Floyd Mayweather
The American people, as with their presidents, often get the boxing champions they deserve.
Whether it be Jack Johnson, the first
black heavyweight champion of the world, socking it to his white
oppressors in the early 1900s; or Rocky Marciano, a recognisable slab of
normality on the post-World War II landscape; or Muhammad Ali, a beacon
of black pride in the deeply divided 1960s.
So what have the American people, circa
2013, done to deserve Floyd Mayweather, the impossible knot of
contradictions that is American boxing’s lone – and last, some
pessimists might argue – global superstar?
Many others would argue that the days
when the American people were defined, to any extent, by their boxing
champions ended long ago.
The fact that Johnson, Marciano and Ali
were heavyweights and Mayweather is one of the sport’s little men seems
symbolic in itself of how far boxing has receded in the collective
consciousness of the American sports fan.
But how to explain the mind-boggling
Mayweather numbers – the £127.4m, six-fight deal signed with American
network Showtime in February; the world record £26.4m purse for his
fight against Mexico’s Saul Alvarez in Las Vegas on Saturday; the
record-breaking £12.2m live gate at the MGM Grand?
And how to explain ‘Money’ Mayweather’s
position at the top of Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes for 2012;
and the guaranteed £49.9m in purses for only two fights in 2013, an
amount that will probably see him take top spot again?
“Floyd is boxing,” Mayweather’s business
partner Leonard Ellerbe told BBC Sport. “He’s the biggest star in the
sport by a mile – the numbers don’t lie.”
What is astonishing is that Mayweather
is able to generate such numbers operating within the confines of a
supposedly fringe sport like boxing. Behind him in Forbes’ 2012 list are
golf’s Tiger Woods, the NBA’s LeBron James, the NFL’s Peyton Manning
and football’s King Midas, David Beckham.
What makes it all the more astonishing
is the fact many fight fans think defensive master Mayweather – despite
being a five-weight world champion and unbeaten in 44 pro fights – is a
bit boring. At least between the ropes.
The American sportswriter Pat Putnam
said, “Most fight fans would not spend a dime to watch Van Gogh paint
Sunflowers, but they would fill Yankee Stadium to see him cut his ear
off.”
Those who booed Mayweather during his
one-sided defeat of Robert Guerrero in May would presumably agree with
Putnam’s sentiment. Oscar de la Hoya, meanwhile, sees both sides.
“Fighters like Julio Cesar Chavez, Sugar
Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran gave fight fans excitement,” said the
six-weight world champion, whose fight against Mayweather in 2007 holds
the record for most pay-per-view buys – 2.44m.
“You got blood, knockdowns and
knockouts. So I can understand fans being frustrated when watching a
Floyd Mayweather fight, because of the lack of action. It should be
about taking risks and giving fans what they’re looking for.
“Then again, that’s the genius of
Mayweather: he’s been able to figure out a way of not getting hit and
winning fights in easy fashion. Boxing is an art form and Floyd has
mastered it.”
However, De la Hoya contends
Mayweather’s legacy is likely to suffer because of a lack of credible
rivals, or at least opponents able to push him to the limit.
De la Hoya was elevated because of
fights against a raft of fellow greats, including Chavez, Pernell
Whitaker and Mayweather himself. Mayweather, meanwhile, has not often
been stretched during his 17-year paid career.
That Mayweather, now 36, has still been
able to thrive at the box office is down to a carefully cultivated
public image, which sees him cast as a trash-talking, bling-flashing,
$100 bill-burning braggart of the highest order.
“Boxing is business and entertainment
and he happens to be blessed with unbelievable charisma,” said Ellerbe.
“He’s the best marketer I’ve ever seen and that’s how he’s taken a niche
sport and carried it into the mainstream.”
“It’s not my cup of tea,” said De la
Hoya, whose avowed distaste for his former foe’s methods has not
prevented him promoting Mayweather’s last eight fights.
“Before we fought he spoke about me personally, he spoke about my family,” De la Hoya added.
“He was the polar opposite of what I
represented when it came to boxing. He was doing all this trash-talking,
he was cocky and flamboyant. I didn’t like what he represented outside
and inside the ring and I wanted to knock his head off.”
Millions more wanted to see De la Hoya knock his head off, which is why Mayweather continued mouthing off.
In 2010 he broadcast a racist and
homophobic video rant against Manny Pacquiao which led some to conclude
he was on the verge of a meltdown, especially since he had no intention
of signing for a fight against the Philippine legend. Mayweather said he
was “just having fun”.
Other facets of Mayweather’s personality
are even darker. In 2002 he pleaded guilty to two counts of domestic
violence; in 2004 he was found guilty of assaulting two women in a Las
Vegas night club; and in December 2011 he was sentenced to 90 days in
prison for battery upon his ex-girlfriend.
In March of this year Mayweather was
seen gyrating his hips in the face of the wife of Cornelius Bundrage as
Bundrage fought a Mayweather-affiliated fighter, Ishe Smith. Mayweather
was wearing a cap that read: “Money. Power. Respect.” Proof that the
first two don’t necessarily add up to the third.
Apologists point out that Mayweather was
the product of a highly dysfunctional upbringing in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. His mother was a drug addict while his father Floyd Sr, a
former welterweight contender, served time for trafficking.
In addition, members of Mayweather’s
camp stress there is another side to the man and that he is more in
touch with reality than the media make out.
Courtesy: BBC Sport
No comments:
Post a Comment