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Mercy, when I saw this one, my eyes bugged out. Suffice to say that the NAACP is never going to take up the cause of Floyd, who has made himself mega-millions of dollars, despite, he maintains, being the victim of HBO's "racism". The level of insult to people who actually bear the brunt of bigotry is stunning here. Taylor has received ample praise over the years on HBO, as has Bernard Hopkins, as has Winky Wright, as has Roy Jones, as has George Foreman, as has Lennox Lewis, who, not coincidentally, is employed by the same organization Floyd is smearing by accusing them of condoning racial bias.
Let me be the one to clue Floyd in here, as apparently his team of advisors have not been inclined to clue him in, or have been unsuccessful at doing so…the HBO analysts, and that goes for Lampley, Merchant, Steward, Kellerman and Lewis, typically are prone to give credit to boxers whose styles are in line with Pavlik and Pacquiao, over more defensively oriented fighters, like Mayweather. This is the only bias I can put my finger on regarding the gang at HBO, other than a bias for the suits who seem to be hell-bent on making money. Yup, the powers that be, which happen to include a black man, Kery Davis, who most of the day to day shots regarding boxing in his capacity as senior VP of sports, shockingly attempt to maximize their revenue, above any other singular aim. So, I didn’t happen to see any examples of bias, racial or otherwise, as HBO was throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising, and documentary infomercials, at the Mayweather/De La Hoya bout in the early spring of 2007.
Again, I wondered what Mayweather was thinking when he lit the fuse on this race card explosive device. Was he thinking at all?
Was there any motivation behind it, or was he just a tad jealous that Pavlik and Pacquiao, two men who have shown warrior qualities inside the ring, and a humble demeanor outside the ring, were garnering praise that he felt was owed to him?
Does he truly see himself as a retired boxer, or merely one on hiatus, who should still be regarded as the P4P best, and all others should be afforded mere interim status until he chooses to make his inevitable reappearance to the sport?
Does he truly perceive racial bias, or is someone whispering incendiary fodder in his ear, trying to whip him into a frenzy to goad him into returning to the ring, so he will earn another oversized paycheck, and that whisperer can chip off a chunk for themselves? Mayweather leaves himself open to speculation on his motives when he lobs such inflammatory rhetoric., without providing concrete examples to bolster his argument.
Mayweather says that HBO's commentator's are racist and full of ****.
Okay, I get it, as long as you are making piles of dough you are willing to hold your tongue that the blatant mistreatment you have suffered through. Some would call that selling out, Floyd.
HBO televised 21 of Mayweather's last 22 fights, either on its main network or pay-per-view arm, Mayo pointed out, so Floyd has been holding his tongue for a long spell. Maybe it was easier for Floyd to hold his tongue because the suits okayed underwhelming foes like Henry Bruseles, and faded Sharmba Mitchell and Arturo Gatti in recent years.
You may recall, in 1999, that Mayweather accused HBO and then promoter Bob Arum of offering him a "slave contract" during negotiating sessions. That “slave contract” amounted to $12.5 million spread out over three years. Mayweather never retracted that statement, one blatantly insulting to anyone who was touched by the disgraceful, shameful practice of slavery, and my guess is that he will not take back this latest salvo.
"I'm happy. I feel clear. I feel free as a bird," said Floyd. "I feel good that I can finally speak out, and say the things I want to say."
Sad is the best word to sum up this latest Mayweather antic. I feel like such a flip flopper on the subject of Floyd; I thought he’d made strides in becoming a more mature man after he dispatched Ricky Hatton in December. But I do believe that he is too damaged, too compromised by his fragile ego and the emotional turmoil that his fractious upbringing has sentenced him to, for him to ever see the light, and count his blessings, and be the positive force, as an athlete and role model, that he could be.
Mind you, lest anyone out there dismiss my stance as a pro HBO suckup job, let me state clearly that I do not make the claim that HBO is faultless. I do not care for many of the matches the company has made in recent years, and believe that HBO-contracted fighters are too often allowed to engage in record and hype building faceoffs, with an eye towards facilitating pay-per-view bouts, rather than true tests of their skills. I was disappointed in the remarks put forth by HBO sports president Ross Greenburg, who seemed to rip a page from the John Kerry 2004 campaign handbook when he said, "Floyd is a tremendous athlete who gave his all to the sport. We have nothing but admiration for what he accomplished in the ring. His remarks regarding HBO broadcasters and executives are unfortunate and we could not disagree more. We will not engage in a debate. We are very disappointed in hearing about this. We wish him well in retirement."
Unfortunate?
We wish him well?
Ross, he just ripped you and yours two, maybe three new ones, and you wish him well?
We all know that HBO and Floyd will likely kiss and make up, for purposes of maximizing revenue accumulation when Floyd comes back. But I would have liked to see Ross and company tell him that they repudiate his remarks, strongly, and announce publicly that they have decided that they will no longer pursue a business arrangement with somebody who takes such offense at their methods and personnel. But that would mean leaving some money on the table, and that’s not bloody likely.
It’s all a bit sad, as stated before, but luckily, the savage science has been on an uptick recently, with as fighters like Pacquiao and Pavlik are manufacturing excitement, and pride, in the much maligned sphere of prizefighting. Hopefully Floyd will go on a lucky streak in his beat-the-bookie habit, or even better, latch on to some charitable cause that would benefit from his donations and charisma. Barring that, maybe he can spend some of his free time studying up on all the instances of true racial bias that are rampant in this nation and others, and perhaps do some good in improving the problems, rather than whining like a bored, petulant malcontent.
Let me be the one to clue Floyd in here, as apparently his team of advisors have not been inclined to clue him in, or have been unsuccessful at doing so…the HBO analysts, and that goes for Lampley, Merchant, Steward, Kellerman and Lewis, typically are prone to give credit to boxers whose styles are in line with Pavlik and Pacquiao, over more defensively oriented fighters, like Mayweather. This is the only bias I can put my finger on regarding the gang at HBO, other than a bias for the suits who seem to be hell-bent on making money. Yup, the powers that be, which happen to include a black man, Kery Davis, who most of the day to day shots regarding boxing in his capacity as senior VP of sports, shockingly attempt to maximize their revenue, above any other singular aim. So, I didn’t happen to see any examples of bias, racial or otherwise, as HBO was throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising, and documentary infomercials, at the Mayweather/De La Hoya bout in the early spring of 2007.
Again, I wondered what Mayweather was thinking when he lit the fuse on this race card explosive device. Was he thinking at all?
Was there any motivation behind it, or was he just a tad jealous that Pavlik and Pacquiao, two men who have shown warrior qualities inside the ring, and a humble demeanor outside the ring, were garnering praise that he felt was owed to him?
Does he truly see himself as a retired boxer, or merely one on hiatus, who should still be regarded as the P4P best, and all others should be afforded mere interim status until he chooses to make his inevitable reappearance to the sport?
Does he truly perceive racial bias, or is someone whispering incendiary fodder in his ear, trying to whip him into a frenzy to goad him into returning to the ring, so he will earn another oversized paycheck, and that whisperer can chip off a chunk for themselves? Mayweather leaves himself open to speculation on his motives when he lobs such inflammatory rhetoric., without providing concrete examples to bolster his argument.
Mayweather says that HBO's commentator's are racist and full of ****.
Okay, I get it, as long as you are making piles of dough you are willing to hold your tongue that the blatant mistreatment you have suffered through. Some would call that selling out, Floyd.
HBO televised 21 of Mayweather's last 22 fights, either on its main network or pay-per-view arm, Mayo pointed out, so Floyd has been holding his tongue for a long spell. Maybe it was easier for Floyd to hold his tongue because the suits okayed underwhelming foes like Henry Bruseles, and faded Sharmba Mitchell and Arturo Gatti in recent years.
You may recall, in 1999, that Mayweather accused HBO and then promoter Bob Arum of offering him a "slave contract" during negotiating sessions. That “slave contract” amounted to $12.5 million spread out over three years. Mayweather never retracted that statement, one blatantly insulting to anyone who was touched by the disgraceful, shameful practice of slavery, and my guess is that he will not take back this latest salvo.
"I'm happy. I feel clear. I feel free as a bird," said Floyd. "I feel good that I can finally speak out, and say the things I want to say."
Sad is the best word to sum up this latest Mayweather antic. I feel like such a flip flopper on the subject of Floyd; I thought he’d made strides in becoming a more mature man after he dispatched Ricky Hatton in December. But I do believe that he is too damaged, too compromised by his fragile ego and the emotional turmoil that his fractious upbringing has sentenced him to, for him to ever see the light, and count his blessings, and be the positive force, as an athlete and role model, that he could be.
Mind you, lest anyone out there dismiss my stance as a pro HBO suckup job, let me state clearly that I do not make the claim that HBO is faultless. I do not care for many of the matches the company has made in recent years, and believe that HBO-contracted fighters are too often allowed to engage in record and hype building faceoffs, with an eye towards facilitating pay-per-view bouts, rather than true tests of their skills. I was disappointed in the remarks put forth by HBO sports president Ross Greenburg, who seemed to rip a page from the John Kerry 2004 campaign handbook when he said, "Floyd is a tremendous athlete who gave his all to the sport. We have nothing but admiration for what he accomplished in the ring. His remarks regarding HBO broadcasters and executives are unfortunate and we could not disagree more. We will not engage in a debate. We are very disappointed in hearing about this. We wish him well in retirement."
Unfortunate?
We wish him well?
Ross, he just ripped you and yours two, maybe three new ones, and you wish him well?
We all know that HBO and Floyd will likely kiss and make up, for purposes of maximizing revenue accumulation when Floyd comes back. But I would have liked to see Ross and company tell him that they repudiate his remarks, strongly, and announce publicly that they have decided that they will no longer pursue a business arrangement with somebody who takes such offense at their methods and personnel. But that would mean leaving some money on the table, and that’s not bloody likely.
It’s all a bit sad, as stated before, but luckily, the savage science has been on an uptick recently, with as fighters like Pacquiao and Pavlik are manufacturing excitement, and pride, in the much maligned sphere of prizefighting. Hopefully Floyd will go on a lucky streak in his beat-the-bookie habit, or even better, latch on to some charitable cause that would benefit from his donations and charisma. Barring that, maybe he can spend some of his free time studying up on all the instances of true racial bias that are rampant in this nation and others, and perhaps do some good in improving the problems, rather than whining like a bored, petulant malcontent.