Floyd Mayweather is widely regarded as the greatest boxer of the modern era with his perfect 50-0 record – a one-of-a-kind accolade. His technical prowess, world-class defensive skills, and his punching accuracy always saw him get the better of his rivals. However, in one of his toughest outings, the world saw Mayweather getting toyed with by Emanuel Augustus before ‘Money’ Mayweather found the TKO victory in the 9th round, which Joe Rogan recently claimed to have found amusing.
Among the wide array of showboaters in boxing, Emanuel Augustus surely tops the list. The former boxer competed in a mind-boggling 78 professional bouts, racking up a mixed record of 38 wins and 34 losses (and six draws), but that’s not what he was known for. In fact, Augustus showcased one of the most awkward boxing styles, which proved to be a big problem for Floyd Mayweather when they fought in 2000.
Although Floyd Mayweather managed to knock the ‘Drunken Master’ out, which Emanuel Augustus was so often called, ‘Money’ Mayweather would admit later that he had to dig deep when he was in the ring with his former rival, something that Joe Rogan seems to agree with. During episode #2235 of JRE, the host told guest Mike Rowe, “He gave Floyd a hard f***ing time because he’s so difficult to fight… [Reacting to Augustus’s highlights] How do you deal with that?”
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Floyd Mayweather was bringing it to Emanuel Augustus 😤 pic.twitter.com/kxXdJ15CvP
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 15, 2024
While showering praise on how good of a boxer Floyd Mayweather was, Joe Rogan also gave credit to Emanuel Augustus for his awkward, yet effective style. “When you’re a guy like Floyd and you’re getting clowned – the cream of the crop, Olympian, I mean you’re a f**king phenomenal boxer, just a fantastic boxer – and then you’re fighting this guy who’s dancing in front of you, but also really good. It wasn’t just that, like you rarely get a guy who’s clowning like that but also [has] that kind of head movement skill. Phenomenal movement.” Joe Rogan stated.
Meanwhile, his guest, TV personality Mike Rowe, wondered what went into Emanuel Augustus’ training that made his boxing so awkward but effective. Well, Joe Rogan believes that these are those kinds of things that can never be taught.
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Joe Rogan believes Floyd Mayweather’s former rival’s awkward style comes to him naturally
In any form of combat sports, coaches always emphasize the importance of technique, and boxers like Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson, among many others, have proved how essential techniques really carve a fighter’s path to success. This is a reason why Joe Rogan doesn’t believe that the style Emanuel Augustus had was something that was taught in training.
“I don’t think anybody trains you to do that. [Someone like Cus D’Amato] he would never [allow it],” said Joe Rogan. However, he does seem to believe that if fighters naturally develop their own way of fighting, with a unique flair, there might be certain exceptions where coaches could play to those fighters’ strengths – but only if they find success consistently.
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“But maybe if the guy started winning like that. He [the coach] would change his tune. People change their tune when they see something extraordinary,” Joe Rogan added. Would you agree with his assessment?
Emanuel Augustus had a profound impact on boxing, even though his record doesn’t seem like the one Floyd Mayweather has. The other boxer who had a similarly awkward boxing style with a lot of flair is Naseem Hamed, who only once in his career spanning 37 fights. Do you have any boxers with a flair like Emanuel Augustus or Naseem Hamed in mind? Let us know in the comments down below.
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Does Augustus's style prove that unpredictability can rival even the most technical boxers like Mayweather?
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