Source: The Grand Rapids Press (via MLive.com)

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is having his retirement celebrated in downtown Grand Rapids, his hometown. Despite that Grand Rapids is only about an hour away, I think I'll abstain.

Floyd also, according to himself, should be a "billionaire" if all things go right. Of course, I think that's probably a ridiculous claim, or else he's a better gambler than we're aware of, but there's no doubt he's done well for himself.

Floyd should be happy. Content. He's not. He's still talking. He'll never stop.

"Even a guy like Jim Lampley, he praises Kelly Pavlik -- who has won some good fights, he beat Jermain Taylor twice, we have to give him credit for that -- but they talk about Kelly Pavlik, a white fighter, like he's the second coming Or they go crazy over Manny Pacquiao. But I'm a black fighter," Mayweather said. "Is it racial? Absolutely. They praise white fighters, they praise Hispanic fighters, whatever. But black fighters, they never praise.

"I've noticed it for a long time but I couldn't say anything because I had to do business with them. I'll still do business with them, but I'm done holding my tongue. I think HBO is great. But their announcers are full of s--t."

Whoa. Now...listen.

You know why Pavlik and Pacquiao and guys like Barrera and Morales might have gotten more praise than Floyd from the HBO broadcasters? Because their fights are exciting. Nobody on HBO ever said that Floyd wasn't a great fighter. But how many times were his fights less than pleasing to watch? It really doesn't go beyond that, but you also have to consider that Floyd didn't care if his fights were "exciting." He just wanted to win. And he did. Every time. That's great and all, but there's a WHOLE OTHER SIDE to why broadcasters and fans will praise those guys more than they do Mayweather. And it has nothing to do with race. When it's not just white or just Hispanic or just anything else, but white, Hispanic, Filipino, and "whatever" else, then maybe you should look past race is all I'm saying.

Hopkins also had boring fights. Roy Jones, meanwhile, RAN HBO in the 1990s because he was so dynamic and exciting.

"Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, Emanuel Steward, they're always talking about the negative things in my life," Mayweather said. "But I've seen Jim Lampley in the same strip club as me before. They always want to talk about me going to strip clubs, but they don't want to talk about that.

Mayweather, the Grand Rapids native who returned home this weekend to host a holiday carnival and entertainment festival, was convicted on four counts of misdemeanor assault, and pleaded no contest to another, earlier in his career.

The convictions often proved fruitful topics for television one-liners.

"He caught a court case himself, too. But when they catch a case, all they do is take them off the air a couple weeks, then it's over."

Well, there's no doubt that Lampley would be a pot calling the kettle black at this point if he goes after anyone's court records, which I frankly can't remember him doing since that whole mess he had with the restraining order that put him on three years' probation -- and that's no coincidence.

Also, there are a lot worse records outside of boxing within boxing than that of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

He said HBO should return to a format in which a prominent former boxer serves as an analyst. Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Roy Jones and Kevin Kelley are among the former champions who have served on the network's telecasts in years past.

 

"There aren't any fighters commentating on boxing, that's the problem," Mayweather said. "They need to go to gyms, really learn what they're talking about. I'm not going to comment on stuff I don't know."

This is a prevailing thought among a lot of athletes in every sport, but the truth is that most athletes-turned-broadcaster stink at the job and provide little-to-no insight. Lennox Lewis compared Andre Dirrell's jog-and-jab stinker performance last year to Muhammad Ali, which was one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. Foreman served no real great purpose outside of arguing with Larry Merchant. Jones was good.

Does Floyd really think that Emmanuel Steward has a problem understanding boxing? I mean, come on.