By: Louie Dee
ORLANDO, Fla. – At WrestleMania XXIV, Floyd Mayweather put his “money” where his mouth was, running his professional record to 40-0 with a shocking knockout of the 7-foot, 441-pound Big Show.
While he may not have come through on his promise to break the mammoth’s jaw, he did, in fact, shock the Citrus Bowl-record crowd of 74,635 WWE fans and millions more watching around the world on pay-per-view by felling Big Show like a giant redwood. The victory, however, didn’t come without a bit of chicanery.
Mayweather’s initial strategy of “you can’t hurt me if you can’t catch me” worked for a while, but just like the proverbial tortoise and the hare, The World’s Largest Athlete won that race in the end. After finally catching The Greatest Fighter in the World, Big Show clobbered his much smaller challenger, seemingly toying with the welterweight champion. The 7-footer brutalized Mayweather with chops, body shots and stomps to the arm. The WBC welterweight champion tried to fight back with a sleeper, but when Big Show dropped him once again, Mayweather’s entourage decided enough was enough.
One of Floyd’s handlers pulled him from the ring, and the group attempted to escape. But like a Velociraptor chasing down guests at Jurassic Park, Big Show hunted down “Money” and dragged him back the ring – manhandling several of Mayweather's corner men in the process.
That wasn’t the last Big Show would see of the entourage, however, as one took advantage of the “Anything Goes” stipulation by introducing a chair into the proceedings. The 7-footer thwarted his efforts thanks to a thunderous chokeslam, but when “Money” tried to capitalize by using the chair himself, Big Show wrapped his massive hands around Mayweather’s 24-inch neck.
Unfortunately, that left his nether regions unprotected. One swift kick to the little “Big Show” stopped The Largest Athlete in the World in his tracks, and that was all the opening “Money” needed. Wielding the chair like a mighty club, Mayweather cracked the Goliath once, twice, three times in the head. With Big Show reeling, the welterweight champion dropped his right glove and snatched a chain with brass knuckles on it from around one of his fallen comrade’s necks. Sliding them on his already lethal right fist, “Money” wound up and slugged Big Show straight in the jaw.
The WWE Superstar dropped like an imploded building, and our fans in the Citrus Bowl sat in hushed silence as referee Scott Armstrong made the count. When it reached 10, the Citrus Bowl erupted in boos as Mayweather celebrated career knockout No. 26.
While it’s bad enough that Big Show failed on his promise to end Mayweather’s career, what could be worse is the backlash he might receive from his own peers. Normally one of the most feared men in the WWE locker room, how will Big Show be received now that he’s lost to a man who is literally half his size?
Floyd Mayweather showed the world at WrestleMania why he is a six-time champion in five different boxing weight classes. In doing so, he proved the old adage that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog – especially when that dog has his whole pound helping him out.
See Exclusive live video footage from Wrestlemania's XXIV, New York City Press Confrence, at the Hardrock Cafe, featuring Floyd Mayweather and Big Show and more at Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience videos http: www.youtube.com/ElEmpress1
© 2007, 2008 All photos by "El Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Studios, for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience all rights reserved
