By Simon Sheppard: Well, even the echo of the last tick on the timer has faded away. And still, no sign of Floyd Mayweather Jr. His fans were expecting a grand entrance. Most people were not. As a matter of fact, most people were expecting this from him.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. tried to play the game of Muhammad Ali.
Didn’t somebody tell Floyd that Ali was hated as much as he was loved during those days?
The pivotal moment was when Muhammad Ali made a stand for what he believed in. He lost his crown, held on trial, ridiculed, and spied upon forhis beliefs. And only later did people realize that Ali was right. From that moment on, he stepped beyond the boundaries of the sports of boxing.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was, in fact, given a golden opportunity himself when his father started sowing the seeds of doubt among the fans.
A brilliant move by his father that even Macchiavelli himself would have envied.
First, it was Floyd Sr.’s way of dealing with the loss of the fighter he was training then, Ricky Hatton.
It was not the loss itself, but the manner in which Pacquiao blew away his “stallion” was like a hard slap in his face. His father was so humiliated, right on the world stage. So Floyd Sr. started all the nonsense, all to offset the humiliation. And that is the problem with self-proclamation. With declarations of greatness come big expectations, and failing to live up to those expectations inevitably ensue in a devastating humiliation.
Second, what his father beheld that night was beyond the understanding and intellect of a simple man like Floyd Mayweather Sr. So his father invented some kind of justification, some reason, some logic for what he witnessed that night. Only this way can his brain grasp what happened. Only this way can his father’s mind understand.
And third, it was a way to discredit a man Floyd Sr. came to hate. The man who caused him so much humiliation. Who’s feats inside the ring are beyond his understanding.
So the father convinced his own son and converted him to his own beliefs. And so Junior embarked on his “crusade”. The problem was, Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn’t go all the way. There came a golden chance to morph the negative into something positive. A noxious metal into gold. Floyd Mayweather Jr. could have stood up to the commission. He should have convinced himself better to turn everything into a real crusade. He is a big name in the sports. He could have used that name to challenge the decision. And yes, he could have been frowned upon by the commission, even ridiculed by the experts, but making the stand is what will be noted the most. He had his golden opportunity and he blew it.
Like Ali with the Vietnam war, it could have been the defining moment for Floyd Mayweather Jr.
He tried to play Ali’s game, but he played it all wrong.
So Floyd Mayeather lost.
With that opportunity passing him by, he continued to bluff and huff his way into the fight with Pacquiao. But instead of Pacquiao himself facing him, there was instead Robert “Bob” Arum.
To those who did not know, Bob Arum is a Harvard graduate. He will not be where he is now, if he was not gifted with business smarts.
Arum has been in this business long before Junior was still an urge in his father’s loins. So he played Arum’s game.
He made statements to the press, and to anyone listening about his demands. That if his demands were to be met, he is more than willing to face Pacquiao. Everything has to on his terms. He’ll choose the dance floor, the dance moves, the music, or else Arum can find another dance partner for Pacquiao. Then when he was least expecting it, Arum called his bluff. And not only that, Arum even gave him a deadline. Floyd painted himself into the corner of the room. Now he’s got two choices, step on the wet floor paint and just boldly walk out the door, or wait for the paint to dry before walking out the door. Maybe he’s waiting for the paint to dry.
Either way, he loses. Again.
Even his relationship with ESPN, who awarded him the ESPY award for Best fighter three times is souring.
Never was the word “coward” uttered in the same sentence with his name.
He played the game of Ali, he lost.
He played the game of Arum, again, he lost.
Inside the ring, Floyd Mayweather has yet to taste defeat.
Beyond the ropes, he just keeps getting plastered.
He needs to improve on his game
Who knows, maybe with 50 Cent and Snoopy Dog as his corner men, maybe he could..
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