"I think that that fight was the worst thing that could ever happen to boxing and I'ma tell you why, Perc. Because of the statement you just made. You will have people that will disrespect a kid like Kell Brook, who came over here and beat Shawn PorterÂ…You got a kid like Errol Spence that's sitting around waiting on the sidelines. That kid wants to fight. Errol Spence is waiting to fight some tough competition and he gotta sit around and wait because of what's going on with that. That was the worst thing that could happen to boxing; those two guys not fighting," stated trainer Stephen "Breadman" Edwards, who explained why he thinks Mayweather vs. Pacquiao might be the worst thing that could ever happen to boxing. Check it out!
PC: I think that if people stop thinking about Mayweather and Pacquiao, they would see that there are a ton of good fights that can be made, and if they embraced some of the other fights that can be made, they'll see that boxing is in a good spot. The mentality now is, I don't want to see any other welterweight fights unless it's Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. Would you agree with that?
SE: I think so. I think that that fight was the worst thing that could ever happen to boxing and I'ma tell you why, Perc. Because of the statement you just made. You will have people that will disrespect a kid like Kell Brook, who came over here and beat Shawn Porter. Kell Brook is a helluva fighter, but they'll say something like, "Man, I don't want to see nobody except for Pacquiao/Mayweather at 147." Well, this kid is 32..33-0 and can fight. You guys need to be embracing him. Mayweather and Pacquiao is what, 36 and 37 years old? How much longer they gonna fight? You guys need to be embracing him. You got a kid like Errol Spence that's sitting around waiting on the sidelines. That kid wants to fight. Errol Spence is waiting to fight some tough competition and he gotta sit around and wait because of what's going on with that. That was the worst thing that could happen to boxing; those two guys not fighting. And people gotta realize, because they are so much of a fan of both guys that they don't want to give either guy any blame in the situation. But it spawned an era of guys saying, "Well, this is just business," and blaming things on the promoter and this guy and that guy. It's absolutely ridiculous the disposition that this has created in the boxing community. Guys that used to be friends, one will take one side and one will take the other side and it will almost come to blows. "This guys on PED's and this guy is a ducker," it's crazy, man.
And I don't know Floyd or Manny personally, but I'm not getting into no fights over either one of those guys, Perc. It's ridiculous, man. You should see on Twitter, you got people insulting each other, fighters getting involved, members of the media, and it's all spawned from those two guys not fighting. History is going to hold both guys responsible because you don't have the number one and number two fighter pound-for-pound in the same division at the same time, close enough to their primes, and not fight. You can't do that. No matter whose fault it is, both guys deserve some of the blame because you just can't do that. Last time the number one and number two pound-for-pound fighters had a chance to fight was in 1993 with Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez and it was an easy fight to make. That's why people say that the 80's and 90's was so much better than this era. Hell yeah it was! Emanuel Steward told me in Atlantic City before he died in April of 2012 that he made Leonard and Hearns in the airport, bro. It was an easy fight to make and the reason why it was easy to make was because Ray wanted to fight Tommy and Tommy wanted to fight Ray, and when you got two guys that's willing to fight each other, all of the other bullshit is minimized and it's irrelevant. People come up with excuses, but there is more than one way to not fight. You can start saying certain things that you know the other guy is not gonna do and he told me that. He said, "I made Tommy and Ray in the airport. That's how easy it was."
I'm done with the Pacquiao and Mayweather thing. We got a lot of young guys. There are some young guys that maybe can beat either one of them if they got the chance. They won't get in the ring with them at this stage. Who's to say that either one of those guys could beat Keith Thurman or Amir Khan if they got in the ring with them? Who knows if Errol Spence was getting the kind of fights that he needs that he won't be able to do something against one of those guys? Youthful exuberance is a helluva thing, man. If you watch a 22-year-old kid in the gym sparring a 35-year-old veteran 6 rounds, nine times out of ten, that 22-year-old kid gonna get the better of the work. Go to the gyms and ask. And I'm talking about great fighters. It don't have to be just a good fighter, but great fighters. I'm done with that, man. I think too many fighters get disrespected because that fight hasn't been made and I don't think that it's fair to the other guys coming up that the world gets held hostage because these two multi-millionaires have decided not to fight each other. I'm a fan of both fighters. Some people think that they can only be a fan of one guy. To me, that's ridiculous. They are both future Hall of Famers, great fighters; two of the best that I've ever seen. They both deserve some blame for not making the fight and making this era looked at as like a soft, ducking type of era. That's part of the reason why because that fight wasn't made.
PC: I agree with you on how divided it has made the boxing public, which is usually a close-knit small fraternity. Now it's so divided because, like you said, people feel the need to be on one side or the other.
SE: I totally agree. I see people that are supposed to be in objective positions and their comments make them non-objective. They say certain things and it just tells you where they are at. Obviously I can't be objective when it comes down to a fighter that I deal with, but like I said, I don't know Manny or Floyd, neither one of them. I'm not friends with either one of them. I just respect them as fighters. So if somebody is asking me the truth, I just say what I believe as far as the situation is concerned. But you got people in the media and sanctioning body officials and really important people that make decisions in boxing who can't be objective about this subject and then what happens is, Perc, people start trying to align themselves with either guy because they want to be on the right side. They try to buddy up and say certain things about the other guy for their own personal reasons and it's a snowball effect of negativity.
Sometimes if somebody asked me about it around certain people, I don't even say nothing because it's too negative. People start disrespecting each other and saying mean things and I'm like, "Damn man! You can't go to their house and get no meal." I just give my opinion on how good both guys are because I think both guys are exceptional talents. People that say Floyd can't fight or Manny is one dimensional, then they are just dumb. If you can't see that both of those guys are special talents and the two best fighters of the last decade or so, then you a fool. Both of those guys are exceptional, not just one. But if you don't like one, what you'll do is you'll disrespect the other one. I'm from Philadelphia and I'm a Muhammad Ali diehard fan, but you don't think that I know Joe Frazier was a great fighter? I'm a Ray Leonard fan, you don't think that I know that Tommy Hearns is murder? We are in an era now where you're not allowed to like Manny Pacquiao if you like Floyd Mayweather and you're not allowed to like Floyd Mayweather if you like Manny Pacquiao. It's absolutely nuts, man.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]