Money has ruined Floyd

[Porter's Dad]

All fighters fight for money. If they don't, they should. Even the great warriors of our sport - Ali, Holyfield, Morales, Corrales, etc - were first and foremost making money for themselves, their family.

But Floyd....he's taken this concept to such an extreme level. And it has ruined him, IMHO.

Everything going on right now is just one big cash-out. Listen to him talk. The level of his greed, the way he defines himself by his wealth, the fixation with numbers....

He wants the rewards of boxing, without taking the risks.

You might say that the difference between him and others is that he's just honest about it.

I say the difference is that he's crazy about money to the point where it's distorted his mind.

I mean, name me another fighter who is so hung up on another person's finances like he is Pacquaio. He's doing "homework" on him, FFS. He's been commenting on Manny's money for a few years ago.

He "can't afford to give (Pacquiao) 50/50". When he said that, at that moment, I realised something.

You know how we wonder why Bob Arum, even at 134 years old, still chases the dollar, and will do so until his last dying breath?

It's the sort of mentality us mere mortals can't understand. But that is where Floyd is right now, closer to the Bob Arums of the world than the fighters.

It's just sad.

In any other art form, if someone was as this fixated with money, they would be dismissed and derided, called a sell-out. Imagine Spielberg dismissing Scorese on the basis his films make way less than Spielberg's.

The fight with Miguel....I was kinda looking forward to it, especially as Miguel is one of my fave all-time fighters. Now, I couldn't care less. I can see the mechanics of Floyd's mind in selecting Miguel - past his best, not too risky, but a good fanbase, kerching.

It just all feels really hollow - just a way to top up his balance and maintain his lifestyle.

The guy was gifted with some of the greatest talent ever in this sport......and for the last 5 years, it's more or less been a cash-out. Inactivity, careful selection of opponents.

Sure, he'll go down as a great. And a lot of he bull**** will be forgotten.

But a lot won't.

Not fighting Pacquaio now might seem like the right thing to do now, financially (god knows why but that is what he is saying). But years from now, he's gonna get asked the same question about Pacquaio if it never goes down. And that will hang over his career. And he's gonna regret not taking it.

Money is transient. Greatness.....true greatness, is forever.

[warp1432]

Money is all that matters in boxing to the fighters. It will always be for the biggest paydays and not "fighting contenders" etc.

[Javii86]

It's more about the power struggle between Top Rank and Floyd Mayweather, They're trying to figure out who will use Pacquiao to gain the most. Bob Arum wants it his way and Floyd wants it his way.

[pugilistprophet1994]

Great post

[Porter's Dad]

Money is all that matters in boxing to the fighters. It will always be for the biggest paydays and not "fighting contenders" etc.

I readily acknowledge that money is the primary motivation for boxers.

However, what Floyd has done, more than any other fighter I can think of, is to now base everything.....everything on money.

And if it is all based around making himself money, what is the point us watching? It's a hollow experience. I'm watching a guy cash out and not come out again for another year.

What is the point, for us as the audience, to be watching this?

I'm watching one of the most talented boxers ever trying to rip us off (that's what it feels like anyway).

In what other art form would this be OK?

And yes, in other art forms - there's not the risk of brain damage. So I accept the trade-off that money has to be the primary motivation.

But to this level? Where Floyd has taken it now? Where it is everything?

[ProTrainer]

nice post. Can tell that was an honest opinion and truly does make a lot of sense.

[Phil Ivey]

Money is transient therefore you gotta make a lot. You know how many great fighters who were once homeless? There are no charity funds set up for great fighters. Everyone fights for money, it's a JOB just like everybody else who has one - you try to make the most in order to sustain a stable living, ofc Floyd's view of a living is at the most grandiose scale but everything is still relative of course. And if somehow one blows all his money away and laments on not fighting Pacquiao for that last 50mill+ payday that he thinks would've given him a much better life then that's he's own doing.

This isn't the 1960's, everything has changed.. boxing is no exception. Brain trauma related to concussions and pugilistic sports is well-documented now.

And yes, difference is Mayweather is just honest about it, hell are we forgetting the close fall out between the Pac-Hatton negotiations over money? Money is first priority for everyone don't be fooled, and there's absolutely nothing wrong that. And that Speilberg comparison is plain ******, first of all if he did he wouldn't be honest about it and secondly its not a sport where they're constantly being compared with one another.. hell they even make films in totally different genres.

If everything you say its true, then Mayweather will fight for a long time and most likely get KO'd some day and trust me it will hurt him 10000x than it will hurt the fans.

[New England]

All fighters fight for money. If they don't, they should. Even the great warriors of our sport - Ali, Holyfield, Morales, Corrales, etc - were first and foremost making money for themselves, their family.

But Floyd....he's taken this concept to such an extreme level. And it has ruined him, IMHO.

Everything going on right now is just one big cash-out. Listen to him talk. The level of his greed, the way he defines himself by his wealth, the fixation with numbers....

He wants the rewards of boxing, without taking the risks.

You might say that the difference between him and others is that he's just honest about it.

I say the difference is that he's crazy about money to the point where it's distorted his mind.

I mean, name me another fighter who is so hung up on another person's finances like he is Pacquaio. He's doing "homework" on him, FFS. He's been commenting on Manny's money for a few years ago.

He "can't afford to give (Pacquiao) 50/50". When he said that, at that moment, I realised something.

You know how we wonder why Bob Arum, even at 134 years old, still chases the dollar, and will do so until his last dying breath?

It's the sort of mentality us mere mortals can't understand. But that is where Floyd is right now, closer to the Bob Arums of the world than the fighters.

It's just sad.

In any other art form, if someone was as this fixated with money, they would be dismissed and derided, called a sell-out. Imagine Spielberg dismissing Scorese on the basis his films make way less than Spielberg's.

The fight with Miguel....I was kinda looking forward to it, especially as Miguel is one of my fave all-time fighters. Now, I couldn't care less. I can see the mechanics of Floyd's mind in selecting Miguel - past his best, not too risky, but a good fanbase, kerching.

It just all feels really hollow - just a way to top up his balance and maintain his lifestyle.

The guy was gifted with some of the greatest talent ever in this sport......and for the last 5 years, it's more or less been a cash-out. Inactivity, careful selection of opponents.

Sure, he'll go down as a great. And a lot of he bull**** will be forgotten.

But a lot won't.

Not fighting Pacquaio now might seem like the right thing to do now, financially (god knows why but that is what he is saying). But years from now, he's gonna get asked the same question about Pacquaio if it never goes down. And that will hang over his career. And he's gonna regret not taking it.

Money is transient. Greatness.....true greatness, is forever.

good post and with some astute observations


boxing is a complex industry. there's a whole lot going on. you can spend years following the sport and still have a lifetime of learning ahead of you.

i've been becoming more fascinated with the fiscal workings of boxing of late. there's just so much going on.

from the perspective of the fan looking for exciting fights and equity in sorting out the divisions the best fighting the best we can certainly agree that not having these big fights is bad thing
on the other hand however we get a small glimpse into the makings of the sport. it is motivated entirely by money.

boxing is as healthy as it is in part because of the posturing over the pacquiao and mayweather fight. both parties have made a hell of a lot more by not fighting than they would have if they fought a few years ago when the fight first got on the table.

the stalling has been good for the sport, in the sense that it makes it money and money is the reason it's around.

i think i'm not 100% in agreement because i think i'm supporting a bit more the business // monetary motivation of the fight not happening
good post anyway, man. per usual



floyd feels a compulsion for bringing in money far beyond most. he's a serious gambler, a big time spender, etc.

if anybody can go broke with a bankroll like his it's him. i do hope that he makes the best decisions he can for his family with his money

[Porter's Dad]

Money is transient therefore you gotta make a lot. You know how many great fighters who were once homeless? There are no charity funds set up for great fighters. Everyone fights for money, it's a JOB just like everybody else who has one - you try to make the most in order to sustain a stable living, ofc Floyd's view of a living is at the most grandiose scale but everything is still relative of course. And if somehow one blows all his money away and laments on not fighting Pacquiao for that last 50mill+ payday that he thinks would've given him a much better life then that's he's own doing.

This isn't the 1960's, everything has changed.. boxing is no exception. Brain trauma related to concussions and pugilistic sports is well-documented now.

And yes, difference is Mayweather is just honest about it, hell are we forgetting the close fall out between the Pac-Hatton negotiations over money? Money is first priority for everyone don't be fooled, and there's absolutely nothing wrong that. And that Speilberg comparison is plain ******, first of all if he did he wouldn't be honest about it and secondly its not a sport where they're constantly being compared with one another.. hell they even make films in totally different genres.

The Pac-Hatton negotiations were as much about prestige (Pac not wanting to take less than someone clearly inferior to him) as about money.

Again, if you read my OP, I have no qualms about money being the primary motivation.

I have issues with it being the ONLY motivation, to the point where we are see these cash-grabs and runs.

Brain trauma related to concussions and pugilistic sports is well-documented now

So Floyd is justified in taking carefully selected fights on that basis? I mean, if it wants to do that....OK. Boxing is a rough, rough sport. I have never and would never call any fighter a coward, because they have more balls and guts than I do.

But Floyd get paid remarkably well because he's in such a cut-throat sport. He's accepting the rewards without taking the risks.

I mean, he's talking about Ali taking the fights the fans wanted. No. Ali took the fights Ali wanted. Yes, for the money but also because there were few fighters in history who sought greatness and loved to fight like Ali.

And despite everything, despite what he's going through now.....IMHO, he wouldn't change things, because he had to walk through fire again and again to become immortal. Those last few Ali fights were obviously unecessary and should never have happened.

But before that?

I don't think Ali has any regrets.

And anyway, what was Ali/pugilistic dimentia/Parkinson have to do with Floyd's career right now?

Can someone explain to me why he brought it up in the interview?

Are the fans trying to force him to fight Wladimir Klitschko?

[Porter's Dad]

good post and with some astute observations


boxing is a complex industry. there's a whole lot going on. you can spend years following the sport and still have a lifetime of learning ahead of you.

i've been becoming more fascinated with the fiscal workings of boxing of late. there's just so much going on.

from the perspective of the fan looking for exciting fights and equity in sorting out the divisions the best fighting the best we can certainly agree that not having these big fights is bad thing
on the other hand however we get a small glimpse into the makings of the sport. it is motivated entirely by money.

boxing is as healthy as it is in part because of the posturing over the pacquiao and mayweather fight. both parties have made a hell of a lot more by not fighting than they would have if they fought a few years ago when the fight first got on the table.

the stalling has been good for the sport, in the sense that it makes it money and money is the reason it's around.

i think i'm not 100% in agreement because i think i'm supporting a bit more the business // monetary motivation of the fight not happening
good post anyway, man. per usual



floyd feels a compulsion for bringing in money far beyond most. he's a serious gambler, a big time spender, etc.

if anybody can go broke with a bankroll like his it's him. i do hope that he makes the best decisions he can for his family with his money

I'm constantly trying to reign in my romanticised version of boxers (of them seeking greatness and immortality) with the reality - they want to make the most money. In any other art form (and yes, I consider boxer an form - maybe the truest of them all), I would not accept such prevalence of money.

But with boxing, you have to acknowledge that it's such a rough, risky sport - and ultimately, if you're not fighting for money, if you're JUST fighting to be the best....then you're ******.

I think the stalling was pretty much genius by both camps, on the basis it would have happened by now, or at least look a formality of happening.

As it is, we are as further away from it as we have ever been.

So many of the casual sports fans I know have gone back to laughing at the sport for Pac/May not being made, as they were curious about wanting to see it.

The fight not being made (and I don't think it's going) is going to be massively, massively damaging for the sport, perhaps the final nail in the coffin that removes us from the mainstream.