Love or Money?????

LOVE OR MONEY?????????????????

Love or Money, that is the question for many boxers. I know they all box because of their love for the sport but at the end of the day is it all for the money or for their love. This topic has come up a lot especially after hearing Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going to fight in a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. Love or Money??? When they first fought many including myself believed it was a combination. Oscar could prove he was still one of the best boxers alive today and Floyd could get the biggest payday of his life and seal his legacy by beating Oscar as well as claiming a title in his fifth division. The rematch, well that is a different story because there appears to be no belts on the line and the only thing in the air is money. Hey they got to get paid right? Well yes they do deserve to get paid but what are they fighting for becomes the question. I am a firm believer that you do what you love and the money will follow. If you love doing something it is not a job to you and you probably either do it for free or would do it for free. When I look back to fighters such as the late Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti, I never recall any arguments about purses (money) with them. Sure they wanted to get paid but you could see them fighting for free too because that is how much their love and legacy meant to them. When I look at Floyd Mayweather Jr. I see a fighter who swears he is the best of all times but will not take a fight if it does not promise him so much money. He made over $50 million last year alone on just 2 fights and instead of further proving his superiority he takes a fight against someone he already beat. I hear Floyd say can't no one beat him and he is the best ever but he refuses to fight deserving and worthy champions like Miguel Cotto because he says it does not generate enough money. That is sad to me because when you are at the top of your craft it is your DUTY to grant fights to the worthy opponents so they can prove themselves. Genaro Hernandez gave Floyd the chance and I think he should do the same. I think Mayweather would easily beat Cotto but at least give Cotto his chance in the ring. Cotto in my opinion is a fighter of love and legacy first and then money. Sure he wants to get his money but he fights like you should. What I mean by that is if you keep fighting the best, the money will come and I believe that. Diego Corrales who died in debt believed the same thing as well as Arturo Gatti. I was at Diego Corrales last fight in Springfield Missouri against Joshua Clottey. Anyone who was there and who knows boxing knew Diego was going to lose. The venue was small and the money Diego was going to make was not worth the punishment he was about to take but he fought anyway. I watched him in person take punches by a man far stronger than him but he kept coming because he felt it was his DUTY to prove his legacy as a champion by somehow winning that fight. Unfortunately he lost the fight and even more unfortunate he died exactly 30 days later. However when I look back to that fight I get a little misty eyed because he is no longer with us but I cannot forget what he did as a fighter. And what Diego Corrales did that night was what all deep down true champions will do and that is keep fighting no matter how much faster, stronger and talented your opponent is. Being a champion has nothing to do with belts at all, it is giving your all no matter what because there is no other way. I laugh when I hear fighters such as Floyd, Oscar and others get upset or demand purses such as $20 million. I laugh because there are fighters who fight more fights than both of them and will never make 1/10th the amount of money in their careers that some of these prestious fighters are complaining about. As much as I love watching a lot of these guys I have to admit they lose my respect when it comes to the subject of love or money especially when you have already made the money. In my opinion when you have made your $20million either continue to take challenges or retire. If you start picking and choosing who you fight and how much you should get the love is gone. You are now being clouded by money only and there is only a matter of time before your greed will take over and you make the wrong decision. Fighters who truly fight for love rarely argue about the money aspect, they just want to get in the ring and see who is the best. Yes it is true a lot of boxers die broke, homeless etc but they did it their way doing what they love. Sure Oscar and Floyd have all this money and they should not fight for less than a certain amount. But love does conquer all because rich is a state of mind. And Just because you have money... that DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE RICH!!!!!!