The Only Reason Mayweather's At Where He's At Is...

[big_james10]

is because of the way he acts.

If not, he'd be Shane Mosley or at best Roy Jones Jr....... just another awesomely talented black fighter without an X factor lost in the shuffle.

Despite being one of, if not, the most talented fighters ever and probably more entertaining than Oscar, Roy never could compete with De la Hoya's popularity and overall sales. Why?

After Shane Mosley beat De La Hoya in a better action fight than De La Hoya-Mayweather, he was playing to a sparse crowds where he couldn't fill up the MSG Arena against his #1 contender (RIP Vernon Forrest). Why?

Mayweather was fighting in front of a sold out MGM Grand (of course Hatton had something to do with it) and selling what Shane sold against Oscar in the second fight, not even the first.

Unless you're The Heavyweight Champion, Mexican, Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, or Filipino, that humble, no charisma **** is not gonna cut it, if you want to be among the most popular athletes (in boxing) you have to be a character.

Mayweather tried the humble act for a while (and you could tell earlier in his career that it hard for him) and it didn't work, now he's being an exaggerated version of himself and it works and continues to.

You are absolutely correct. I have said this all along. In spite of the fact that I don't approve of what he did, this latest rant from Floyd will increase the hype for the Pacquaio fight and will probably cause PPV sales to exceed two million (I didn't think it would hit 2 million before) and likely exceed 2.5 million.

[-EX-]

I agree with some of the points you made...

Add in the fact, he fought the Golden Boy...and he's made some smart business moves...the 24/7 series...wrestling...other acts on Television...

He's crossed over as in everyone knows who he is...but that doesn't mean everyone likes him of course...

He does a good job of marketing himself...

Its anyone's guess if he could be where he's at without the trash talk but he picks and chooses the big money fights and has made some other good business moves...

[Sombras]

Like most Filipino fighters? There's been only one famous one

[Heru]

I think it started as an act but as it worked he did it more and this is what he has become. To me you still see the conflict in him in that he knows what works but he still wants the recognition and adoration.

Yea what he said was just ****** sterotypes and he didn't even stick to Phillipino sterotypes he was jumping around Asia.

Floyd should just keep Chris Rock on retainer and have him do his talking for him.

That's a good perception, he'd rather have the money though. Earlier in his career, he sounded as if he was holding back his real feelings.

It's Asian stereotyping, remember Floyd isn't the wittiest guy around, if he has much wittiness at all. The wittiest thing I've heard him say is the St. Patrick's day and Avatar jokes, he said to a Mosley in a green suit.

Chris Rock is a witty dude. He'd be worth it.

[Calilloyd]

To be honest with you, ive seen most of Roy's fights, and i think Roy Jones could be pretty tedious to watch, there were too many lulls in the action cause he was strictly a counter puncher who never wanted to lead, what you ended up with, was a lot of times when your jaw would be on the floor and you would think, holy ****, that was amazing, but then other times where you thought, many this is tedious, there is too much waiting on Roy's part.

I would say Oscar's fights were more entertaining than Roy's to.

Are you sure you've watched Roy Jones in his prime? To say he was just a counter puncher that never lead is seriously ridiculous.

You are being biased now.

[Heru]

If Floyd loses his "0", not many people will care about him. People like to watch his fights because he has backed up the talking so far, beating all his opponents. Once he's not undefeated, I think people might lose interest. Most people pay to watch him lose.

I doubt it.

He might lose a decent chunk, but he'll still be 1 of the highest paid athletes in boxing and probably work his way back to top 10 among athletes.

People always want to see a hated fighter get beat up (see Margarito, it will reflect in the #s) and I doubt that even if Floyd loses that he gets beat down. He'll still be selling over 500K in every fight.

[big_james10]

If he was a genuinely nice guy, didn't have numerous body guards and a posse with him at all times, and seemed to genuinely care he could have been a crossover superstar.

You can be entertaining, fun, the "villian", and trash talk without being a genuine **** in reality. The way he is may have gotten him to where he is, but it's also what is holding him back from true superstardom.

You can count the number of American boxers who have achieved true crossover success on one hand. They include Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. Some foreign stars and ethnic stars, like Pacquaio and De La Hoya, have achieved limited success among their own people. However, achieving true crossover success in boxing is as rare as finding a four-leaf clover, regardless of your personality.

By the time he is finished with his career, Floyd will have made $200 million more than he would have if he had been entertaining, fun, the "villian", and trash talk without being a genuine **** in reality and he would not have had the crossover success that he has had -- the commercials, dancing with the stars appearance, etc..., if he did not have the persona that he has perfected.

[The Gambler1981]

That's a good perception, he'd rather have the money though. Earlier in his career, he sounded as if he was holding back his real feelings.

It's Asian stereotyping, remember Floyd isn't the wittiest guy around, if he has much wittiness at all. The wittiest thing I've heard him say is the St. Patrick's day and Avatar jokes, he said to a Mosley in a green suit.

Chris Rock is a witty dude. He'd be worth it.

Floyd certainly is a ****y individual but looking at his family it is easy to see where that comes from. he probably wanted to be Ray Leonard back then but when that wasn't working out he switched it up starting with the slave wages comment which lead to how he acted agianst Gatti which leads to now.

I will say this though it always impresses me how he made it I would have never expected Floyd would get this far back when Floyd was considered underrated.

[Pretty Boy Greg]

You can count the number of American boxers who have achieved true crossover success on one hand. They include Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. Some foreign stars and ethnic stars, like Pacquaio and De La Hoya, have achieved limited success among their own people. However, achieving true crossover success in boxing is as rare as finding a four-leaf clover, regardless of your personality.

By the time he is finished with his career, Floyd will have made $200 million more than he would have if he had been entertaining, fun, the "villian", and trash talk without being a genuine **** in reality and he would not have had the crossover success that he has had -- the commercials, dancing with the stars appearance, etc..., if he did not have the persona that he has perfected.

you have to include Tyson on that list...

[big_james10]

I find Oscar more entertaining too, but from what I've seen on the boards many would disagree. That's why I added 'probably', instead of just 'he's more exciting'.

Oscar didn't like to lead much at all though, especially when he was against the higher level of opp.

I think Oscar's success, much moreso than Floyd's, has been the product of great marketing by Bob Arum. When Oscar first started his career, Arum used the fact that he was a Olympic gold medalist to promote him, but moreso he used his deceased mother and Oscar's promise of a gold medal to her, as a marketing tool. People ate it up. He also used his looks, especially among Latino women. Latino women ate it up. He used the fact that he was a Mexican by ethnicity. The Mexicans ate it up.

He picked his opponents very carefully early in his career (he avoided Azumah Nelson like he was the plague when he was at 130) and promoted him as a world champion by having him fight for WBO titles, which no one took seriously and no one gave a damn about in the 1990s. By the time Oscar fought Whitaker for the 147-pound title, he was already a superstar and a crossover star among Mexicans. As a result, he got a lot of gift decisions. I thought Oscar lost his fights to Pernell Whitaker, Ike Quartey and Felix Sturm, but he got gift decisions. His success had more to do with marketing than skill.

Floyd's success was due to his talent and his ability to self-promote because Bob Arum did a lousy job of promoting him and did not put as much effort into promoting Floyd as he did his Mexican fighters.