Bring me Tata

No Masians, I must confess, Floyd/Baldomir takes me by surprise. Rafael just announced it as a done deal on ESPN.com, set for November 4th at Mandalay Bay.

I’d read the rumors that Floyd was either going to fight Carlos "Tata" Baldomir or Cory Spinks in the fall. I’d also read that he might not fight at all, which seemed more likely to me, given the mega-million-dollar Oscar payday waiting for him next spring.

I certainly didn’t expect him to sign with Baldomir, and the fact that he did either means he’s brave or he’s stupid. And Floyd is a lot of things, but he ain’t stupid. Floyd is laying it on the line in this one, not nearly as much as he would have if he’d fought Margarito, but still, give him some respect. He could have fought another walkover and waited for the Oscar money. He saw what Baldomir did to Gatti, only a slightly worse mugging than Floyd himself gave to Gatti. And more than anything, he must have seen those bombs that Gatti was dropping on Baldomir in the first round, and what effect they had on the Argentinian - namely, none. Seems like you could hit Baldomir with a bag of anvils and he’d still keep moving forward.

Of course, that was what Gatti was supposed to do with Floyd – take his best shots, keep moving forward, wear him down with the warrior mentality. There is no wearing Floyd down – we know that much by now. And the speed differential in Floyd/Baldomir is only marginally smaller than it was in Floyd/Gatti. So make no mistake – Floyd will be the overwhelming favorite in this fight, as well he should be. But this bout has potential. Look, Baldomir shocked Zab in the Garden, and then pummeled Gatti in A.C. Now he’s headed to Vegas to fight in Floyd’s backyard. My interest is definitely piqued.

Mayweather, Baldomir to square off with title on the line (ESPN.com)