For years Floyd Mayweather has played the bad guy role in each of his bouts.
He has made so many fans dislike him and he is more than rich because of it. (Main pic courtesy of Showtime) It’s believed Floyd Mayweather’s net worth is roughly $175 Million.
Due to his extreme arrogance, it’s understandable why fans might dislike him and want to see him lose.
He lives like a rock star with his huge entourage, throws money around like it’s candy, and consistently brags about how great he is. He’s the athlete many love to hate.
But let’s look at the whole picture before we judge the “Money Man.”
Floyd was a bronze medalist at the age of 19 in the 1996 Olympic Games and a standout amateur.
He signed with Top Rank Promotions early in his career and always seemed to stand in Oscar De La Hoya’s shadow. And even though his career got off to a great start, Top Rank told him to wait his turn as De La Hoya flourished as the face of boxing.
It wasn’t until Floyd separated from Top Rank that he began to demand respect and lucrative pay days.
With all due respect to Floyd, he never really bad-mouthed his opponents until he started seeking a bout against De La Hoya. And who knows? Had Mayweather played the “Pretty Boy” role by speaking respectfully of his opponents, Oscar may have never fought him.
Keep in mind, the Golden Boy turned the fight down more than once due to Mayweather’s father being Oscar’s trainer. But once Floyd opened his mouth, he became a superstar and landed the highest grossing pay per view event in history. And then, once he defeated the man whose shadow he once stood in, each of Floyd’s fights were huge events in which he earned millions. To sum it all up, Mayweather had to make people hate him in order to flourish the way he has.
So now , we are three days away from another Mayweather mega fight. It is estimated that Mayweather’s purse is a guranteed $42 million on Saturday night.
His opponent, Canelo Alvarez, is a Mexican superstar who is also undefeated. Alvarez’s size, power, and patience have inspired many critics to predict a close to even match up. But in reality, this kind of prediction isn’t fair to the pound for pound king.
Of course Alvarez can land a huge punch that ends the fight. But boxing isn’t about what can happen but what will happen. By looking at both track records, we see that the experience isn’t even close. If we study the strengths and weaknesses of both combatants, anyone can see that Mayweather is light years ahead of this kid.
Alvarez is dangerous early on but the longer it goes, the water gets deeper and deeper. After a while, Canelo will likely start to drown.
Boxing fans should enjoy the talent of Floyd Mayweather while he is still great and on top of the boxing world. Fighters this good come around once in a lifetime.
If he got the credit he truly deserves, Floyd’s personality would probably be a lot more humble and grateful.
There are no fighters on the horizon that are on his level. People mention Adrian Broner and Danny Garcia, among other up and comers as the future of boxing once Mayweather retires, but these guys are only hopefuls.
The things we see other fighters do may look amazing but none of them can think as quickly and as effectively as Mayweather. That is the difference between Floyd and other superstar boxers. He knows how to think inside the ring and he makes adjustments immediately.
When he is done we will miss him. We should enjoy his talent while he is still around.
