IBR on The Cruelest Sport

It was a fight short on drama, one that prompted a smattering of boos among the throng gathered at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. And yet, there is a compliment buried in this criticism. For in so easily dismantling Robert Guerrero over twelve one-sided rounds on Saturday night, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., displayed a fighting prowess that, even at age 36, remains remarkable. One can take issue with some of the names on—and off—his ledger and disapprove of his preference for avoiding rather than delivering damage, but the drama of a Mayweather fight is most often lost in the yet-to-be traversed expanse between his competition’s ability and his own. And that, no matter how you look at it, is high praise.

Read Unanswered Prayers: Floyd Mayweather W12 Robert Guerrero on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“You are fuckin’ something, man!”

His arms draped across the fighter’s shoulders, looking reverently at, and beyond, the disfigured face, referee Steve Smoger offered this raw encomium. He did not address it to the victor, however—who was milling around the ring, lost in celebratory whoops and embraces—but to the loser. Nestled amongst his supporters, Zab Judah listened to Smoger with the pained smile of a man accepting consolation, the smile of a man who recognizes that, however flattering the words, they are a confirmation of failure.

Read Storm Rider: Danny Garcia W12 Zab Judah on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“You can roll your eyes at the redemptive narrative of Zab Judah, but the fact that he has clung to relevance over seventeen years is no meager accomplishment. Despite the worst intentions of men like Kostya Tszyu, Miguel Cotto, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and a history of self-sabotage that runs the length of the comedo-tragic spectrum, Judah, 42-7 (29), has staved off inconsequence time and again. And while his speed and power—relatively undiminished in his 35th year of life—will continue to award Judah the proverbial puncher’s chance, those physical attributes alone do not explain his materializing against Danny Garcia at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday night.”

Cinders And Smoke: Danny Garcia-Zab Judah Preview on The Cruelest Sport.