Floyd Mayweather: Daring to Defend the Villain

First of all, anyone who calls Floyd Mayweather, Floyd Gayweather, is a complete idiot.  Period.

That being said, anyone who uses the word "period" after a sentence is also an idiot.

I don’t know where I stand anymore.

Anyway, over the past month or so, Floyd Mayweather has received serious bashing on this website.  There is just no other way to describe it.  As far as I am concerned, a lot of the backlash is unjustified, and totally unwarranted at times. 

Given that articles are now appearing describing Manny Pacquiao as an "angel," I thought I would go ahead and attempt to defend my favorite boxer.

The criticisms of Mayweather seem to appear under three different guises. 

A standard comment would typically start off by emphasizing that Mayweather is a lesser person than his Filipino counterpart.  It will then progress to his apparent "ducking" of fights, and possibly conclude with an uninspiring spiel about how disgraceful his actions were in the recent drug testing fiasco.

I will discuss them in turn.

Floyd Gayweather

"but check out Gayweather he is still within a family of Drug trafficking morons!"

Credit, and thanks, must go to "Rey Mendoza" for this insightful, and purposeful, comment.

Floyd Mayweather is an asshole.  I am an asshole.  The majority of my friends are assholes. Heck, I’d bet the majority of people on this website are assholes.  

Of course, when it comes down to it, I'm not really a bad person.

But being "nice" all the time is tiresome.  So I can actually relate to Mayweather in a sense. I remember watching him in Manchester promoting the Ricky Hatton fight.  He just didn't give a shit what the crowd thought about him. Genuinely, I just thought, this man is a legend.

I think in sports in general, amongst the top superstars, there is too much emphasis on a clean-cut image. I can use examples of Federer, Nadal, Woods (don't say anything!), Bolt, and the like.

But Mayweather has an edge. He likes being the abrasive villain, the asshole, the guy you love to hate. Political correctness is not a word associated with Floyd Mayweather.

So he doesn't fit into the mould of the modern, role model worthy, sporting superstar.  But so what?

Boxing is essentially a violent sport.  It is hardly a pillar of morality at the best of times.  Of course Manny Pacquiao is a "nice guy," but I’m sure most parents would not be too keen for their children to have him as a role model.  He smacks people up for a living.  So, chastising Mayweather for being somehow morally inferior, is totally irrelevant.

At no point in my life have I ever turned to a boxer to provide me with moral guidance. There is enough humbleness and humility in this world for me to be impressed by.  My parents are the two nicest people I have ever met, and they provide me with all the direction I need. 

Beyond the gaze of the camera lens, I don't know the first thing about Pacquiao.  I don't need to worship his divinity.

Mayweather is young, rich, crazily talented at his job, and let’s face it, a "pretty boy."  Everything he has, he has earned for himself. 

Damn straight he is entitled to be arrogant. 

I think it’s time for Pacquiao fans to get off their high horse, quit being so pretentious, and enter the real world.

“Pacquiao is not just a boxer, he is most of all a prophet of God.”— Manny Pacquiao: Devil in the Ring, Angel outside the Ring

Give me a break.

Life’s a bitch.  Deal with it.

Floyd Duckweather

"Mayweather is the same inside and outside the ring, a runner and a ducker"— rob rob

Thank you for that input Rob.  I particularly like how you managed to touch upon a number of bases with that one.

Before I attempt to defend Mayweather’s apparent ducking, I’m going to challenge the very idea of it.

Mayweather has a very impressive resume.  He has beaten the likes of De La Hoya, Castillo, Hatton, Marquez, Corrales, and Zab Judah.  These are all very accomplished fighters, and at the time, very dangerous. 

De La Hoya was still ranked in the top three super-welterweights in the world, Hatton was unbeaten, Judah was ranked P4P (don’t quote me on that!), and Marquez was ranked second in the world pound-for-pound. 

None of these guys were chumps, as a lot of Pacquiao supporters are quick to suggest.

But of course, the typical retort is that he has not fought a true, genuine, welterweight.  The names of Mosley, Cotto, Williams, and Margarito come to the fore at this juncture.  I’ll be honest, and say that I don’t even know when Mayweather was supposed to have "ducked" them. 

Mayweather was the champ, so Mayweather had to be called out.  And I don’t recall any of those guys, other than Shane, calling him out.  But do correct me if I’m wrong, as I often am.   

Either way, boxing is Mayweather’s profession.  It’s how he makes the majority of his money.  He does not step into the ring for fun.  Therefore, it is in his interest to take the fights that will make him the most money.  That monetary aspect must be weighed up against the risk involved in taking the fight. 

The anti-Mayweather brigade insist that he should have faced the genuine welterweights two years ago. 

Why should he have? 

Instead of De La Hoya, should he have mixed it up with Paul Williams? 

Of course he shouldn’t. 

In any profession, if there is an option to make more money, by risking less, you will go down that avenue.  Paul Williams or Miguel Cotto, were not then, and never will be, Oscar De La Hoya.  Or even the draw that Ricky Hatton was, for that matter.

So Mayweather took the fights that would undoubtedly make him the most money.  Last time I checked that’s called being smart.  In the economic times that we live in, it probably should be applauded.  

I don’t think he should be obliged to take on dangerous opponents, for less money, just to prove himself to Pacquiao fans.

And now that it looks like he is going to fight Shane Mosely in May, I hope this part of the typical anti-Mayweather comment can finally be laid to bed.

Kentucky Floyd Chicken (I don't even get that one)

"Mayweather is the one taking PED. He takes xylocaine to enhance his performance, without it he'll be crying in pain like a little girl."

Again, my thanks must go out to Rob for those words of wisdom.

This will be brief.  Everything that could possibly be said on this issue, has already been said, ten-fold.

This sections brevity will only be matched by its simplicity. 

Mayweather believes Pacquiao might be taking performance enhancing drugs.  He is entitled to have this opinion. 

In order to alleviate his concerns, he requested that Pacquiao undergo a more stringent set of drug testing.  If Pacquiao had agreed to this, boxing fans around the world would be looking forward to March 13.

He didn’t agree though.  He was entitled not to.

However, I cannot understand how Mayweather has somehow come out the evil villain in all of this.  Was he not doing the "righteous" thing in requesting that BOTH boxers take random blood testing?  Would it not have ensured, if assurance be needed, that both fighters were clean?

Also, I’ve noticed a lot of incoherent comments stressing the fact that Mayweather is a hypocrite, because he is taking Xylocaine.  As far as I’m concerned, this argument does not have any merit.  It is legal to use in the state of Nevada.  The "playing field" is still even. 

Any boxer, fighting in Nevada, can legally use it.  If it gives him an advantage, then more fool the boxer that doesn’t take it. 

However, it just so happens that Mayweather does have a problem with his hands, so he takes it for a legitimate purpose.

I am a huge fan of Pacquiao.  I will root for him in almost every fight.  I'm convinced he is not taking PED's.  But the rationality of a lot of Pacquiao supporters, in my mind, leaves a lot to be desired.

People that call themselves boxing fans have no justification in disrespecting  Mayweather.  He is a remarkable boxer.

Period.

Well, at least now I know I'm definitely an idiot...