Promoter Bob Arum rates unbeaten three-division champion behind only “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali. “There are a number of aspects that make a great fighter,” says Arum. "One is speed. [Floyd’s] speed is phenomenal. The way he throws punches, phenomenal. The way he is conditioned, phenomenal. I mean, he’s the entire whole package…other than Ali, he’s the most intelligent fighter that I have ever seen. I mean, Floyd, this is no bulls–t, Floyd can see a punch coming before the other guy knows he’s going to throw it. Do you understand that? I mean, I have never seen such ring intelligence that Floyd demonstrates. So he’s the whole package, and you know, Ray Leonard was a great fighter, Marvin Hagler was a great fighter, Duran certainly was great, Oscar had a couple of years where he was very good, but there’s nobody that is a whole package like Floyd.
As for Zab Judah, Floyd’s opponent on Saturday in Las Vegas, Arum says, “A loss is never good to be really candid with you, but I think most people who follow boxing realize that Judah crapped around, didn’t train for that fight, and that wasn’t Zab Judah in the ring with Baldomir. And that having lost that fight and realizing that his back was against the wall here, as he will probably put up a much better fight because he’s fighting for his life in effect than if he had just won a victory over Baldomir. So, I think that people who were sophisticated in boxing realized that in a funny way, Judah losing to Baldomir will make his fight with Floyd much better, maybe even much more competitive.”
Tuesday, April 4 2006
Me thinks Mr Arum’s been at the glue again 