WARNING TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS: The constant public exposure of Floyd Joy Mayweather has just begun. There will be no escape from him. Here’s the scary part, folks. Give him a chance because you’re probably going to grow fond of him. You have been warned!)
Floyd Mayweather’s Charm Offensive continues. Call it a rebranding if you will but the extraordinary drive to establish Mayweather as America’s most well-liked boxing personality appears to be unstoppable.
One of the ultimate destinations, Examiner.com and Boxingconfidential have learned, is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Mayweather, the only African American ring superstar extant, is on a Juan Manuel Marquez Victory Lap but this tour, complete with a stop at the New York Jets training camp and appearances on Fox News among others, has a goal which is above and beyond taking a bow for his shutout victory and the resulting one million PPV TV buys that Sept. 19 engendered.
The garish side, the braggadocio, the emphasis on the Money side over the Mayweather side, has been kicked to the curb in this well orchestrated remake of the fighter’s public image. So far, I have to say it’s all about a more mature, more playing it real Mayweather who doesn’t need phony feuds with rappers such as Rick “The Boss” Ross and other childish distractions.
This seems to be, as I’ve said before, the personable Mayweather saying, “Look at me, I’m here, I can be funny, I can be slightly self deprecating and I can entice a million TV homes to fork over $50 to watch me entertain in my office.”
There’s nothing wrong with that. Just because L’il Floyd played the thuggish wanna be, the L’il Devil role in the past doesn’t mean he can shed his artificial skin and just be himself.
Leonard Ellerbe, de facto manager for Mayweather, surprisingly took my phone call Thursday, ignoring my perceived Manny Pacquiao advocate image, and we spoke in a professional manner.
Maybe Al Haymon, HBO brass and Ellerbe cooked up the Charm Offensive but it’s already paying daily dividends. And isn’t that what they’re all supposed to do?
“We are,” Ellerbe said, just trying to take Floyd to whole different level. That is what this is all about in a nutshell.
“We’ve met with President Obama before, it was on 24/7 on HBO, and I don’t know when we will go see him at the White House but we will. We will definitely go to the White House.
“Of course, we go at the president’s convenience, not ours. So we don’t have any timetable on that just yet. That’s up to the president and his staff. We know he is a big Mayweather fan and we are grateful for that. It will be a huge honor to go to the White House.”
A White House visit would have added meaning to Washington native Ellerbe.
In essence, the only “script” Mayweather is following on this PR campaign is to be himself. You Mayweather bashers may not accept that but it’s true.
To know Mayweather, and I can’t say I do other than on a most cursory level, is not to hate or despise him.
Ellerbe confirmed that Mayweather turns up without “talking points” or a scripted agenda.
“We try to put him in the right situations. He can say whatever he wants, whether it’s sitting with Jay Leno or anyone else. I don’t tell Floyd what to say in such situations and neither does anyone else.”
Ellerbe said many more public platforms to expose Mayweather to the American public are in the works including a reality TV series which will mainly consist of Floyd being Floyd.
“We look for things that are totally different from boxing. The reality TV show will be one of the most watched TV shows out there.
“It will get the highest ratings.”
Ellerbe said Mayweather will make inroads for boxing among younger people at a time when the staggering sport sorely needs such a transfusion. He said Mayweather’s main target will be young people who live in urban environments, who can relate to the fighter’s gritty upbringing in Grand Rapids, Mich.
“Floyd can be the face of boxing to these younger fans, to the kids, especially in the urban communities across America. We don’t compare him to Sugar Ray Leonard but Floyd is about the same things and from the same type of background that he was. In the urban community, the young people can relate to his personality, his experiences and his athletic skill.
“Floyd has a certain appeal, a unique appeal and that’s what is coming out to the public now. He is not trying to be Ray Leonard or anyone else, he’s just being himself.”
Ellerbe said the undefeated boxer got a bad rap with media coverage in which he claimed to be superior in ring skill to legends such as Leonard, Muhammad Ali and other icons.
“That wasn’t really what Floyd was saying. You couldn’t expect him to say any other fighters were better than him. But he was not really downing Ray or Ali or Sugar Ray Robinson or any other great fighter.
“Floyd loves and respects those guys. They laid the path for him ,they showed the way. This was taken out of context.
“All Floyd is claiming is that he is the greatest of his own era, that’s it. Those mythical matchups, comparisons to great boxers of the past, is a waste of everyone’s time.”
My channel of communication to the Mayweather camp is surprisingly open.
I hope it stays that way because having no access to Mayweather and to Pacquiaio would like being cut off from Ali and Joe Frazier.
No man is an island says Michael Marley.
Let the Mayweather Charm Offensive roll on.
