Floyd Mayweather Jr. could be fighting Manny Pacquiao and dominating the sport but it hasn't happened. Went wrong for Mayweather and how it could've been different.
“I see the haters a mile away … From my Yacht of course lol"
—Floyd Mayweather on Twitter, December 2010
Shortly before his most recent round of legal problems, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was granting short interviews here and there, talking about how blessed he feels and about giving back to the community. Another popular topic was his recent engagement to his longtime girlfriend, Shantel Williams. Mayweather hinted at plans for a new reality TV show in which the two of them would star. Mostly, though, he talked about Twitter.
According to TwitterCounter.com, Mayweather has nearly 900,000 followers, which ranks him as approximately the 360th most-popular Twitter user. He’s well behind Lindsay Lohan, but at press time he was on the verge of passing Ivanka Trump.
Years ago, we had all looked forward to the day when Mayweather’s popularity would catch up to his skills. We imagined he could become that rare and desired boxing commodity – the fighter who was not only great in the ring but also famous enough to get mainstream attention. Not since the early days of Mike Tyson have we had a fighter who was immensely popular as well as being a dominant ring figure. Oscar De La Hoya had the fans but was never universally accepted as the best in the world; Roy Jones had the skills, but couldn’t put butts in the seats. As Mayweather proved to be a valid pay-per-view draw, it seemed our search for an all-around superstar was over.
Unfortunately, a number of factors have kept Mayweather from reaching the absolute, unquestioned, pinnacle of the sport, not the least of which was that Manny Pacquiao draws as well if not better, is a more exciting performer and possesses a more interesting back story.
But it is not just Pacquiao who makes Mayweather’s career seem only partially realized.
If we could whittle our thoughts down to a list of 10 things that has kept Mayweather’s career from being all it could be, it might read something like this:
10. HE WAS GIVEN TOO MUCH TOO SOON
Mayweather often says he wasn’t properly promoted early on, but considering he started his career as a bronze medalist from the 1996 Olympic team, he did very well: HBO fawned over him, and Bob Arum treated him like a superstar. Floyd also happened to come along when HBO was giving truckloads of cash to fighters who looked promising. The result was that Mayweather was a millionaire long before he’d done anything noteworthy. Then he complained that it wasn’t enough. Slave wages, indeed.
What If Things Were Different?Would Mayweather be more palatable had he come up the hard way, fighting for smaller purses with much less fanfare? Maybe not. That’s how his father and uncle came up, and they’re pains in the ass too. But maybe he wouldn’t have had such an inflated sense of himself in the early days of his career. And maybe it would’ve occurred to him to take a risk now and then. Where’s the incentive to fight thrilling fights when you already have a closet full of furs and jewels?
9. THE WAYS OF THE MAYWEATHER MEN
Speaking of dear Uncle Roger and Daddy Floyd, one wonders what sort of role models they were during Mayweather’s formative years. Some of the personal issues Mayweather is dealing with are similar to problems experienced by both Roger and Floyd Sr. Let’s just say that the Mayweather men have a particular way of doing things, and it often gets them in trouble. Maybe Floyd should’ve spent more time in the company of his Uncle “Jazzy” Jeff, a Mayweather male who is less volatile.
What If Things Were Different?Had Mayweather grown up in a Brady Bunch/Bill Cosby type of setting, he probably wouldn't be a fighter. Still, had he been exposed to a different sort of trainer/father figure at an early age, perhaps an Eddie Futch or a Freddie Roach, he might’ve seen that following in the footsteps of his relatives wasn’t the best way to go, and he might not be in trouble so often.
“I see the haters a mile away … From my Yacht of course lol"
—Floyd Mayweather on Twitter, December 2010
Shortly before his most recent round of legal problems, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was granting short interviews here and there, talking about how blessed he feels and about giving back to the community. Another popular topic was his recent engagement to his longtime girlfriend, Shantel Williams. Mayweather hinted at plans for a new reality TV show in which the two of them would star. Mostly, though, he talked about Twitter.
According to TwitterCounter.com, Mayweather has nearly 900,000 followers, which ranks him as approximately the 360th most-popular Twitter user. He’s well behind Lindsay Lohan, but at press time he was on the verge of passing Ivanka Trump.
Years ago, we had all looked forward to the day when Mayweather’s popularity would catch up to his skills. We imagined he could become that rare and desired boxing commodity – the fighter who was not only great in the ring but also famous enough to get mainstream attention. Not since the early days of Mike Tyson have we had a fighter who was immensely popular as well as being a dominant ring figure. Oscar De La Hoya had the fans but was never universally accepted as the best in the world; Roy Jones had the skills, but couldn’t put butts in the seats. As Mayweather proved to be a valid pay-per-view draw, it seemed our search for an all-around superstar was over.
Unfortunately, a number of factors have kept Mayweather from reaching the absolute, unquestioned, pinnacle of the sport, not the least of which was that Manny Pacquiao draws as well if not better, is a more exciting performer and possesses a more interesting back story.
But it is not just Pacquiao who makes Mayweather’s career seem only partially realized.
If we could whittle our thoughts down to a list of 10 things that has kept Mayweather’s career from being all it could be, it might read something like this:
10. HE WAS GIVEN TOO MUCH TOO SOON
Mayweather often says he wasn’t properly promoted early on, but considering he started his career as a bronze medalist from the 1996 Olympic team, he did very well: HBO fawned over him, and Bob Arum treated him like a superstar. Floyd also happened to come along when HBO was giving truckloads of cash to fighters who looked promising. The result was that Mayweather was a millionaire long before he’d done anything noteworthy. Then he complained that it wasn’t enough. Slave wages, indeed.
What If Things Were Different?Would Mayweather be more palatable had he come up the hard way, fighting for smaller purses with much less fanfare? Maybe not. That’s how his father and uncle came up, and they’re pains in the ass too. But maybe he wouldn’t have had such an inflated sense of himself in the early days of his career. And maybe it would’ve occurred to him to take a risk now and then. Where’s the incentive to fight thrilling fights when you already have a closet full of furs and jewels?
9. THE WAYS OF THE MAYWEATHER MEN
Speaking of dear Uncle Roger and Daddy Floyd, one wonders what sort of role models they were during Mayweather’s formative years. Some of the personal issues Mayweather is dealing with are similar to problems experienced by both Roger and Floyd Sr. Let’s just say that the Mayweather men have a particular way of doing things, and it often gets them in trouble. Maybe Floyd should’ve spent more time in the company of his Uncle “Jazzy” Jeff, a Mayweather male who is less volatile.
What If Things Were Different?Had Mayweather grown up in a Brady Bunch/Bill Cosby type of setting, he probably wouldn't be a fighter. Still, had he been exposed to a different sort of trainer/father figure at an early age, perhaps an Eddie Futch or a Freddie Roach, he might’ve seen that following in the footsteps of his relatives wasn’t the best way to go, and he might not be in trouble so often.
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