By Michael Marley
His detractors continue to accuse welterweight Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. of ducking and dodging Manny Pacquiao. In all fairness, a loud minority of fight fans blame Pacman for the Floyd-Manny fight not coming together.
But those of you who think Mayweather's sipping duck soup on Pacquiao may soon also charge the 35-year-old American with also assidiously avoiding middleweight champ Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez. In recent reports on BoxingScene.com, Martinez and his promoter, Lou DiBella, have been very vocal about challenging Mayweather and giving the pound-for-pound champion the majority of the money to make it happen.
As the small but vocal crowd streamed out of the smaller room at the Garden, dazzled by how the Argentinean closed the show by knocking Matthew Macklin down twice and put a halt the match before the twelfth and final round, I bumped into HBO's Unofficial Judge Harold Lederman and the pharmacist/boxing expert was quite vocal not only on how Mayweather must fight Martinez but also on where the fight should take place.
"We know Floyd has plenty of money by now," Lederman told me. "It can't be all about the money for him at this point, he's got to be a very wealthy guy. Floyd should be thinking about, concentrating on his legacy now. He has to fight Sergio and the fight can only take place right here in the Garden."
Lederman has often spoken on how - unlike past icons Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali - Mayweather has never fought in the hallowed halls of the Garden, the so called 'Temple of Boxing.'
"All the great ones, they fought at least once in the Garden," Lederman said. "The fight with Martinez and Floyd...this fight can be made at 157 pounds, I truly believe. It can be made, it should be made and it belongs here in New York."
Referee Cotton, meanwhile, told me he just marveled at his second close up look at Slick Sergio's handspeed.
"I'm 64 years old and I've worked bouts with some great fighters over the years," Cotton said.
"Sergio is something special with the speed he gets his punches to their target. I know he's age 37 but he's got great skills and hand speed.
"Give Macklin some credit. I thought he put up a real effort, especially early on. I thought Macklin took the first four rounds."
Cotton wasn't brooking any debate over Macklin's seventh round knockdown of Martinez.
"In the seventh, Sergio got hit with glancing blow. No doubt on the knockdown, his glove touched the canvas and that's a knockdown."
