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BOXING
Mayweather is fighting bad
Pound-for-pound champion is also the new pay-per-view king, and his attitude
has a lot to do with that.
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 6, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- By defeating Oscar De La Hoya in a May split decision, Floyd
Mayweather Jr. not only confirmed his stature as the best pound-for-pound
boxer in the world, he won on a stage that drew a record 2.4 million
pay-per-view buys.
Mayweather played the villain in the fight's promotion, repeatedly goading
De La Hoya with press tour antics that were often criticized as childish,
flashing lavish ***elry, pricey cars and bundles of cash on the HBO reality
series "24/7," and dressing in a sombrero and the colors of Mexico's flag
for the bout.
Now, as the unbeaten Mayweather, 30, nears a Saturday night World Boxing
Council welterweight title defense against undefeated Ricky Hatton of
England at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, he seeks not only a victory in the
ring, but a further boost in his efforts to become a crossover celebrity.
"I told you guys -- I'll be a mega-star," Mayweather said to reporters
Wednesday at a pre-fight news conference.
Against De La Hoya, Mayweather (38-0, 24 knockouts) again displayed the
skills of an exceptional boxer whose defensive quickness and supreme fitness
have made him a six-time world champion in five weight classes.
No one had questioned Mayweather's boxing gifts, but as he drew pre-De La
Hoya fight pay-per-view crowds of 365,000 against Arturo Gatti, 375,000
versus Zab Judah and 325,000 in a yawner over Carlos Baldomir, questions
about his widespread appeal in a slumping sport dogged him.
Mayweather's critics contend that his villain role is no act.
"If you're trying to win fans, you don't act the way he does," said Bob
Arum, Mayweather's former promoter. "He demeans others. He acts like a thug.
If that's your plan to build an audience, that's an embarrassment. He needs
an 'A' side, you know -- someone you like -- but he'll always be a 'B' side.
His act is not cute, it's offensive. And boxing is better off with guys like
Oscar, who conduct themselves like a sportsman, a gentleman."
Hatton, a pint-swilling Brit in his non-training days who had hundreds of
his countrymen serenading him outside Wednesday's news conference, similarly
doubts Mayweather can build a crossover audience because of his behavior.
"Flaunting his money, it's like he's bringing disrespect to people: 'Look
what I've got, and look what you don't,' " Hatton said. "That's not going to
endear himself to the public. Having security around him, telling the fans,
'Get away, get away.' . . . I don't need security. I walk right through the
casino."
Yet, with two-division champion Hatton (43-0, 31 KOs) promising an
aggressive attack to Mayweather's speed, the fight sold out of $10.5 million
in tickets in less than an hour, and the bout's promoter, Richard Schaefer
of Golden Boy Promotions, said the numbers indicate Mayweather will become
the first non-heavyweight in boxing history to be involved in back-to-back
bouts with more than 1 million pay-per-view buys.
"The business has always had a reliable fan base: Hispanic families," HBO
Pay Per View executive Mark Taffet said. "Floyd's turned the tables,
bringing in the urban markets like never before, and a younger market. He's
basically added a second leg to the stool.
"He's young, energetic, has a million-dollar smile, and a background story
of achievement."
In fact, Mayweather is spending more time before this fight repeating his
story of surviving a rough upbringing in Grand Rapids, Mich. His boxer
father was shot before his eyes, then later sent to prison on a drug charge
when the younger Mayweather was 16. His mother lapsed into drug use, and he
recalls sleeping among seven children in a bedroom on rented furniture and
taking cold-water baths warmed only by boiling water from the stove.
He still wears flashy ***elry -- a diamond-crusted bracelet was on his right
wrist Wednesday and a diamond-coated watch was on his left -- and still bets
heavily at Las Vegas sports books.
That "character" -- as his manager, Leonard Ellerbe, describes that side of
Mayweather -- comes with a disclaimer.
"I don't think I'm better than everyone else," Mayweather said. "I'm telling
kids when I show the money that, 'You can have a nice car and nice house --
legally,' by working hard. I pulled myself out of the struggle by dedicating
myself to the sport of boxing. They might say I'm ****y and arrogant, but
it's not arrogant to believe in yourself."
Since his victory over De La Hoya, Mayweather landed a spot on ABC's
"Dancing With the Stars," had a personal audience with presidential
candidate Barack *****, has been seen on MTV's "Cribs," and is in
negotiations for "several" television projects, Ellerbe said. HBO also has
advanced Mayweather-Hatton with another four-part "24/7."
"Floyd is much more focused on being a successful businessman now," Ellerbe
said. "He's changed the model for fighters, showing them how to take control
of their own business. And when the year ends, he'll be one of the
highest-paid athletes in sports, behind only Tiger Woods and Oscar."
Ellerbe pointed to Mayweather's crossover potential by relaying a story
about Halloween at the boxer's home. After his childhood of scaled-back
Halloweens, Mayweather made three trips to the grocery store to stock up on
candy bars for kids in his gated Las Vegas neighborhood. He gave away so
many that the children who'd seen him on "Cribs" basked in his generosity by
urging him to "make it rain" Snickers, a nod to his public cash displays.
Schaefer, De La Hoya's partner in Golden Boy Promotions, said after a few
brushes with Mayweather during the earlier fight's promotion, he has come to
admire the champion's improving maturity.
"He's recognized what are the buttons to push," Schaefer said. "You can say
the first fight's numbers were about Oscar, but here Floyd is again. He does
add value, and if this fight does seven figures, then you can clearly say
Floyd has captured a strong crossover audience by breaking through to the
general public."
De La Hoya was more cautious: "He's on the verge. He portrays the bad guy
well. He understands that's what sells. The bad guy has a fan base."
Outside, British boxing fans Shane Bibby of Yorkshire and his brother, Mike,
of Hatton's hometown of Manchester, agreed, saying they boarded a flight to
Las Vegas to see their countryman punish his most skilled opponent yet
partly because Mayweather has been too "disrespectful, and over the top with
it."
Mayweather, meanwhile, wants his less brash side to be known.
"Show both sides of me," he said. "When a bum sees me at a [street] light,
sometimes I give him $100 or $500. . . . I fed over 600 families at
Thanksgiving, do a Christmas charity."
"I may kill 'em at the sports book . . . may flash $75,000, but [I] give
away $30,000. God knows I'm appreciative. Why do you think I've had 38 great
nights?"
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
Mayweather is fighting bad
Pound-for-pound champion is also the new pay-per-view king, and his attitude
has a lot to do with that.
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 6, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- By defeating Oscar De La Hoya in a May split decision, Floyd
Mayweather Jr. not only confirmed his stature as the best pound-for-pound
boxer in the world, he won on a stage that drew a record 2.4 million
pay-per-view buys.
Mayweather played the villain in the fight's promotion, repeatedly goading
De La Hoya with press tour antics that were often criticized as childish,
flashing lavish ***elry, pricey cars and bundles of cash on the HBO reality
series "24/7," and dressing in a sombrero and the colors of Mexico's flag
for the bout.
Now, as the unbeaten Mayweather, 30, nears a Saturday night World Boxing
Council welterweight title defense against undefeated Ricky Hatton of
England at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, he seeks not only a victory in the
ring, but a further boost in his efforts to become a crossover celebrity.
"I told you guys -- I'll be a mega-star," Mayweather said to reporters
Wednesday at a pre-fight news conference.
Against De La Hoya, Mayweather (38-0, 24 knockouts) again displayed the
skills of an exceptional boxer whose defensive quickness and supreme fitness
have made him a six-time world champion in five weight classes.
No one had questioned Mayweather's boxing gifts, but as he drew pre-De La
Hoya fight pay-per-view crowds of 365,000 against Arturo Gatti, 375,000
versus Zab Judah and 325,000 in a yawner over Carlos Baldomir, questions
about his widespread appeal in a slumping sport dogged him.
Mayweather's critics contend that his villain role is no act.
"If you're trying to win fans, you don't act the way he does," said Bob
Arum, Mayweather's former promoter. "He demeans others. He acts like a thug.
If that's your plan to build an audience, that's an embarrassment. He needs
an 'A' side, you know -- someone you like -- but he'll always be a 'B' side.
His act is not cute, it's offensive. And boxing is better off with guys like
Oscar, who conduct themselves like a sportsman, a gentleman."
Hatton, a pint-swilling Brit in his non-training days who had hundreds of
his countrymen serenading him outside Wednesday's news conference, similarly
doubts Mayweather can build a crossover audience because of his behavior.
"Flaunting his money, it's like he's bringing disrespect to people: 'Look
what I've got, and look what you don't,' " Hatton said. "That's not going to
endear himself to the public. Having security around him, telling the fans,
'Get away, get away.' . . . I don't need security. I walk right through the
casino."
Yet, with two-division champion Hatton (43-0, 31 KOs) promising an
aggressive attack to Mayweather's speed, the fight sold out of $10.5 million
in tickets in less than an hour, and the bout's promoter, Richard Schaefer
of Golden Boy Promotions, said the numbers indicate Mayweather will become
the first non-heavyweight in boxing history to be involved in back-to-back
bouts with more than 1 million pay-per-view buys.
"The business has always had a reliable fan base: Hispanic families," HBO
Pay Per View executive Mark Taffet said. "Floyd's turned the tables,
bringing in the urban markets like never before, and a younger market. He's
basically added a second leg to the stool.
"He's young, energetic, has a million-dollar smile, and a background story
of achievement."
In fact, Mayweather is spending more time before this fight repeating his
story of surviving a rough upbringing in Grand Rapids, Mich. His boxer
father was shot before his eyes, then later sent to prison on a drug charge
when the younger Mayweather was 16. His mother lapsed into drug use, and he
recalls sleeping among seven children in a bedroom on rented furniture and
taking cold-water baths warmed only by boiling water from the stove.
He still wears flashy ***elry -- a diamond-crusted bracelet was on his right
wrist Wednesday and a diamond-coated watch was on his left -- and still bets
heavily at Las Vegas sports books.
That "character" -- as his manager, Leonard Ellerbe, describes that side of
Mayweather -- comes with a disclaimer.
"I don't think I'm better than everyone else," Mayweather said. "I'm telling
kids when I show the money that, 'You can have a nice car and nice house --
legally,' by working hard. I pulled myself out of the struggle by dedicating
myself to the sport of boxing. They might say I'm ****y and arrogant, but
it's not arrogant to believe in yourself."
Since his victory over De La Hoya, Mayweather landed a spot on ABC's
"Dancing With the Stars," had a personal audience with presidential
candidate Barack *****, has been seen on MTV's "Cribs," and is in
negotiations for "several" television projects, Ellerbe said. HBO also has
advanced Mayweather-Hatton with another four-part "24/7."
"Floyd is much more focused on being a successful businessman now," Ellerbe
said. "He's changed the model for fighters, showing them how to take control
of their own business. And when the year ends, he'll be one of the
highest-paid athletes in sports, behind only Tiger Woods and Oscar."
Ellerbe pointed to Mayweather's crossover potential by relaying a story
about Halloween at the boxer's home. After his childhood of scaled-back
Halloweens, Mayweather made three trips to the grocery store to stock up on
candy bars for kids in his gated Las Vegas neighborhood. He gave away so
many that the children who'd seen him on "Cribs" basked in his generosity by
urging him to "make it rain" Snickers, a nod to his public cash displays.
Schaefer, De La Hoya's partner in Golden Boy Promotions, said after a few
brushes with Mayweather during the earlier fight's promotion, he has come to
admire the champion's improving maturity.
"He's recognized what are the buttons to push," Schaefer said. "You can say
the first fight's numbers were about Oscar, but here Floyd is again. He does
add value, and if this fight does seven figures, then you can clearly say
Floyd has captured a strong crossover audience by breaking through to the
general public."
De La Hoya was more cautious: "He's on the verge. He portrays the bad guy
well. He understands that's what sells. The bad guy has a fan base."
Outside, British boxing fans Shane Bibby of Yorkshire and his brother, Mike,
of Hatton's hometown of Manchester, agreed, saying they boarded a flight to
Las Vegas to see their countryman punish his most skilled opponent yet
partly because Mayweather has been too "disrespectful, and over the top with
it."
Mayweather, meanwhile, wants his less brash side to be known.
"Show both sides of me," he said. "When a bum sees me at a [street] light,
sometimes I give him $100 or $500. . . . I fed over 600 families at
Thanksgiving, do a Christmas charity."
"I may kill 'em at the sports book . . . may flash $75,000, but [I] give
away $30,000. God knows I'm appreciative. Why do you think I've had 38 great
nights?"
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
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