Floyd Mayweather, still disliked after all these years

Floyd Mayweather, still disliked after all these years

http://www.secondsout.com/usa/lusal....s=473&cs=20704

By Matt Wells: Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s plodding but convincing win over Carlos Baldomir drew howls of derision from all corners of the boxing world. Even the news that Floyd hurt himself in the fight barely stemmed the tide. Was his performance really that terrible, or is there something else motivating these complaints?

Saturday's contest was so under whelming, we were told by HBO commentator Larry Merchant, that Tiger Woods himself left before the action was over. Now, one might argue that a practitioner of the sport of golf is perhaps not the best judge of what is and is not boring. But his point was clear: the crowd in attendance that night was bored to tears with Mayweather's hesitant performance. As boxing's consensus pound-for-pound king, he was making himself, and by extension the sport, look bad on a night when its exposure was ostensibly at a maximum.

The story that is emerging in the wake of this fight is this: Mayweather is simply too unimpressive as a fighter to carry the sport and lift it to new heights the way former greats had been able to. Even when the biggest spotlight shone down on him, he failed to deliver anything worth remembering. He is too dull, too unskilled, and too unlikeable. The venomous post-fight tirade he unleashed at Larry Merchant seemed to confirm this impression: he is too much attitude, too little skill.

Of course Mayweather's announcement concerning his supposedly impending retirement has come to dominate the headlines in the wake of the post-fight press conference. But it's worth setting this bit of news aside for a moment and looking at this other matter in more detail: is Floyd really that dull a fighter?

It is worth contrasting Mayweather's fortunes with those of the man most want to see him fight next: Oscar De La Hoya. The differences are striking. De La Hoya is the kind of fighter that can generate nearly a million par-per-view buys taking on the likes of a Ricardo Mayorga. His fights draw sell-out crowds dotted with a who's-who in shiny Hollywood glitterati. When taking on Hopkins, a packed house rose and cheered him from the opening bell, with those in the most exclusive seats seemingly unaware that the whole thing was something of a mismatch. That is the mark of a true star: the ability to bring in the phonies.

So how did De La Hoya attain such notoriety? Does is have anything to do with his style? Well, he certainly can't be called a boring fighter. He has had his share of roaring KO victories, and his gutsy performance against Fernando Vargas stands out as his best come-from-behind win. But in recent years Oscar has cooled off a touch, as his punching power diminished as he claimed the weight class ladder. Against Trinidad he notoriously coasted over the last few rounds, costing him the fight, and you could argue that he did the same in the second fight against Shane Mosley, though the scores there were much more controversial. Against Bernard Hopkins he was cautious; against Felix Sturm, he barely registered. Yet Oscar's reputation, especially among casual boxing fans, has barely diminished, as was evidenced by huge numbers he drew against Mayorga.

It is obvious that there something of a double-standard at work. As De La Hoya let Sturm slap him around for twelve rounds, for example, the HBO crew did not attack him nearly as viciously as they did Mayweather. As he played it safe against Hopkins, they cheered his ability to hang in there with the bigger man, something that you could argue Mayweather was inclined to do as well (Lampley had mentioned the weight difference between him and Baldomir several times during the undercard fights.) Mayweather has always had injury problems with his hands, yet it was only in the very late going did it seem to occur to Lampley et al. that something was preventing Floyd from going all out; even then, they didn't give the idea much credence. Floyd just couldn't win with the crew, even if he was dominating the fight.

It's pretty clear why these different biases exist, of course: De La Hoya, by and large, is simply more well-liked than Mayweather. De La Hoya has charisma and is generally a pleasant individual; Mayweather has a rap sheet and a bad attitude. Floyd has tried to clean up his in image in the past year or so. He has avoided getting into any further trouble outside the ring, and is usually more congenial with the media (his tirade against Merchant notwithstanding.) Yet he has not been able to overcome the negative perceptions that have built up around him over the years.

Is that it, though? Is De La Hoya rich and famous because he's a nice guy, and is Mayweather not quite so rich and famous because he's a jerk? Somehow that solution seems unsatisfying. If jerks can't find fame and fortune, how is it that Mike Tyson is still arguably the most famous active (well, sort of active) fighter in the sport? How is it that Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens is one of the most recognized figures in the National Football League? Neither of these guys is about to win any congeniality awards.

Well, the answer to those questions seems obvious: both Tyson and Owens are (or were, in Tyson's case) thrilling to watch. Tyson built his reputation as a vicious KO king, while Owens position as a receiver guarantees him his fair share of highlight-reel performances. So maybe you have to be either an exciting or an appealing athlete in order to become a superstar in your sport.

If that's the case, though, how is it that James Toney is such a popular fighter? Toney is no Tyson or De La Hoya, but he is not that far off in terms of name recognition, either. He has world-class talent, but his style is at least as defensive-oriented as Mayweather's, especially in recent years. Moreover, in terms of his likeability, he alienates huge swaths of fans with his erratic, arrogant attitude. At the same time, he has just as many, if not more, loyal supporters. A Toney fan generates interest, even at this very late stage of his career. Witness the attention focused on his fight with limited challenger Samuel Peter.

The seeming secret to Toney's success is that he polarizes boxing's fan base. Many people will tune into his fights just to cheer against him. This, of course, is an old trick in the sport. Ali worked it to perfection, and many others have tried it, to varying degrees of success. One of those that gave it a shot was Mayweather himself.

Heading into his fight against Arturo Gatti, Mayweather seemed well aware that it would be impossible for him to garner the same support as his popular opponent; you're not going to walk into Atlantic City and turn a crowd against Gatti. Knowing this, he did his best to play the villain. His detractors may say that he was merely being himself, but a close look at his antics in the lead-up to that bout reveals his often deliberate attempts to draw flak. In interviews, he badmouthed Gatti to an extreme degree, invoking the term "paper champion" as much as humanly possibly. He repeatedly told viewers to tune in to "watch him lose." He never had a kind word to say about anybody but himself. Mayweather may have a bad attitude at times (or oftentimes, depending on your point of view), but he was in rare form in those days.

The problem for him is that these tactics didn't really work. Sure, people tuned into the fight, but they did so either because they were die-hard Gatti supporters or because it was intriguing match-up. Mayweather put on a quality performance, and he was given his proper due. But the residual benefits of that fight were minimal for him. He didn't really gain the fame or attention he was seeking. He is still not a "name" fighter outside boxing circles like De La Hoya is, or like Roy Jones once was. He didn't earn himself a notoriously arrogant reputation like Ali did in his early years. He just didn't generate much of a reaction, period. And that's bad news for him.

The fact is that Mayweather, for whatever reasons you can think of, just isn't a very appealing person. That's not the same as saying that he is a terrible human being. Certainly his actions outside the ring have testified badly to his character, but he has given us no reason to believe that he isn't committed to cleaning up his act. But appeal is about more than how nice a guy you are, and somebody can be appealing without necessarily being liked. Toney is a good example, but there are plenty of others. Boxing arguably thrives on these kind of people. But Floyd cannot even manage to generate the kinds of responses that these men generate. A lot of fans don't feel strongly about him either way. And those that don't like him don't even dislike him enough to want to see him lose.

Floyd's defensive style can make for some dull moments, but on the whole he is typically far from boring. Against Baldomir, he can and should be forgiven for his performance given his injury and the size difference between him and his opponent. But few pundits and fans seem willing to let Floyd off the hook for this. Of course he has done next to nothing for virtually his entire career to help his cause in this regard. But it's still too bad that boxing's best current active fighter remains such an unpopular figure.

Whether or not you like Mayweather, if you can't recognise and admire his outstanding ability as a boxer you probably need to follow a different sport.

Ok the fight wasn't entertaining as a competitve spectacle but that's because Mayweather was in a different leauge. That's not his fault... And I guess the very same people having a pop at him for being boring, had he been knocked out, would be having a pop at him for being cocky and arrogant for thinking he could trade with the far bigger man.

Good read. I suppose the moral of the story is to be yourself? Unless your Scott Harrison, that being the case try to be someone else ;D

Great fighter, but he lacks any real class, and i dont think he has the carisma to carry off, his imitation of Naz these days, but take nothing away from him he is the best fighter in the world.

Floyd it seems comes across to most people as unpleasant, as the article suggested. And out of those who see this in him, some get turned off from him by it and others put it aside due to his excellence in the ring. It seems to me that the main thing keeping him, in the eyes of many, from the step up to the pure legend/superstar echelon is a few more fights and victories against boxers that have a great status themselves. Sure, he has fought several excellent fighters. Yet, I would bet that if he fights and beats a few more highly-respected fighters his status will rise.

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Originally Posted by Fenster

Whether or not you like Mayweather, if you can't recognise and admire his outstanding ability as a boxer you probably need to follow a different sport.

Ok the fight wasn't entertaining as a competitve spectacle but that's because Mayweather was in a different league. That's not his fault... And I guess the very same people having a pop at him for being boring, had he been knocked out, would be having a pop at him for being cocky and arrogant for thinking he could trade with the far bigger man.

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yeah mate. you are right. it was a smart move by mayweather and he won the fight

I didn't see the fight but it couldn't of been nearly as bad as Byrd/Williamson

There's a difference between completely out maneuvering a guy (as it sounds is the case with floyd/baldomir) and just being falt out inactive and boring with no real strategy involved (Byrd/Williamson and Brock/Ibragimov)

He starts to remind me of Pernell Whitaker more and more every time he fights, he does not have alot of power at 147 but he has that great defense along with superior speed and a great jab, I will alway's like Pernell better but Floyd and Sweet Pea would have been a very competitive fight. But with all of Oscar's star power along with all his debatable decisions his style is perfect to beat Floyd because of the fact that he will be the stalker and the more powerful man and although I don't see him landing alot of punches on Floyd I see him recieving another robbery decision and gaining a UD of Floyd because of his star power, Floyd should stay away from the fight. Floyd would need to double Oscar's punches just to recieve a UD, and other than that he would need to knock him out which I don't see happening. If they both go into the fight with the finale of both careers expect each judge to be on Oscar's side. It would be very similiar to the Pernell Whitaker fight.

they can say he's dull and unlikeable but to say he's unskilled makes me question the writer.

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Originally Posted by Memphis

Good read. I suppose the moral of the story is to be yourself? Unless your Scott Harrison, that being the case try to be someone else ;D

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:coolclick: Heh heh heh.

Now that was just WRONG! ;D

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Originally Posted by 'The Boxer'

they can say he's dull and unlikeable but to say he's unskilled makes me question the writer.

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We all know floyd didn't show case his skills & send Baldomir on his face ass like he said. The reason was because he knew that if he would bang with Baldo that he wuld end up on his ass
so its cuzz he was scared ::**

The reason people dont like Floyd are as follows.

He acts like a= :beat: :pis2:

He talks = :LOS: :looroll:

His fights are= :cwm33:

He tells Larry Merchant to= :fyou:

At his press confrence he even= :'( :'(

The fans just think= :end:

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Originally Posted by memojaras

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Originally Posted by 'The Boxer'

they can say he's dull and unlikeable but to say he's unskilled makes me question the writer.

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We all know floyd didn't show case his skills & send Baldomir on his face a** like he said. The reason was because he knew that if he would bang with Baldo that he wuld end up on his a**
so its cuzz he was scared ::**

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He did what many other fighters have done...he fought a smart fight to get the win.

Funny that everyone forgets Floyd's other showcases & focuses on this one...I suppose that it's true...your'e only as good as your last fight.

He's like Barry Bonds or Terrell Owens, a great athlete, but a rubber as a person. Oh, sorry Barry, I forgot about the roids, so you're not a great athlete.

What that article failed to mention is that Floyd does not fight the opposition that Toney fights .. They mentioned Toney polorizing the boxing base. But he fights the top guys and makes it entertaining, Floyd fights less quality guys and people see through it. They know Floyd will win if he fights the guys he keeps fighting. If he fought Oscar they might tune in more. This is Floyd's fault.

And Floyd going after Larry Merchant was unprofessional and didn't prove anything. Can you imagine a great fighter like Sugar Ray Leonard or Thomas Hearns insulting the commentator? Hearns was once asked after Kinchen, do you think after looking like this you should get another big fight? And Hearns answered "well I am going to go back to the gym and work on the things which I did wrong in the fight and I will come back better' And he got the big fight with Ray in the rematch and later fought Virgil Hill. Floyd should go back to the drawing board and work on his skills and not argue with a commentator.

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Originally Posted by brazilianbomber

He starts to remind me of Pernell Whitaker more and more every time he fights, he does not have alot of power at 147 but he has that great defense along with superior speed and a great jab, I will alway's like Pernell better but Floyd and Sweet Pea would have been a very competitive fight. But with all of Oscar's star power along with all his debatable decisions his style is perfect to beat Floyd because of the fact that he will be the stalker and the more powerful man and although I don't see him landing alot of punches on Floyd I see him recieving another robbery decision and gaining a UD of Floyd because of his star power, Floyd should stay away from the fight. Floyd would need to double Oscar's punches just to recieve a UD, and other than that he would need to knock him out which I don't see happening. If they both go into the fight with the finale of both careers expect each judge to be on Oscar's side. It would be very similiar to the Pernell Whitaker fight.

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Whitaker still could throw about 600 or 700 punches a fight while being a defensive Genius ;)

Good point. Whitaker was more aware of everything happening in the ring compared to Floyd. Floyd just wants to stay away and not be in the fight.

Hes good but not as good as he thinks he is. People can see it he cant, I think thats a big part of it

the writer says that floyd has no skill.....
hahahaha that's probably the dumbest thing i've ever read on this forum.
thats absolutely rediculous to say floyd has no skill

I think he means Floyd has not heart.

larry needs to have his head handed to him sometime. he is forever trying to take away from a fighters win.