer?

"High-skill fighters in their prime like Mayweather generally can only be beaten by themselves, or by bigger opponents as they outgrow their weight class," said Larry Merchant, HBO's longtime commentator. "In fighting his first big, strong welterweight, Floyd will be tested as never before. Virtually no lightweight or welterweight ever beat Sugar Ray Robinson, but middleweights did."

So far, Mayweather has marched through three lower weight divisions and his two fights at welterweight without a blemish on his record (36-0). But while he has brought his superior skills with him through each division, one aspect of his repertoire may be declining - his power.

In 27 fights at lightweight, Floyd was 27-0 with 21 knockouts, a KO rate of 77 percent. Since moving up the ladder, he is 9-0, but with just three knockouts, 33 per cent.

"As you get in the ring with bigger and bigger opponents," boxing historian Bert Sugar said, "your punches do not have as much effect, and the punches of the bigger opponents begin to have more effect on you.

A man who knows more than a little about power punching and the effect additional weight has on a boxer is Jack Mosley, father and trainer of Shane, who rose from lightweight all the way to junior middle. Jack Mosley thinks size will be a definite factor in this fight.

"Baldomir is a strong fighter, a powerful guy. He rocked Zab (Judah), something Floyd could not do," Mosley said.

What could also be a factor is Mayweather's lack of ring time with welterweights. While all 58 of Baldomir's fights have been against welterweights, Mayweather has had only two fights at 147 pounds, and those were against fighters who had fought the bulk of their career at lower weights, Judah and Arturo Gatti.

"Baldomir not only is a true welterweight, but he walks around about 180 pounds, and when you see him up close, he is a big man," Sugar said.

What Mayweather has going for him big time is that he is a highly intelligent fighter, and a consummate ring general. If Mayweather can dictate the way the fight goes down, he could neutralize Baldomir's size advantage. "For Floyd to win," Mosley said, "he is going to have to get in and get out, stick and move."

Easier said than done against a fighter like Baldomir (43-9-6), who comes relentlessly at you. "Baldomir is going to try and pressure him constantly," Mosley said. "That is the way to beat Floyd Mayweather. If Floyd does not have enough strength to keep him off, it's going to be a long night."

Can the heat from Baldomir wilt Mayweather? Sugar does not know, but what he is certain of is that Mayweather will be put to the test, something very few of his opponents have been able to do.

"It remains to be seen whether Floyd can maintain his skills against someone bigger who is pushing him around, a guy who has no fear whatsoever," Sugar said. "Baldomir is going to use his size and strength to pin Floyd on the ropes, where his movement will be cut off. Yes, Floyd has great rotation on the ropes, but there is only so much he can do fighting on the ropes. I wouldn't be surprised to see Baldomir continually cut off the ring like he did to Gatti. Gatti had no chance."

Although Baldomir has 9 losses on his record, he has not been beaten in seven years, having won 19 straight fights with two draws. But Baldomir says his confidence is high not because of his streak, but his size advantage.

"It definitely is the strength difference that gives me confidence, because he's coming from the lower weight divisions. I know that when he feels my hands he won't be able to handle them because I am stronger," Baldomir said.

One clear cut edge that goes to Mayweather is speed. While Baldomir has very little speed, Floyd arguably is the fastest fighter in any weight division. That being said, it is often the case that when a speedy boxer adds pounds, sometimes the RPMs suffer. "You certainly have to ask the question will Floyd's speed get compromised as he moves up," Sugar said.

Baldomir, for one, believes Mayweather has already demonstrated some decline. "I am not worried about his speed, because when I saw him against Judah, he wasn't as quick as he used to be when he was smaller," Baldomir said. "I think he will want to come in stronger than usual against me, but at the same time that will make him slower because he's gone up in weight too much."

All these questions can only be answered in the ring, but there are hints of what could possibly come in the parallels between the careers of Mayweather and Mosley.

Mosley, like Mayweather, was untouchable as a lightweight, with his high velocity punches and the power behind them. Mosley knocked out 30 of his first 32 opponents without a loss. "Shane had the highest knockout percentage (93) of any fighter in history with 30 or more fights," his father said.

At first, Mosley seemed to be able to carry his knockout power straight from lightweight to welterweight, skipping the 140-pound class. He knocked out five of his first six opponents at 147 pounds, going the distance only with Oscar De La Hoya, whom he beat on a split decision. But then the 5'9 Mosley then ran into a big welterweight in 6'0 Vernon Forrest, who was 33-0 when they met, and perhaps more significantly, had fought at 147 pounds 17 straight times.

Jack Mosley says his son was "distracted by outside problems" when he first fought Forrest, which may very well be. But all the record shows is that the biggest opponent Mosley had ever faced handed him his first loss in a clear-cut, unanimous decision, a stunning defeat for a boxer who went into that fight 38-0 with 35 knockouts. Forrest would repeat the verdict in their rematch, although it was a closer decision. Mosley's only other two losses in a 48-fight career came in back-to-back matches with another bigger opponent, Winky Wright.

The stats also tend to indicate a power drain for Mosley at welterweight and junior middleweight. In his 16 fights since leaving lightweight, Mosley is 11-4 with one no contest, and just six knockouts, a 42 per cent KO ratio. At junior middleweight, Mosley went 5-2-1 with just two knockouts, both coming in his last two bouts against a bigger, but less-than-prime Fernando Vargas. Mosley's TKO of Vargas in their first fight was his first stoppage in four years and seven months. It is perhaps telling that right after the second Vargas fight in July, Mosley indicated he was moving back down to welterweight, where he said he felt more comfortable.

There are exceptions to the weight rule, of course. Roy Jones Jr. immediately comes to mind. So does De La Hoya, who like Mosley started his career at lightweight, then successfully moved up through to junior middleweight without losing his power. But while De La Hoya won his only middleweight fight against Felix Sturm two years ago, he has admitted his best weight is six pounds south of 160.

Then there's Robinson. Often voted the greatest fighter in history, Robinson was an incredible 95-1-1 as a lightweight and welterweight combined. But while he later won championship bouts as a middleweight, 18 of his 19 career losses came at that weight, where he was 45-18-4, fighting well into his forties before retiring.

The always cocky Mayweather, meanwhile, remains as confident as a fighter can be, but admits he is in for a big challenge against Baldomir.

"This will be the toughest fight of my career," the 28-year-old said. "But I have fought at many different weights and won so many title fights, that I am always ready." Mayweather also said he would not shy from getting in Baldomir's face if need be. "I'm predicting right now that I will go toe-to-toe against Baldomir and box circles around him. The boxing world better get used to me because I'm going to be around a long time," Mayweather said.

Mayweather comes from a deep boxing family, and has always had a keen awareness of the sport's history and his place in it. On many occasions he has said that he would like to go down as the greatest fighter in history. While beating Carlos Baldomir will not earn him that distinction, Sugar feels a victory would go a long way toward indicating what kind of success Mayweather will have in the higher weight classes.

"He wants to be the greatest ever. Now he has to show us something at this weight," Sugar said. "Floyd is fighting for his legacy. History doesn't judge you at the weight you started. It's the weight you settle into. Will welterweight be that for Floyd? Can he beat a true welterweight, not someone who just shows up at welterweight like Gatti."

Come Nov. 4 on HBO Pay-Per-View, Mayweather will get his chance to answer those questions. There is no denying Mayweather has had a spectacular career so far, but the true test of his greatness may be yet to come.