Those who watched the fights in the 1980s and ?90s remember a light welterweight from Grand Rapids, Michigan named Roger Mayweather, aka the Black Mamba.
It?s a good nickname, perhaps even a great nickname, and seemed to embody Mayweather?s essence, as the Black Mamba is a venomous snake endemic to sub-Saharan Africa.
A lot has happened since then. Roger Mayweather the fighter became Roger Mayweather the trainer and his prized pupil is his nephew Floyd Mayweather.
It may seem strange to refer to an aging trainer with health problems as the Black Mamba, but don?t tell that to Roger.
Yesterday TMZ Sports reported that Roger Mayweather, to prevent Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant from using his nickname, has filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in an attempt to gain exclusive rights to the words Black Mamba.
Mayweather?s embrace of the Black Mamba ring moniker came about in an unlikely fashion. According to TMZ Sports, Roger was watching a TV show about reptiles and saw a film clip of a Black Mamba.
He could relate.
Johnny-come-lately Kobe Bryant first called himself Black Mamba in 2009. Bryant claimed that Black Mamba is his alter ego, which seems unlikely since it was Roger Mayweather?s alter ego first.
Bryant failed to submit paperwork on the use of Black Mamba, but several other entities did, including a condom manufacturer, a soft drink concoctor, a cigar maker, and, last but not least, and dreamer-upper of male enhancement products.
No exclusivity, however, was granted. So Roger Mayweather, by law, is likely to be the Black Mamba in perpetuity?and good for him.
He earned it the hard way.
