In 2006, Floyd Mayweather Jr. hatched a plan that would forever change the landscape of boxing and transform him from an elite boxer nicknamed “Pretty Boy” with decent fanfare to the polarizing personality who has become the highest paid athlete in the world.
No longer would he be just Floyd Mayweather. He wouldn’t accept being recognized as one of the best boxers in the game. That was too simple and shortsighted.
He knew he had to be different. Keenly aware that he didn’t possess the knockout power to wow viewers, he had to do something else. He studied some of the greats like Tyson and Ali and realized it wasn’t just about their in-ring prowess. They had to have larger than life personalities that would reach beyond boxing fans.
For all of Mayweather’s hard work, he’s run afoul in his personal life and has damaged his image almost to the point of no return.
Mayweather understood that he had to take a bite out of the Ice Cube AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted playbook and become “The N*gga You Love To Hate.”
Nine years after cranking up the volume on his personality to a deafening degree, Mayweather is prepared to take on Manny Pacquiao in the biggest fight of this generation on May 2. Win or lose, the fighter known as “Money” will make north of $150 million against Pacquiao in 36 minutes. On the low end, he’ll be making $4 million a minute.
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Photo: Instagram
The plan that Mayweather launched after parting ways with his old promoter Bob Arum is nothing short of brilliant from a marketing perspective. With a pedigree in the sweet science that, to this point, has been unrivaled, Mayweather decided that it would be much better for people to pay to want to see him lose rather than pay to see him win.
The adopted “Money” persona was a grating one of an African-American with little regard for authority and a total lack of respect of his opponents. He worked his way into a showdown with everyone’s favorite “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya and comfortably slid into the role of tormentor and villain.
Before De La Hoya knew what hit him, Mayweather was landing verbal sucker punches from all angles. He easily got under De La Hoya’s skin and then went to work on the general boxing public by demonstrating a lack of tact as he consistently flaunted his financial status in the most obnoxious ways imaginable. By the time fight night arrived, everyone wanted to see him lose.
The only thing that Mayweather has stood for is his own financial gain.
But, much to the chagrin of many fight fans, Mayweather won and played a vital role in the fight doing record breaking numbers (of which, only he has come close to breaking again). De La Hoya’s crown was yanked off his head by Mayweather, who would then proceed to decorate it in gaudy diamonds and place it with a tilt upon his shaved head.
From 2007 until now, Mayweather has continued his reign of dominance by expertly thwarting the advances of anyone who came close to his throne. And then, almost out of thin air, a Filipino fighter by the name of Manny Pacquiao materialized and became the yin to Mayweather’s yang. Pacquiao was the polar opposite to Mayweather both in and out of the ring.
Where Mayweather was a surgeon inside of the ring, Pacquiao was a wrecking ball who mercilessly trounced his victims. Mayweather loved to be hated and Pacquiao loved to be loved. The stars were aligned for two of the best fighters of our generation to square off. Without retreading old ground, it took five long years to happen. But it’s finally here. Mayweather is going to accomplish everything he set out to do on May 2nd as he looks to have a matching “0” in his loss record to go with all of the 0s on his check.
But has that plan backfired?
For all that Mayweather has done for himself, the one thing he has struggled to do is convince the world that he’s actually a good guy who was just playing up a role; like a pro wrestler or a character in a movie. And if he played his cards right, the general public might have eventually accepted him as they have Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, who were also card carrying members of the n*gga you love to hate club.
However, for all of Mayweather’s hard work, he’s run afoul in his personal life and has damaged his image almost to the point of no return. Of course, it all starts with the numerous accounts of domestic violence that have cast a dark cloud over his career. The stories were always around, but it wasn’t until 2010 when a story about Mayweather beating the mother of three of his children surfaced and turned his life upside down.
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Everything else was somewhat hearsay even though the previous incidents are all public record. They could be argued away with some sort of “he say, she say” banter. But when his own son is on record speaking about how his father beat up his mother? You can’t put lipstick on that pig. Mayweather spent a couple of months in jail but, more importantly; he left a legion of enemies in his wake. The unwritten rule in every man’s handbook is to never put hands on a woman. Ever. That rule was broken. And broken by a boxer no less.
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Those transgressions are well documented. But what might be more damaging to Mayweather than anything else is the fact that he only stands for one thing: himself.
What separated Muhammad Ali from every other athlete in the world is the fact that he stood for something that was far bigger than the sport. It didn’t matter what it would cost him (in his case, three years of his career) as long as he stood firmly on his principals. You had to respect Ali for that. The only thing that Mayweather has stood for is his own financial gain. And that, in itself, is problematic.
Mayweather has never stood up to be a role model for young African-American men and an example of how hard work and dedication can turn your muddled impoverished confines into a pot of gold. The only color he has ever seen is green. With all of the conflict that has plagued the country in the past few years, never once has Mayweather said that #BlackLivesMatter or spoken up on behalf of the many unarmed Black men and women who have suffered from police brutality.
As an African-American man, he should be well aware of the fallacies of a “post-racial America” and step up to the plate when needed. If that subject is too intense and politically charged, find another. Randomly donating to a charity doesn’t mean anything if there are no words behind it. Especially when you are so vocal about your financial excess. The accomplishments are his alone and on Saturday night, there won’t be too many people who will be proud of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
It’s the reason why the general boxing public continues to say, “My heart is with Manny but my mind is with Mayweather.” Simply put, nobody wants to see him win. His plan, as brilliant as it has been, was never injected with a cause. Much like Michael Jordan’s now infamous “Republicans buy shoes, too” quote that has long ruffled the feathers of his detractors, Mayweather has gone a similar route. He won’t ruffle feathers if it affects his bottom line.
The sad thing is, who knows if Mayweather ever really understood that element of his career. He sought to be rich and nailed it. But to be called #TBE, you have to be about more than self. The sacrifices are just as significant as the number of 0s on your check. And when your counterpart is such a humanitarian who has made helping others his mission, you automatically become the villain, even if you don’t want to play that part any longer.
Unfortunately, Mayweather will always be known as the villain because he’s mastered the art a little too well. He’ll always be the n*gga you love to hate. But he’s also become the man we hate to hate and wish we could find a way to love.
