Throughout his hall of fame career Floyd Mayweather Jr. has always been one of the most outspoken fighters both in and outside of the ring. The antics and bravado of the Las Vegas-based fighter have been well documented over the years and the 33-year old has never been shy about boasting of his own accomplishments and abilities. Mayweather has never had a problem speaking his mind and it is what has endeared him to some and disenchanted him to others.
So it was all the more peculiar this month to see that the Grand Rapids native was uncharacteristically silent during the negotiation period for a proposed November 13th clash with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. Even when Top Rank promoter Bob Arum issued the fighter a July 16th deadline for him to get back with a valid response as to whether he woudl be moving forward with a fight with Pacquiao, Mayweather was still mum on all accounts.
Friday struck midnight and Arum held a conference call announcing that he would be setting his sights on Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito as possible foes for Pacquiao on the 13th and boxing fans and insiders the world over criticized Floyd for his apparent reluctance. Everyone pined for some kind of immediate response from Floyd and his camp but nothing materialized.
People began to speculate on Floyd?s actions, or lack there of. Some felt that there were still issues concerning the random drug testing scenario presented by Mayweather during the first round of negotiations with Pacquiao in January. Mayweather had insisted both men go through a strenuous, Olympic style drug testing protocol leading up until 14 days prior to the fight but Pacquiao was only willing to go down to 24 days. The bout was scrapped and both men went in seperate directions.
In the wake of the latest fallout there are those who feel that Mayweather had never fully agreed to terms on facing Pacquiao and that he was instead insisting that both men be randomly testing leading up to the contest with no cutoff. Whatever his reasoning, people simply wanted an explanation from Floyd, one full of more substance than simply saying ?I?m not even thinking about boxing,? which he uttered while in Miami on Sunday.
Finally, this past Monday morning, Mayweather?s advisor Leonard Ellerbe released a statement to BoxingScene stating that Team Mayweather had never at one point been involved in any kind of negotiations with Arum nor had they agreed in principle on a deal to face Pacquiao on the 13th. It was definitely odd to see the Mayweather camp take so long to give a response to the situation and their actions have been met with much skepticism from people who feel they are simply trying to save face.
One man who has never been shy about stating his opinion towards Floyd is esteemed boxing scribe Thomas Hauser, regarded by many as one of the finest journalists in the game. During my conversation with Hauser last December we talked in depth about Mayweather?s past, present and future in the sport. During our ten minute rap session Hauser?s statement below seemed to stand out the most.
?I guess I have two issues with Floyd,? Hauser said. ?The first is that out of the ring there have been some issues that do not speak well for him. In boxing terms the biggest issue I have with Floyd is that he has marketed himself very well but he hasn?t taken on the biggest challenges. He ducked Miguel Cotto, he ducked Shane Mosley, he ducked Antonio Margarito, and he avoided Paul Williams. I would have liked him to have fought one of those four guys.?
To Mayweather?s credit he did set foot in the ring with Mosley earlier this year and won the bout in convincing fashion after shaking off a shaky second round in which he was rocked by a Mosley right hand. However I was still interested as to what Hauser had to say about the most recent developments surrounding Pacquiao and Mayweather the second time around. Speaking as if he has absolutely had enough, Hauser didn?t hold his tongue.
?I don’t think that Floyd wants the fight. He didn’t want it last year, and he doesn’t want it now.?
If you are ever in search of a boxing writer who is constantly on the grind you would be well advised to take a look at Percy Crawford, who contributes solid material on a daily basis at www.FightHype.com. Asked for his take on the situation Crawford isn?t as harsh on Mayweather and instead seems to question the motives of Arum.
?I don’t find the Mayweather’s silence strange at all,? Crawford stated. ?I truly don’t understand Top Rank always putting a gag order on negotiations and then Bob Arum runs straight to the media to discuss the fight. Arum said the deadline was to inform Team Mayweather and the boxing world that they won’t exclusively negotiate with Floyd after that date , but Pacquiao’s advisor had already met with both Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, so was Floyd ever being negotiated with exclusively? All in all I think we get this fight at some point next year.?
There was a point in time when Jacksonville, Florida native Nate ?The Galaxxy Warrior? Campbell was dying for a clash with Pacquiao himself, as both men were champions at 135 pounds in the summer of 2008. Campbell?s wishes were never fulfilled, however, as Pacquiao moved up two weight classes to face Oscar De La Hoya while Campbell eyed a bout with Dominican Joan Guzman that never came to fruition. Campbell is a man full of insight on many levels but when taking a look at the recent fallout between Pacquiao and Mayweather he is at a loss.
?I really have no idea what is going on,? Campbell stated. ?You have some people bringing up the 14-day cutoff or whatever. It?s so easy for one guy to say something and the other side say another. All I know is that for 40 million dollars I would fight my momma.?
Of all the boxing minds I have come across in my time covering the sweet science, very few have been able to match John ?Iceman? Scully in terms of true passion and love for the sport. The former title challenger turned top-level trainer has worked with the likes of Chad Dawson and Jose Antonio Rivera in his days as well as currently overlooking the duties of Cruiserweight contender Matt Godfrey. More than anything Scully would love to see a good fight but feels the recent turn of events may ultimately turn people the other way.
?It seems like this fight has had more crazy negotiations, stipulations and demands than any fight in history that I can recall,? Scully said with obvious confusion. ?I actually think it could very well get to the point where people wont even care anymore if they wait too long to make the fight. [Al] Haymon and Ellerbe and those guys should be accessible and say what’s going on right from the beginning. I can understand baiting the public, tantalyzing them with the possibility of a fight happening of this magnitude but, as I said, after a while you run the risk of having people who were once interested turn on you.”
One man who has harped on Mayweather?s recent actions is Scoop Malinowski, author of www.TheBiofile.com and regular contributor to www.BoxingInsider.com. On July 11th The Philadelphia native guaranteed that Floyd would not sign the contract to face Manny and has been adamant about Mayweather?s fear of getting knocked out by the Filipino icon. Elaborating on Team Mayweather?s most recent statements to the press, Malinowski was extremely critical.
?A desperate, cornered animal will do anything,? Malinowski told Examiner. ?Floyd and his team are absolutely cornered and apparently will say anything to try to save face, to perpetuate the fraud of Mayweather. They did it last time by falsely accusing the man of using drugs. Now they are doing it again. We’re talking about some very delusional and deformed people who will do anything to stay in power. Floyd and his team are known liars. I am not surprised by anything they do or what they will try next to duck Pacquiao – and conceal the now open secret that Floyd Mayweather is a coward who knows he will be brutally and savagely knocked out by Manny Pacquiao.?
Whatever your take is on Mayweather and his silence in the preceding weeks, nobody can deny that the entire Pacquiao-Mayweather saga has gotten ugly in too many ways. Every day word leaks out that Arum is closer to striking an alternative deal for his star fighter, which now figures to be a bout with Margarito outside of U.S. soil, and the only hope may be for the two men finally meeting in May of 2011. But Pacquiao is now a congressman with other duties to attend to and it is uncertain whether or not the public would be as interested in the contest at that time.
They always say that it is best to strike the iron when it is hot but it looks that we have missed the boat on this one. And for the sport of boxing that wasn?t something we couldn?t afford to do.
