Ace Freeman is just another in a long line looking to judge Floyd Mayweather Jr. in this FighFan.com feature article as the star boxer gets set to face Miguel Cotto in a May 5th super-fight set for HBO pay-per-view.
Photo: Big Joe Miranda / BigJoesPics.com The sports and entertainment industries and many boxing fans are all too happy to see Mayweather put his life on the line for the enjoyment of millions of people around the world? yet many of them are the first to vilify him and cast judgement when he finds himself in trouble outside of these human cock fights that so many of us anxiously pay to see.
This is not to suggest we offer up a free pass to Floyd or any other star athletes to not adhere to the same laws that govern us all? but it raises some interesting questions to ponder for those of us who are so quick to cast the first stone.
?When it?s all said and done only God can judge me,? Mayweather said this week as he prepares to step through the ropes one more time come May 5th against Miguel Cotto. ?So while I?m here and I?m in this sport, I?m going to continue to entertain and give the fans what they want to see.?
Photo by Bruce Heinsius
All around the world people are looking to judge Floyd ?Money? Mayweather.
A living legend for his fistic prowess in the sport of Boxing, the 35-year old is a polarizing figure. Both inside the ring and out of it.
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mayweather was pegged for stardom from his early days where he was a three time Golden Gloves champion and an Olympic medalist at the 1996 games in Atlanta.
As a professional he has amassed an unblemished 42-0 (26 KOs) record and is widely considered by pundits as one of the most technically gifted fighters to ever lace up a pair of gloves. His impressive resume includes seven world titles throughout five weight divisions.
While that has proved more than enough to make Mayweather an active pillar in the sport of boxing, in recent years his name has embedded itself in the social consciousness of mainstream popular culture.
Many reading this know him foremost for navigating his way through contests of violence with a chess master?s guise, but the everyday public knows him from star studded television events like ?Dancing With The Stars? and his flashy and flamboyant lifestyle as a prominent one-man business enterprise.
Undeniably an economic powerhouse, Mayweather has sold an excess of eight million pay-per-view buys throughout his storied career for a total revenue approaching half a billion dollars.
From sitting in the front row of an array of international sporting events with his confidant 50-Cent to being chased by the tabloids, the man they call ?Money? never seems hard to find.
Ironic, because there was a time just a few years ago when many in the boxing establishment accused him of being elusive.
Miguel Cotto, Floyd?s opponent for his next fight scheduled for May 5th, was just a few years ago an unbeaten rising welterweight champion who many clamored for Mayweather to fight.
Even greater still was the wide spread insistence that Mayweather put his record on the line against an aggressive and bruiting Antonio Margarito.
Those two fighters together with a resurgent ?Sugar? Shane Mosley made up a trifecta many claimed would rob Mayweather of his legacy should he have gone ahead and retired in 2008 as he contemplated doing during a sustained hiatus from boxing that year.
While Mayweather took time to relax, do some yachting and clock a few more million betting on half time basketball scores? the formidable welterweight landscape changed suddenly and drastically.
In July 2008 Antonio Margarito dealt an almost suspiciously violent beating to Miguel Cotto to hand him his first career loss.
The victory for Margarito was a bittersweet one as he went from the top of the world as the recognized welterweight champion to a disgraced and vilified figure in just over six months.
In the pre-fight preparations for his January 2009 title defense against Shane Mosley, Margarito was discovered to have a plaster like substance on his hand wraps that were quickly confiscated by the California State Athletic Commission. He was forced to re-wrap his hands and was subsequently beat down and knocked out in nine rounds by Mosley. Shortly after it was announced Margarito and his trainer would be banned from boxing for one year for the transgression. While the Mexican brawler claims he was unaware that his team tampered with his wraps, the resulting fall from grace was quick and prolific.
Within one year of Floyd Mayweather?s absence from the welterweight division two of the three fighters many accused him of avoiding had dramatic exoduses from the top of the division.
After a jaunt into network television learning how to dance in front of nation wide crowds on the hit series ?Dancing With the Stars? (a hobby he now shares with legendary pugilist Sugar Ray Robinson), Mayweather ended his hiatus from boxing to toy with highly regarded Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez in September 2009. It was an aggressive and fast paced twelve-round boxing lesson from start to finish that saw him win by virtual shutout scores.
That set the stage for a unification fight against the only man left standing from the aforementioned trio that loomed so large before his brief vacation from boxing.
Mayweather dominated Shane Mosley in May 2010, perhaps just as soundly as he defeated Marquez.
After several years of chasing Mayweather for the fight, Mosley did not find Floyd difficult to find in the ring.
?I told him before the fight I wasn?t going anywhere,? Mayweather said post fight. ?I wanted to stand toe to toe to give the fans what they wanted to see.?
The performance was in stark contrast to Mayweather?s critics, who in years prior often confused the stalwart?s defensive prowess for avoiding combat in the ring.
It was a point Mayweather furthered in a bold and confident title defense against a young and hungry Victor Ortiz in his next and latest fight to date.
?Don?t worry about that,? Mayweather cautioned Ortiz before they fought. ?I?ll be right there in front of you. If I get hit with a good shot, no problem? I?ll shake it off and come right back at you. But when I hit you and hurt you, don?t grab me because I?m going to finish you off.?
Ortiz?s inexperience lead to an early exit in their bout when Mayweather pounced on him and knocked him out in the fourth round after the youngster was disciplined for fouling Floyd with a headbutt.
?I told him before the fight,? he said with a slight and knowing grin. ?If he makes a mistake, he has to pay.?
It was just another day at the office for Mayweather who?s hardly lost a round in the latter stage of his career.
While he?s made easy work of his opponents inside the ring, obstacles outside of it have proved more daunting.
While his crossover appeal in the entertainment industry has made him a household name in recent years, Mayweather has found himself a target for the star-hungry paparazzi and press core in America.
In late 2011 the star boxer pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge in a plea deal after a well publicized series of domestic incidents and is now set to serve a 90-day prison stint later this year.
It was a sentence Mayweather was originally to begin serving in January but in an unprecedented move the Nevada courts allowed him to postpone his time served until after his next boxing match (then scheduled for May 5, 2012) acknowledging how much the fight will the benefit the Las Vegas economy.
That resounding ability to generate revenue symbiotic to his local economy is not often spoken of in the press. Nor are the countless charitable outings held by the ?Floyd Mayweather Jr. Foundation? which (as per their mission statement) aims to empower and encourage community alliances, impact youth leadership and strengthen family foundations through community development, entrepreneurial-ism and education resulting in a healthier community.
Instead the majority of headlines surrounding Floyd focus not on his fistic prowess, philanthropy or entrepreneurship.. but seem to trumpet his transgressions that are repeatedly dredged up by those who get their facts from tabloids like TMZ.
The sports and entertainment industries and many boxing fans are all too happy to see Mayweather put his life on the line for the enjoyment of millions of people around the world? yet many of them are the first to vilify him and cast judgement when he finds himself in trouble outside of these human cock fights that so many of us anxiously pay to see.
This is not to suggest we offer up a free pass to Floyd or any other star athletes to not adhere to the same laws that govern us all? but it raises some interesting questions to ponder for those of us who are so quick to cast the first stone.
?When it?s all said and done only God can judge me,? Mayweather said this week as he prepares to step through the ropes one more time come May 5th against resurgent Miguel Cotto. ?So while I?m here and I?m in this sport, I?m going to continue to entertain and give the fans what they want to see.?
While intrigue and controversy tend to follow Mayweather like a brewing storm cloud, this week he is calm and hard at work in the tranquil confines of his Las Vegas stronghold working diligently with his uncle and head trainer Roger Mayweather.
In this setting, he is untouchable.
With his ?Money Team? around him repeating his mantra of ?Hard Work and Dedication? Mayweather is the consummate professional and is regarded by many as one of the most well conditioned athletes in the sporting world.
As he puts the finishing touches on his training camp to face Cotto at 154-pounds one week from now? Floyd can take solace in the fact that on May 5 he knows exactly where the blows will be coming from. With judgement being cast his way at every turn he can once again turn his attention to the one place where -so far- he can do no wrong: in the familiar confines of the prize ring.
?We all have certain obstacles,? Mayweather said this week. ?But you have to be a strong individual. I?ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life but in the squared circle I always go out there and do my best. I put boxing first.?
