Why Don't Americans Stand Behind And Appreciate Floyd Mayweather Like They Should?

[Verstyle]

Still he's the most popular fighter in the united States. To me that doesn't correlate with being underappreciated. Rolling Stone just did a piece calling him boxing's last rockstar. He makes some off the cuff remarks on twitter and everyone get's their panties in a twist. He's the man in boxing fight now. He's boxing's most recognised face in the United States, and in all seriousness probably globally. Floyd (and his fans) need to stop complaining about recognition. The general public knows Floyd is the real deal. A guy doesn't get paid hundreds of millions of dollars in their field of expertise if they aren't indeed getting recognition as being damn good.

I get you and was on your side. I just wanted to hear more of your reasoning.

You look better in green now.

[SWEETSCIENCE100]

He's Rich,Black,Loud,undefeated and honest!

[bruzza]

Unless you were there to witness the incident or have documented proof that he beat his ex, then don't assume that something happened when you have no idea. Just because he took a plea doesn't mean that he is guilty of what he is accused of. If he was, i'm sure we would have seen some pictures long before now.

And You Have evidential documented proof that manny is on performance drugs yeah? Ok for you to say PAC is on something but the same logic played back to you it's a "don't assume" situation. All you *****s are just as bad as the *******s

[LA_2_Vegas]

One of the reasons Floyd was able to get this popular is because he fought in the last Olympics that Americans watched which was 96 in Atlanta. That was one of the most eventful Olympics of all time and there was no issue with timezone so people were watching boxing in primetime. That and he bridges gaps of older fans who knew about his dad and uncle who followed him and all the new fans he made along the way. Americans have and continue to support him during his career...it could be better I guess. I'm sure race, his antics, and "boring" style play a factor for some people but he's still damm popular regardless.

for the record I saw people getting nationalistic over Floyd but that was for Hatton/Floyd. USA chants, a couple of US flag during the HAtton/Floyd fight weekend. their chants were drown out by hatton fans but there were some out there with USA fever lol. nationalism has not been a storyline of many of his fights outside of that one.

anyway, he fought in a lot of cities early in his career that didn't necessarily get boxing events, but people came out to see him because he was the relative of a Mayweather and had familiarity from the Olympics. He put his name out there in smart and rarely tapped markets and it took a long time to get to this level of popularity for the amount of talent he has.

[SWEETSCIENCE100]

still he's the most popular fighter in the united states. To me that doesn't correlate with being underappreciated. Rolling stone just did a piece calling him boxing's last rockstar. He makes some off the cuff remarks on twitter and everyone get's their panties in a twist. He's the man in boxing fight now. He's boxing's most recognised face in the united states, and in all seriousness probably globally. Floyd (and his fans) need to stop complaining about recognition. The general public knows floyd is the real deal. A guy doesn't get paid hundreds of millions of dollars in their field of expertise if they aren't indeed getting recognition as being damn good.

very true!

[DAN916]

Someone still buying his PPVs and his fights are still are a "event" famous people like to go to even tho they have no interest in any other boxing.

[Brother Jay]

Threads like this are the reason that I am certain that many of you are new to boxing.

Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali talked more smack, more often than Floyd Mayweather Jr ever could.

Ali was NOT widely beloved as an active champion. Sure he had his fans but for the most part, more people tuned in to see Ali get knocked out than they did to see him win.

Jack Johnson was the original antithesis to how the world viewed a champion.

He openly dated White women during Jim Crow and even married one, wore fancy clothes and ***elry when Blacks were extremely poor, and drove cars when most Whites couldn't afford them.

Johnson was a proud man and didn't mind letting anyone know. And America hated him for it.

Boxing has always been bigger than just the sport. Its always been political. Its always been a way the world looks at who is strong and who represents the best.

Floyd Mayweather is no different than Jack Johnson. He's the best of his era and he's hated because he's not apologetic for it. He earned his fortune and he flaunts his wealth just like Johnson.

Is Floyd Mayweather classless for flaunting his wealth? I believe the answer .. at least in America .. is subjective.

When Liberace wore outfits trimmed with ***els and having diamonds for buttons, and he displayed his extremely expensive fleet of cars, he was celebrated as some eccentric genius.

When America created and produced the long running series "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous", it was the epitome of opulence and abundance. No one complained as it was seen as something to aspire to .. or an affirmation to the American dream.

Even today, MTV has a long running show they air called "Cribs", where celebrities and other wealthy individuals showcase their homes and their possessions. Yet no one sees this as classless or tawdry.

So why is Floyd Mayweather so offensive and perceived to be so classless in America?

Well I guess it comes down to which America we are talking about.

When Kim Kardashian, who is famous for nothing more than being famous, can flaunt expensive cars, ***els, fashion, homes, vacations, and gifts commands the highest ratings among Americans with her show but is not criticized for her extreme flashiness and disregard for today's economic climate, but Floyd Mayweather is demonized for the flashiness that he has earned through extreme hard work and dedication, it paints the picture of why the world is the way it is.

This is why I support "Money" Mayweather. I support anyone who is willing to work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labor and NOT CARE about the pretentious and judgemental nature of a society that thinks it has the privilege to choose who gets to enjoy life and to what degree.

Its clear that America won't support an athlete like Floyd Mayweather DESPITE him being soft spoken and respectful for the majority of his career. America showed that they would not support him as early as the Olympics when he was robbed.

So keep on doing what you've been doing Floyd Mayweather:

Winning.

[Brother Jay]

When Floyd is in the UK he's swamped at gyms and training sessions, he's like a rock star. If he was British the media would have had a field day on him but i reckon he would still be a national treasure most of the country would back every time he fought. You guys on here would never hear the end of how good he was either lol

Apparently this is true.

Naseem Hamed was one of the biggest hype jobs ever to put on boxing shorts and the Brits treated him as if he was Muhammad Ali.

Brits support fighters. While Americans for the most part from what I can tell support social agendas.

[22k]

A man who always consoles his opponents after defeating them and who unlike Manny "Stipulation-Man" Pacquiao, is willing to prove that he isn't on performance enhancing drugs, and who always gives the fans their money's worth by consistently facing top level competition, when they are on top of their game, at their natural weight. When Floyd spectacularly dominated Juan Manuel Marquez, the second greatest boxer of this generation, while coming off a 19-month layoff, he got almost no credit for one of the greatest displays of boxing you will ever see.

I'm sorry, but I discredited everything that you wrote when you said that Floyd fights everyone at their natural weight, then in the next breath you mentioned the Marquez fight where Marquez had to come up nine pounds and Floyd only came down one when he was contracted to come down three.

I think the truth is that he started to get that respect after Hatton (who by the way was also not at his "natural weight"), but then he retired, and then he didn't do everything that he could to give the fans the only fight that they really wanted. True boxing fans appreciate his style and ability to dominate, but casual fans only remember your last fight and whether it was exciting or not. The casual fan is never going to love a fighter that could go for the KO and chooses not to take the risks associated with it.

[chav]

Apparently this is true.

Naseem Hamed was one of the biggest hype jobs ever to put on boxing shorts and the Brits treated him as if he was Muhammad Ali.

Brits support fighters. While Americans for the most part from what I can tell support social agendas.

It's deeply ingrained in our culture to be patriotic of our sports teams.

To say Naseem Hamed was one of the biggest hype jobs is something I disagree with. You need to watch his career unfold way before he got in with Barrera to see him at his peak and then sliding with arrogance etc. Maybe you have seen his whole career and you still have that opinion, but we differ in our opinions as he was far from pure hype, he delivered.

But I do agree with the notion, we will take an above average sports person and hype them like they are a world beater. A lot of the time we know the deal, that they aren't really world beaters, but as I already mentioned, its in our culture to get behind our sports and support them like they are world champions even if they aren't. You may have a better team or individual but we will match any country when it comes to the fans