Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for 2013’s Sportsman of the Year on Dec. 16. As they often do, they have other famous figures in sports and sports history to offer their own take on who should win the award. Here, you’ll find the take from Sugar Ray Leonard, and his choice of Floyd Mayweather as the 2013 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
Here’s an excerpt from what Sugar Ray had to say about choosing Mayweather:
Achievement in boxing has always been built on a combination of hard work, belief in oneself, intestinal fortitude and that special something that’s very hard to describe in just one word.
Very few athletes are able to reach a level of unprecedented and sustained success. But excelling in a sport (competing in must-see events, breaking records, remaining undefeated) can sometimes promote a less enthusiastic approach to the day-to-day maintenance. Athletes may rest on their laurels and find it hard to stay focused and, as a result, even that “Eye of the Tiger” drive becomes difficult to maintain. But there is one fighter, one champion, who has shown the world that he is something different, something special, something great in that roped square. Who comes to mind when pondering which athlete should be this year’s Sportsman of the Year? None other than Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
There was a long period during which any talk about boxing always focused on the heavyweight champions, great big men like Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali. In time, though, the baton was passed to Sugar Ray Robinson, then to yours truly, to Oscar De La Hoya and now to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. When I think of Sports Illustrated I always think of something special, the wow factor. That’s precisely what Mayweather, Jr. has.
He is the rare fighter who makes non-boxing fans watch boxing. An athlete so special that it’s completely in the realm of possibility that there is a downtick in crime during his events because lawbreakers don’t want to miss the fight. I’ve heard people say about Mayweather things like, “he doesn’t like to get hit.” But I have to take issue with that statement. The sweet science of boxing is all about the most effective and economical means of defeating your opponent both physically and mentally. Boxing is one of the most, if not, the most challenging sport in the world because at your bleakest moment you ask yourself, can I go on — can I go any further? Ask yourself that question when one of your eyes is swollen, your hand is injured, and you’ve been knocked down for the first time. Boxing is one of the most primal sports, calling upon not only your physical strength but also your mental fortitude. People are amazed by boxers’ ability to somehow go beyond what they see as possible when it comes to the body, mind and spirit. That’s what sets boxing apart and, what in turn, sets Mayweather, Jr. apart. …
So what do you think? Should Floyd Mayweather win the Sportsman of the Year from Sports Illustrated?
Should he be the 2013 Fighter of the Year?
We’ll find out the answers to both of those questions within the new few weeks
