Floyd Mayweather Has Positioned Himself as Ultimate Heel vs. Manny Pacquiao
It seems nothing has happened by accident in Floyd Mayweather Jr's boxing career.
He'd tell you he's 47-0 and the pay-per-view king heading into a historic battle with Manny Pacquiao because of "hard work and dedication." From the outside looking in, that appears to be true. Mayweather is always in excellent shape. One look at him during a training camp shows the "hard work and dedication" he talks about.
All of that is based on in-ring stuff, but apparently, the entire Pretty Boy-turned-Money persona was part of Mayweather's master plan ever since he was an amateur.
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According to an article by Josh Peter of Boxing Junkie, former Mayweather promoter and guardian Don Hale says Mayweather knew he wanted to be the bad guy before he turned pro. Per Peter, Hale said:
"He said, 'I don’t want to be a Sugar Ray Leonard, I want to be the bad guy. People pay to see the bad guy.' He wasn’t that concerned with what people thought because he thought that they would pay (to watch his fights).”
Well, it seems his hypothesis was correct.
Mayweather has been the driving force in the top two grossing pay-per-view fights in the history of the sport. His 2007 win over Oscar De La Hoya was topped by his 2013 victory over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, per Showtime (h/t David Mayo of MLive.com).
With the fight with Pacquiao almost sure to surpass both of those fights' totals, Mayweather will soon be the common participant in all three biggest-money fights in history.
Without any official categorization of roles, you'd have to say Mayweather has been the "heel" in all three of those fights. Furthermore, I'd challenge anyone to find the opponent with which Mayweather wouldn't be painted as the bad guy. The funny thing is, Mayweather is holding his own paint brush and contributing to his antagonistic image. Here's a brushstroke after his first win over Marcos Rene Maidana:
Obviously, being 47-0 helps a lot. You wouldn't see as many people flocking to see Mayweather fight if he were 27-20—or even 37-10. He'd be a regular guy.
Mayweather is, in many ways, the perfect storm as it relates to a polarizing athlete. His amazing athletic ability, instincts and in-ring I.Q. allow him to maximize his ability with commitment to his sport. His almost complete disregard for his haters' opinions and brash behavior cements his heel status.
However, just as you're about to make Mayweather a real-life Lex Luthor, he does something like pay for the entire funeral of boxing legend Joe Frazier, and other thoughtful acts.
It's complicated, but then again, most of the best villains are.
Even if Mayweather hasn't put all these things in place purposely, he does a good job of making it look intentional.
On May 2 when he faces Pacquiao, we'll find out if he can add another victory to his compelling journey to the top of the sport, and the bad side of a large percentage of fight fans.
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