Kevin Iole on Floyd Mayweather Jr., Humanitarian
by Scott Christ on Sep 11, 2009 10:16 PM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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Yahoo! Sports boxing analyst Kevin Iole has a new article up on the "hidden" side of Floyd Mayweather Jr., which isn't so hidden anymore if you've been watching HBO's "24/7" for Mayweather-Marquez. But if you've missed it, you've missed Floyd Mayweather the humanitarian and philanthropist, the guy who hands out sack lunches to the homeless from the back of a truck.
Mayweather repeats what he said on the show:
“I’ve been blessed by God,” Mayweather said. “No doubt about it. God gave me this talent and I’ve been able to build a better life for myself and my family. The people out there, the ones we’re going to see, they haven’t been so lucky. They need someone to give them a break, but no one wants to bother with them. People forget about them and pretend like they don’t exist. I guess they think if they act like there is no problem it will go away. But it won’t. Someone needs to help, so I do my part.”
He also says that his public persona -- the "Money Mayweather" guy, the arrogant braggart making it rain at nightclubs -- won't change:
“Why should I have to act differently just to please someone who doesn’t know me?” Mayweather said. “The people who know me know who I am and the person I am. If you want to know about me, ask them. I’m a guy who loves my family, who wants to do the best for my kids, and if I can do something to help someone who hasn’t been as truly blessed as I have been, I’ll do it. Ask the people who know me what I’m really like.”
Iole also goes deeper into the story of Nate Jones, an ex-fighter that knew (and disliked) the young Floyd Jr. way back when, but has worked for him for years now. Jones is one of many that knows Floyd personally that talks about him in much different tones than anyone else does.
“He doesn’t need me,” Jones said. “He’d win without me. But he cares about people. He pays decent money so people can have good lives and have a chance to have success. And that touches a lot of people. There’s one guy here who is working for Floyd who basically can’t do a thing. He can’t even carry a bag without having some problem. Floyd just doesn’t turn his back on anyone.
“He said to me, ‘Nate, I don’t need this guy. He can’t carry a bag. He serves no purpose. But how would I feel if I told him to go home and I know it would hurt him? I can’t do that.’ That’s the part of Floyd people don’t understand.”
It's a really good article, and these quote portions are just tastes. Go check it out.
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I've been one of Floyd's harshest critics,
but I respect the work he’s doing for those who are less fortunate. However, I have to ask the question: Why project the persona you do to the public? The money tossing, annoyingly arrogant, disrespectful, and downright jackass behavior you exhibit makes alot of people stay away from being a fan. I’d love to be a fan of Floyd’s and to root for him instead of against him. We understand that you have scrilla, scratch, paper, coin, money or whatever you want to call it. we understand that you’re one of, if not, the best fighter of our generation. We get it, really we do. Floyd you sell yourself and potential fans short by pushing that persona whether real or created, it’s really not necessary.
by SmittytheCutman on Sep 11, 2009 10:32 PM EDT reply actions
Why project the persona you do to the public? The money tossing, annoyingly arrogant, disrespectful, and downright jackass behavior you exhibit makes alot of people stay away from being a fan.
It’s a little trick that goes all the way to the oft-cited first superstar of the TV days in pro wrestling: Gorgeous George. People pay to see Floyd get beaten. He wasn’t that big of a star until he got the Oscar fight and pushed the persona out there to the public, and now he’s one of the biggest names in boxing, and one of the very few that the general public knows at all. He does it for the money, and it’s worked.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by Scott Christ on Sep 11, 2009 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions
The thing is that the public never accepted him as a star when he was a pretty boy… He was never going to get the love and appreciation that a Leonard or Arguello got.
I mean the only time people were rooting for him was vs Judah… and that is only because Judah was a punk ass bitch to him in the fight with his intentional and deliberate low blow and rabbit punch that started a riot.
That said… I still think he is full of shit. I mean wearing a Che Guevara shirt? Seriously?
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Has the public accepted him yet?
The thing is that the public never accepted him as a star when he was a pretty boy
I still don’t see Mayweather selling a PPV fight without Manny P.
I used to work with an old man that told me. Son, every workplace has a dumbass, if you don't have one where you work, then I'm afraid you're it.
Mayweather-Baldomir almost doubled the sales of Pacqiao-Diaz
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Well consider this… HBO gave a countdown show for Mayweather/Baldomir, Baldomir was the Cinderella story for um 2006, He had fought on TV two times on Showtime( Judah) and HBO and Um… Diaz fought the first undercard fight of Manny vs Marquez II and an independent PPV by Top Rank. Kinda of a big difference don’t you think?
Almost doubled? The 325,000 PPV buys wasn’t impressive when you consider all of that… HBO was disappointed by those numbers. Compared to 250,000 that Manny had vs a literal unknown… I don’t think it is wortth mentioning.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Your numbers aren't right
Pac-Diaz did 215k
You’re right that Mayweather-Baldomir only did 325k. For some reason, I remembered it doing better than that.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Yeah, I thought about that
But I think after awhile of playing that character (if it is indeed one) one can become the character. It’s one thing to be confident, it’s an entirely other to be a jackass. It’s not like the effort is selling his fight with Marquez. i didn’t miss the huy while he was gone to be honest.
by SmittytheCutman on Sep 11, 2009 11:20 PM EDT reply actions
Another Mayweather story
Mayweather is from Grand Rapids which is about an hour to an hour and a half away from where I grew up. Floyd was visiting one winter and saw some kids who went to his old school waiting for the bus with no winter coats on. The next day Mayweather bought winter coats for the entire school.
Like I said, I respect the philanthropic work he does but,
his jackass ring persona isn’t necessary. He’s cheating himself out of fans and probably even more money by doing what he does.
by SmittytheCutman on Sep 11, 2009 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions
That’s not really going to change, and he’s really not concerned with making “fans” he’s concerned with making “money.” He makes an ass out of himself all the time on television, and he is a cocky sonofabitch but it sells tickets and PPV’s. Maybe the Marquez fight is the exception here, but that’s partly due to the fact that no one wants to see him fight someone he’s going to dominate again, and there is a more entertaining UFC card on the same night. If this were Mayweather/Pacquiao you’d be seeing a lot more buys. Go watch him after he beat Ricky Hatton, you’ll see a different Floyd.
Whether or not he’d make more money being a nice guy is really irrelevant, it’s not really something you could put to the test and it’d be all speculation. He is what he is and it’s made him filthy fucking rich.
thats pretty rad
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Sep 12, 2009 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Also pretty much single-handedly funded the Michigan Golden Gloves.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by Scott Christ on Sep 12, 2009 12:10 AM EDT up reply actions
I know this is tough to separate, but there is a difference between being arrogant and being an a-hole. Floyd is arrogant. He thinks he is the greatest boxer of all time. However, he does give back because he cares about the community. Floyd thinks he is God’s gift to boxing not God’s gift to the world. From lots of accounts in the multiple 24/7 series it is evident that Floyd’s arrogance is just a persona to sell tickets. This behavior does help sell tickets but does not help Floyd’s popularity as much as he thinks it does….
All good points everyone...
but I cannot bring myself to root for him, character or not. I don’t buy his PPV’s because of it. I probably will if and when he fights Pac Man though.
by SmittytheCutman on Sep 11, 2009 11:45 PM EDT reply actions
What makes the cut for 24/7 is all show biz, regardless of the soul of PBF,
let’s not fool ourselves.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
I’ve said it before, but why not again: I don’t think it’s any coincidence that NOW Floyd has decided the public at large needs to be VERY aware of his philanthropy and giving back to the community, what with Roger’s legal troubles and his own murky, alleged involvement in a shooting.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by Scott Christ on Sep 12, 2009 5:59 AM EDT up reply actions
PBF wants it all: to be hated, feared, AND loved.
He may also have been jealous of the genuine love and respect showered on Gatti, Arguello, and genuine humanitarian Forrest by the boxing world at large. Of course they all died first.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
by Matt Miller on Sep 12, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I don’t get how personally handing out sack lunches once in awhile makes you some great humanitarian. When I think of the term “PR stunt,” something exactly like this comes to mind.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
There’s more than just this, and he’s done things quietly for years. All things being fair, he is a quite charitable dude. I’m not saying that alone makes him some great guy, since there are certainly questionable things, but it’s not totally fake.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by Scott Christ on Sep 12, 2009 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Yeah well
He also has guys in his crew shoot at people and hold guys down while he kicks them… I wonder if they are the same guys helping him hand out sack lunches in that picture?
Maybe it all balances out on the scales. I guess that’s up to the big boxing judge in the sky.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
He also has guys in his crew shoot at people and hold guys down while he kicks them
That’s what I’m saying. He also has a genuine dark side that no one seems to want to explore too much. He’s either arrogant or a humanitarian. He’s not a great guy, by a lot of accounts, and no one should ignore that.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by Scott Christ on Sep 13, 2009 1:46 AM EDT up reply actions
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