Rich Rane wrote:I already know most of everything you've already said as I've followed Mayweather since Diego Corralles. I respect his boxing skill and there was a time I did respect the man. However, in the scenarios you speak of on HBO/Showtime showing Mayweather's "personal" side, can you honestly say it's more probable than not that is not the REAL Mayweather? Judging by everything outside the ring, how can you prove to me Mayweather isn't as much the showboating, entitled, racist he comes off as? Because he tells everyone he's doing it to sell more PPVs? Because he swears under oath he isn't like the guy he is during those shows? As for coming off as a racist, keep in mind that video on Ustream came out in 2011 and there was no sign of a fight with Pacquiao incoming.
I would say it is more probable than not that isn't the "real" Mayweather. I do think certain aspects of what he does in that show are probably real parts of his life. But I think a lot of things that are injected into the show are planted there by both Mayweather and the creators in order to make you think one thing or another.
I don't think many of the fighters are exactly who they are portrayed as on 24/7 and All Access. I think those are pumped up versions of who those people really are and what they really do. I think they try to turn some guys who are bad people in real life into 'good guys' in order to build rivalries. I think they try to make some bad guys even worse. It's the media and they are in the business of making money... if you think that's all 100% truthful then I'm not sure what to tell you other than I disagree.
I also think Mayweather and Pacquiao played out their fight and their rivalry perfectly from a money making standpoint. The fight was huge five or six years ago, but it was even bigger when it finally happened. People continued to develop hatred for Floyd because they all thought it was 100% his fault that the fight wasn't happening. They thought he was scared, they thought he was ducking and they thought they knew that Pacquiao would mop the floor with him if they ever got into the ring. I think every post fight interview, every interview where they mentioned one another, every viral internet video (like the one you posted) and every little spot on 24/7 or All Access (like when Mayweather runs after the little Asian dude and taunts him by calling him Pacquiao during the run he was doing) was to build up for this fight. The buildup wasn't two months, it was five years.
So no, it would not surprise me if he leaked that video to make people hate him more. It wouldn't surprise me at all. It also wouldn't surprise me if he was just being an idiot on camera though.
Personally, I buy even the bad boxing PPVs to support the sport (I most likely spend on average $200 a year on boxing PPVs). Please though, tell me how any boxing fan is supposed to separate the "Pretty Boy", "Money" monikers along with the actual Mayweather?
I'm not sure exactly how you sort through a persona of a fighter and who he actually is. You are the one who responded to my post where I said I wonder what is fact and what is purposefully said in order to build up the 'heel' persona. You are the one who seems to have it all figured out... so can you tell me exactly how to separate it?
My assumption is that he isn't wearing Mexican colors and attire to the ring when he fights Oscar in order to get people to like him. Odds are he isn't 'making it rain' on the camera to get people to like him. Odds are he doesn't constantly gloat about his money to get people to like him. Odds are that he isn't filming himself making it rain on strippers in his hotel room to make people like him.
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he's just super lucky to be making all of the money that he's making. Maybe he hasn't had to work on the persona at all. Maybe none of it is an act, maybe he is just not self-aware at all and cannot believe people don't love him. Maybe he thinks he should be the most loved athlete in the world. Maybe he's doing things that he thinks everyone will embrace and love him for. Maybe he thinks people will cheer for him when he wears Mexican colors when fighting a Mexican fighter... even though his uncle did the same thing to get people mad.
But just watching him, listening to him, hearing other people talk about when he started out and seeing how it has unfolded... I doubt that. I don't think Mayweather is a good guy. I do think he's incredibly smart on a certain level though. I think he knows how to promote himself, I think he embraced his role as 'the bad guy' and I think he's very good at thinking up more ways to make people dislike him to the point where they are willing to give him money to see him lose, even when the odds are incredibly low that he will lose.
