Twice a year a handful of boxing scribes become soul-searching social workers in pursuit of the vile, misogynist Floyd ?Money? Mayweather. Some have even made somewhat of a cottage industry of stalking Mayweather during his two-times-a-year fight weeks.
But only during fight weeks.
Because, you know, that?s when Mayweather?s name is hot and they can get plenty of clicks. That?s when editors high-five them for their click-collecting power and casual fans write them gushing emails, thanking them for the defense of all women, everywhere.
Bravo for the token, meaningless gesture. In a world of brutes who beat each other on the head for profit and the Neanderthal fans who cheer them on, these wonderful, intrepid scribes are truly enlightened human beings.
Except it?s all utterly meaningless.
The cottage industry built around Floyd Mayweather?s serial misogyny is the kind of scam where the hustlers often wind up believing their own hustle because, well, domestic abuse is a worthy cause. So worthy, that it?s cringe-worthy disgusting for some us to see this mad scramble for soapbox cred whenever Mayweather starts hitting the heavy bag in preparation for a major fight.
Boxing outsiders can be forgiven for the naivet? when it comes to reporting on Mayweather and his now well-documented history of violence against women. But real boxing people know the history of the sport and are aware of the fact that boxing has been practically built on the backs of men who were thugs, thieves, scoundrels, and abusers?some reformed, some not.
From Jack Johnson to Jake LaMotta to Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali, the heroic men of the sport, who inspire poetic tales of warrior ethos in these same scribes, all had their run-ins with the law?many due to issues involving abuse towards women. To this day, the sport is still a haven for those outside the boundaries of polite society, who look to boxing as a source of discipline in an otherwise chaotic lifestyle and an honest way to earn a living. It?s also a home for those with great demons lurking inside.
Beloved warrior Diego Corrales was arrested and convicted of brutalizing his pregnant wife. The even more beloved Arturo Gatti also faced domestic abuse allegations. In the sport right now, lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson served prison time as the muscle behind a band of human trafficking and was accused of all sorts of manhandling of women. WBC heavyweight titlist, Deontay Wilder was arrested not too long ago for an ugly affair that saw him accused of domestic battery by strangulation.
Comparatively little is written about them and their dark histories. Hit pieces aren?t strategically scheduled for their fight weeks.
One could say that Mayweather, as boxing?s biggest star, simply attracts extra attention in all things he does. Yeah, but you could also flip that and say that it?s certainly a good business move for sites to focus their attentions on Mayweather?especially with all the heat and buzz coming from the grinding publicity machines during fight week.
Notice how there?s no mad rush to post article after article on Adonis Stevenson. There?s simply no money in an in-depth expose about a Haitian immigrant living and fighting in the Canadian province of Quebec. On the sliding sin scale of awfulness, Mayweather is a virtual choir boy in comparison to Stevenson, who allegedly forced women under his control to stage brutal boxing exhibitions for his amusement.
Mayweather is big business and so is being outraged by Mayweather.
Dissenters to this grandstanding will be branded misogynists as well as supporters of domestic abuse. Cavemen, we are. How dare we ?defend? a serial abuser of women.
But as someone whose life has been touched by domestic abuse, I find the well-timed fake outrage and those who use this issue in a bid for some sort of grotesque form of ego gratification to be second only to the actual abusers in terms of insidiousness.
Domestic abuse is a very complex issue and one that resists traditional law enforcement treatment. You simply cannot sanction away the rage inside of an abuser or keep him/her under control with the promise of some financial loss. It doesn?t work like that. Abusers come in all shapes and forms, from those with lots to lose to those on the bottom rungs of society.
If these dedicated Mayweather chasers really wanted to accomplish something, they?d petition the legal system to reassess laws pertaining to domestic abuse and treatment for both victimizers and victims. They?d push for investigations into why the current laws regarding domestic abuse are full of easily-exploitable loopholes.
Mayweather and his lawyers didn?t have to pay off the court system to introduce new laws for his benefit. Any other person convicted of a domestic violence charge could have walked the same path of light punishment as ?Money.?
The dedicated defenders of women in the boxing press and their editors could use their resources to stimulate a movement aimed at real change, one that would truly benefit those affected by this issue.
But that?s not what this Mayweather hunt is all about.
This dogged pursuit of comeuppance for Mayweather is all about lashing out at the man who openly mocks the life and lifestyle of those rigid middle-aged, middle-class white men in the media. It?s about being punitive towards someone who has too much and refuses to be humble about it. It?s about a fighter who has it ?too good.?
If Mayweather were friendly to the media and fake-humble about how he lives, there would not be the same level of uproar about his crimes. Jack Johnson was doggedly pursued for his ?crimes? precisely for the same reason; he was a black man with the audacity to flaunt his lifestyle in front of a bitter, petty press. Old Mike Tyson was punished to the fullest extent of the law for his crime against Desiree Washington, but ?new? Tyson, who has been humbled and spends most of his time now chasing pennies in order to make a living, is a beloved, forgiven character.
None of this fight week targeting is about domestic violence, at least not when it comes from ?boxing people.? How could any true boxing aficionado point the finger at Mayweather while putting other fighters, who have committed the same or worse crimes, on a glorious pedestal?
No, this is about Mayweather more than the crime?and it?s sickening.
Whether Mayweather-Pacquiao this Saturday generates four million or four thousand buys, what causes Mayweather to be controlling and full of rage will not be altered. A box office flop will not turn him introspective and, ultimately, eager to repent for his crimes. Even a Mayweather run from the business entirely, broke and suffering, will still be the same man at heart unless he gets significant psychological help.
Calls to boycott his pay-per-views or somehow isolate him from the sport are meaningless gestures aimed at glorifying the smug accusers more than aiding the cause. His living earned as a prizefighter has nothing to do with what may rest in the shadows of his soul?and most fans are smart enough to accept that.
So, go ahead and buy the Mayweather-Pacquiao pay-per-view?or not. Either way, it has nothing to do whatsoever with your stance on domestic violence.
