I?m not big on ?aura? and ?charisma.? I?m also not sure what ?risks? and ?chances? Mayweather believes he took?
Those who think racism no longer exists are fooling themselves. Lynchings are few and minstrelsy has gone out of style, but old hatreds die hard, if they die at all.
When Obama was elected president I told whoever would listen that it would set back race relations 50 years. People said I was crazy and laughed.
Well, who?s laughing now?
Racism is unfortunately alive and well. It?s less pervasive in some places and among some people, but in other places and among other people it?s as insidious as ever.
Floyd Mayweather isn?t a race man, per se, but he?s more of a race man than Michael Jordan (who famously said, ?Republicans by sneakers too?). On one hand, that?s to Mayweather?s credit. On the other hand, he might want to let sleeping dogs lie, especially if his analyses are found wanting.
Speaking with Ben Thompson of FightHype.com, Mayweather shared his thoughts on the current state of affairs in boxing as it relates to race.
Mayweather?s resentment, born of who knows what psychological crises, continues to be off the charts, which proves there are things that money can?t buy. His observations are valid, as all observations are valid, but truths are rarely universal.
When asked about HBO?s moderately successful attempt to make Gennady Golovkin the next big thing in the boxing, Mayweather turned the question on its head.
?What I did, it will never be duplicated. Never!? he said. ?I don?t know what my numbers were for pay-per-view the first time out, but I just want to let the fighters know this, just because you can fight has nothing to do with selling tickets, putting asses in the seats, or becoming a pay-per-view star. It takes more than just being able to fight. It takes more than that. You have to have a certain aura about yourself, a certain charisma about yourself, a certain sales pitch about yourself; it takes a total package. The thing is, as far as boxing, it?s all about taking risks and taking chances. I did it. I took risks. I took chances. I?m just waiting to see if Triple G is going to go up and fight Andre Ward. I?m going to be convinced when he can go up and beat Andre Ward. Until then, I?m not convinced.?
I?m not big on ?aura? and ?charisma.? I?m also not sure what ?risks? and ?chances? Mayweather believes he took. If I remember correctly, he played it safe much of the time. Be that as it may, he?s in no hurry to anoint Triple G, whatever the color of his skin.
?I honestly feel it?s not a black thing, it?s not a white thing, it?s the right thing,? continued Mayweather, ?but like I said before, racism still exists in boxing. They had Hispanics and black fighters only that was dominating the sport for years. An Asian fighter comes along and makes a lot of noise, which is Manny Pacquiao. For years, they said I was a coward, I was scared, or I was ducking this guy. All I said is random blood and urine testing and let?s make it happen. Eventually, we got to a certain point, we negotiated the fight, it happened, it is what it is. So what I?m saying is this, they were so adamant about that fight, you know, but they?re not adamant about Triple G fighting Andre Ward??
Among the ?risks? and ?chances? Mayweather may have taken and which he failed to describe, fighting super middleweights wasn?t among them. But he seems to be asking Golovkin, a middleweight, to fight a light heavyweight, which suggests that equality is in the eye of the beholder.
?Whoever is forcing Andre Ward to go up to [light] heavyweight, that?s not cool at all,? Mayweather said. ?They?re trying to get him beat. From the looks of things, what?s going on in the sport of boxing, they want their superstar to be Caucasian. It?s obvious. And this has been going on for a very long time. They wanted me to lose to Pacquiao, but that didn?t happen. When you get to comparing champions, comparing fighters, all I have to say is I did it my way. I did it my way!?
Quoting Frank Sinatra may not be the optimal route toward establishing one?s racial bona fides, despite Sammy Davis and the work he did for the NAACP before turning reactionary. But I?m not convinced that anybody is ?forcing Andre Ward? to do anything, least of all to go up to light heavyweight. I?m also not convinced that they (whoever they are) are ?trying to get him beat.?
Ward?s problem is his body is breaking down. He had his moment, four or five years ago, but things have been spotty every since. Despite Mayweather?s assertion that ?they want their superstar to be Caucasian,? it?s not as ?obvious? as he might think. Maybe because I?m white, for which I?m no more responsible than if I was black, and which is no more a badge of honor than it is a signifier of guilt, I can?t see what?s staring me in the face. But we?ve come a long way from Jack Johnson and Jack London and the Great White Hope. There?s no doubt that racism still exists, maybe even in boxing, but I?m not sure I want to depend on Floyd Mayweather to lead me through the thickets of prejudice.
In that regard, I can depend on myself.
