Is Floyd Mayweather the most hated athlete of all time?

Has “Money” walked away while on top?

The 28th of September 2015 had astronomy and astrology afficionados staring skyward at a once-in-18-years Super Blood Moon Eclipse(oooooooh!). The Moon at its perigree (noobs, take note: the moon at its closest point to the earth) took on an occult, mysterious, reddish shade, capturing the awe of many and of course, engendering a healthy number of apocalyptic predictions.

To all those who unfortunately missed it, the next Super Blood Moon Eclipse will happen precisely on October 8th 2033. All this palaver over an eclipse obviously had me thinking about Floyd Mayweather and the not-too curious case of his image eclipsing his in-ring exploits. 

Mayweather’s platitudinous underpriviledged background had it all – drug addict mother, drug dealer (later incarcerated and hence absent) father, cramped, decreipt house and a grandmother’s upbringing. But before you dismiss this as a stereotype, understand that all these culminated in him putting on the boxing gloves as a means of release, even dropping out of school to focus on the violent craft as his livelihood.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Mayweather became the first American to defeat a Cuban in 20 years, en route to a bronze medal. A couple of months later, “Pretty Boy” Floyd would win the first fight of his storied professional career. Success wouldn’t be elusive, with his first championship coming a couple of years later. Mayweather’s speed would prove too much for #1 ranked Genaro Hernandez, who was undefeated as a super featherweight, and be the keystone in him claiming the WBC Super Featherweight title. 

The nascence of Mayweather’s greatness would be in his fight against undefeated, #1 ranked super featherweight and #5 pound-for-pound fighter Diego Corrales. Once again, Mayweather’s elusiveness and slick hand speed would scorch Corrales, resulting in his corner throwing in the towel in the 10th round. 

Mayweather’s legacy would be shaped in the following years, with his victories against the who’s who of the boxing world: Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Victor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao etc. etc. phew! But his vanquishing of his foes wasn’t akin to a mythical Greek hero slaying monsters of lore. far from it. The audacity and blatant disrespect he showed to De La Hoya by donning a sombrero and tricoloured trunks was more than just psychological warfare. By his own admission, Mayweather was building an image of a showman super-villain, which in boxing promoter, means “cash cow”.

The hit-and-run style, which Tom Weir calls “half-cheetah, half-sniper”, would become synonymous with Mayweather. He would cement his place in boxing history as one of the greatest defensive fighters of all time. The “Pretty Boy” persona would be cast aside and from its ashes “Money” would emerge. In 2011, Floyd Mayweather would KO Victor Ortiz with “The Cheap Shot Heard Around The World”, in what would be the last stoppage of his career. Mayweather would no longer exhibit the explosiveness and finishing instinct that won him 16 of his first 24 fights, instead choosing to make opponents chase him and land precise shots to chalk up points on the judges’ cards. 

Money’s contentiousness on the canvas would be outweighed by that off it. A video of his scuffle with his father, ending with son having father ejected from his gym, would go viral, along with one of his racist rant against future opponent Manny Pacquiao. But those would pale in comparison to what came next, a 60-day sentence for domestic violence against the mother of his children, Josie Harris. It was a long time coming, as he had been in front of a judge for battery 4 times in the past. “Hypocrite” is one amongst many accusations that come to mind, especially after he declared in 2001, that he was going to beat Diego Corrales, “for the women of America”, just as he had beaten his pregnant wife.

In 2012, just months after his release from prison, an unrepentant Mayweather would be photographed showering patrons and performers at an Atlanta strip club with $50,000 in cash. In his mind, just another contribution to his carefully crafted image, but it appalled the world. 

Lesson in sociology: sport has always been perceived as a means for people with physical gifts to forge a successful career. Not to tread on their wit, but that is not an athlete’s most prominent attribute. Another stereotype to be waved aside? Not so fast. Mayweather’s history of domestic abuse is reflective of the whole socio-economically backward class that some derisively call “ghetto culture”. A cross-section of society that is synonymous with drugs, promiscuity, violence and crudeness. So the ire aimed at Mayweather wouldn’t be misplaced if aimed at his heritage. This is not a condoning of his actions, but a farsightedness, if you would, toward the bigger picture. 

Every young boy’s idol is his father. A false god, in Mayweather’s case, as his absence during Floyd’s childhood no doubt left a deep scar. A vendetta can be surmised to have existed between the two, as Mayweather always looked to his uncle, Roger, for guidance. The beef has been squashed, to what degree, we’re not sure, but Scripture quotations would be quite incongruous here, considering what Mayweather went or didn’t go through as a child. 

Five-division world champion, twelve world titles, lineal championship in four different weight classes, two-time Ring magazine Fighter of the Year (1998 and 2007), Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Fighter of the Year award in 2007, 2013, Best Fighter ESPY Award in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014, "The Best Ever Award" by Spike TV in 2015, the 7th greatest pound for pound fighter of all time and the greatest pound for pound welterweight of all time according to Boxrec, best pound-for-pound fighter currently, according to ESPN, Boxrec, Fox Sports, Olympic bronze medallist. The list is longer, but you get the idea.

Floyd Mayweather is an anomaly. Persona aside, his boxing prowess is a technical masterpiece, not just according to purists, but experts. Fans of the sport who are quick to deride “The Best Ever ” are not true fans of the art, but Colosseum spectators who want their bloodlust and violent tendencies to be vicariously fulfilled. In a sport that has seen its share of related deaths and slowed senses as its consequence, Mayweather displayed admirable foresight in adopting a style that would spare him the side effects. 

As he stated after having his hand raised after his final fight after Andre Berto, Mayweather wanted to be a good, caring father for his children, and keep the natural acuity that a lot of boxers have reduced amounts of. And the back-breaking effort that’s needed to hone his style of fighting cannot be comprehended by most fans, let alone peers in the sport. 

 So is Mayweather unexciting? To most, certainly. His skills? Magnifique! Floyd Mayweather the person? No comment. But despite the many adjectives, what is unerasable is his legacy and the impression that it has had on the face of the sport. Mayweather will be remember with the likes of Ali, Dempsey and Robinson in terms of skill. But his record is shared with Rocky Marciano, one of the hardest hitters of all time, at 49 victories, 0 losses. A lone peak left unconquered by one of the biggest egos of our time? Possibly not, it might prove just the bait to lure the lightning hands and shoulder roll back to the ring.