Congratulations, Floyd Mayweather.
You are now the most despised athlete on the planet, non-O.J. division.
Mayweather is sullying his legacy as one of the greatest fighters of our generation.
His latest classless missteps came last Saturday night with a one-two punch. First, he cold-cocked Victor Ortiz in the closing seconds of the fourth round of their welterweight championship fight while Ortiz was apologizing for an intentional head butt.
Yes, what Ortiz did was idiotic ? first the head butt and then letting his guard down while referee Joe Cortez had his back turned toward the fighters. But what Mayweather did ? perfectly legit under strict interpretation of the rules ? was a punk move.
But he was just getting started.
Mayweather then went after HBO analyst Larry Merchant in a post-fight interview, spewing profanities before Merchant grew tired of it and yelled, “I wish I was 50 years younger and I would kick your (butt).”
It seems everybody wants a piece of Mayweather these days, especially fight fans who went ballistic after spending $59.95 in pay-per-view bucks for this nonsense.
But the guy who most wants a shot at Mayweather is Manny Pacquiao, an eight-division world champion who has watched Mayweather dodge, duck and weave out of the biggest fight in boxing history.
