Floyd Wins
I can’t say it was a surprise. Floyd Mayweather defeated Ricky Hatton on Saturday night via a 10th round knockout with a beautiful check hook counter. Afterwards, Floyd changed his tune and expressed his respect for Hatton (something that wasn’t seen leading up to the fight). My question is this…
Did Floyd need to piss everyone off to draw excitement for the fight? Like it or not, but kids look up to world champions. I respect the hell out of Floyd’s talent, but it would be nice to see the Pound for Pound champion carry himself with some dignity and respect. He may not want the title of role model, but that’s what you get when you are on top. I see young kids trying to imitate Floyd and that is a problem. If my son ever came home talking to me the way Floyd spoke leading up to the fight, he would have big problems.
Sugar Ray Leonard didn’t need to talk trash to become a household name. Ricky Hatton didn’t need to talk trash to generate an entire nation of support. No matter what Floyd will ever say, Hatton had more support in Floyd’s own backyard.
You don’t need to be a bad guy to attract fans. Boxing had a great comeback year in 2007, but it would have been even better if Floyd carried himself in a way that would attract NEW boxing fans. Forget about the hardcore fans who will always tune in. Boxing needs to keep attracting NEW fans. Aside from Oscar de la Hoya, there aren’t many household names in the sport of boxing. Most boxing fans couldn’t even name the heavyweight champion. Can you imagine that happening back in the 1970’s? The heavyweight champion used to be the most revered title in the sporting world.
Floyd may not realize it, but when he pushes new fans away from the sport with his crude behavior, the entire sport pays the price. He may be Money Mayweather, but most in his sport are not.
Ross
27 Comments so far
Leave a reply
Ross: I agree with your assessment. Hatton, his corner men and his decicated fans made the fight entertaining. I found myself rooting for Hatton not because he was the best pound for pound but simply because he appeared to be a hard worker in the gym that was going to let his boxing do the talking. I know that much of the talk is just hype but I think Floyd’s trash talking turns off the fan and the casual observer alike. Floyd won because he was physically the better boxer not because he had the biggest mouth. In the end, Floyd’s antics did nothing to improve the sport of boxing or the excitement of the fight.
I totally agree with you Ross.
I really admire Floyd for his class in boxing but he really lacks class in his attitude when it comes to showing respect for his opponent.
Mihou
On the subject of lack of respect. As a proud Englishman I was appalled by the booing of the US National Anthem before the fight. This should not be acceptable in any sport and beer is no excuse. Ricky Hatton is one of the boys, and will probably be loved more over here now because he tried gallantly and came up short. (Frank Bruno is a National Treasure) The English psyche prefers guts to flashing money around, and we have a curious way of destroying champions who get too cocky, not least in the press.
With Floyd Mayweather, well, what a talent, but I’m sure there’s a lot of insecurity there. If you can’t be sure you’re loved, it’s far easier to be sure you’re disliked. At least you know where you stand then. I loved the quote from Ricky Hattons dad about one of the prominent members of the Mayweather camp, “If you had a dog that stupid, you wouldn’t feed it”
I couldn’t agree more. I was so happy when he complemented Hatton, it made his win in my books.
I think what most fail to understand is that Floyd’s persona is merely an act/facade. People love story lines, and good vs. evil is always a popular one. There always has to be a “bad” guy and Floyd has taken that role. And it’s worked for him. I don’t think there’s anything more to it. If you read interviews with him about this you can see that he does good things for the world but just doesn’t talk about it much, because he plays the “bad” guy. Who knows if he actually decided this or if his manager/people are telling him he needs to in order to get noticed.
Maybe Floyd didn’t need to piss everyone off and talk trash but that makes for good TV and promotion, so someone had to do it…
Jason – I don’t fail to realize anything about Floyd. He goes overboard. That is my point. Good guy vs. bad guy is fine, but we never need ignorant and obnoxious to the point that it is beyond annoying. There was a Youtube video posted on the message board that was painful to watch. Ray Robinson and Jake Lamotta didn’t need to talk like Floyd to generate press for their fights. Ray Leonard, Hagler, and Hearns also didn’t need it.
There is nothing wrong with a good guy vs. bad guy storyline, but let’s not take it too far. Floyd took it too far and it poorly reflected on him and the sport (in the eye’s of many potential fans).
Sadly, I think these days people look for that conflict. Boxing has long made personality as much a part of the battle as skills, speed, strength, and determination.
While the big names from 30 years ago didn’t rely on trash talk and moxy to generate press and buzz for their fights, keep in mind that people actually watched boxing back then. It was on ABC. A regular part of culture. Now? Now I get lip service from the owners of classy sports bars (I’m in St. Louis, and Jim Edmonds of the Cardinals owns a really swanky place with tons of HD TVs, for instance) look at me like a low-life when I ask if they’ll broadcast a fight. “This isn’t that kind of place, sir. We don’t show boxing.”
It’s true though. I’m 28, and people my age and younger generally aren’t into the sport. Well, let me elaborate: people my age with comfy white collar jobs aren’t into it. (They might act like tough guys and fantasize about getting into childish bar fights, but boxing they’re “above.”)
Mr. Mayweather isn’t doing himself many personal favors with his behavior (although, at heart, he seems to be a good man), but without his bad-boy antics I doubt the fight would’ve generated the PPV numbers it did. When I finally DID find a place showing the fight, it was packed. Packed! A diverse crowd, too. He maximized the conflict. I can’t justify Mr. Mayweather’s pre-fight banter, but if it helps attract people to the sport…fine.
But Ross is totally right here. He can’t continue acting like that. Ali talked his share of smack, but it was always laced with humor (“big ugly bear,” etc.). A little pre-fight jawing isn’t the worst thing–realistically, who’s going to be excited about watching a fight between two fighters saying they really like each other? And until the audience becomes consistent again, the buzz and flash might be necessary for the ratings.
Which I find bothersome. I wish I had a better answer.
Brad – You make good points. I understand exactly what you have said. Yet there are still guys like Ricky Hatton who could have sold the ENTIRE place out on his own. His fans would have bought 20,000 tickets if possible. He attracted these fans without being an ass. Floyd can’t even sell out his own backyard, and there is a reason for that. Good guy doesn’t equal poor marketing. Another example is Oscar De La Hoya. Like him or hate him, but he’s always been polite in public and his image has sold well in mainstream America.
Just a few random thoughts…
Ross
hatton attracted so many fans … that’s because he is Brit, britains are born to compete and they are very supportive for their athletes. on the other hand the americans get bored very easily, that’s why your Floyd has to do even something more to impress the public to wath his fight, a part from his great skills.
that’s truth
I too found Floyd’s antics out of hand and unnecessary. Even if it’s all an act there is a limit. I’m not saying he’s a bad person, but he doesn’t need the gimmick, he has enough talent to shadow that entirely. Kostya Tszyu, that guy carried himself well and was a great boxer. I miss his fighting.
Floyd is an embarrassment for the sport. Imagine if Tiger Woods carried on that way…or Ross. This website wouldn’t exist if Ross acted like that.
Ross is a great role model for kids…hell for me. Too bad Floyd wasn’t more like Ross. The sport would gain so much if we could transplant Ross’s brain into Floyd…what am I saying? Let’s just get Ross back in the ring to shut Mayweather up.
In fairness to Floyd Jr., he was beaten and abused by his father. There’s a lot of issues with him.
I dunno, one of the most memorable boxers of any generation, Ali, was an absolute jerk. Some of the things he said about Frazier are shocking, and unlike Floyd, there were times when Ali didn’t even bother acting gracious after the fight. It certainly doesn’t excuse his behavior, but Ali is (as far as I can tell) pretty universally loved and respected. If you transplanted a prime Ali into the 21st century, I think people would be appalled by his behavior.
That being said, I agree that Floyd can go overboard, but I do feel it is an act. I’m hoping now that he is a “household name”, he no longer has to resort to playing the bad guy all the time. He really does do some good charity work, and from what I can tell, is an excellent father to his children. It would be a shame for him to be remembered as a loud mouth lout with no class.
Some of Ali’s comments were pretty rude (and rarely gracious), but his talk was usually funny. His off-the-cuff rhyming was great, and displayed tremendous intelligence. He was a showman who could back up his boasts. Well…most of the time.
I thought he did congratulate Frazier on his performance in at least one of their fights, but the hatred between the two seems to never have died. Especially with Frazier saying at the 1996 Olympics that he’d throw Ali into the Olympic flames himself if he could.
Right now, I figure Floyd’s out of commission for awhile. Hopkins and Calzaghe can provide some good conflict without being too rude (as long as Hopkins avoids saying things like “no way I’m losing to a white boy”), and we might have a great rivalry with Pavlik and Taylor as well.
If Pavlik wins again in February, he might be the greatest thing for boxing in years.
being excellent has his own problems to, when you have power and skill, you”ll become isolated and eventually get arrogant.
Mayweathers arrogance or supreme confidence makes him a better boxer, he knows the mental part of boxing is essential at the highest levels.
Having everyone cheering against you, whising you get beat is one of the best ways to get motivated,
Hell i love it when i dont show up at class and get the best grade.
Aside from that, remember the story of floyd oscar and leonard on a plane togheter, telling the boy to smile and put up a image for the crowd..
Rather him being like this showing his true nature, than supressing his competitiveness, with a fake oscar image. Boxing like floyd said is not a gentlemans sport, its war.
also hatton started off by mocking mayweather career thats true disrespect.
His bluff got called with a check hook.
I dont think there is a doubt he has supreme skill,
but I see a correlation between his mental confidence and his skill and determination in the ring. When your so certain that right hand is gonna land, it will land.
”I think there is no doubt that Floyd Mayweather Jr is the best boxer in the world pound for pound. He has backed up his words against the best and that is very important” -kostya tszyu
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/de-la-hoyamayweather-247-mayweather-training/246594573
Look into his basketball technique, a very good jumpshot.
This entry isn’t a knock against Floyd. He is the man. That isn’t my point. We even had fighters from our gym who were out in Vegas with Floyd back in 2003. He was very cool and certainly a good guy.
My point is that Floyd could make a few changes in regards to how he carries himself outside the ring. Nothing drastic, but a few changes here and there.
In his position, he has/had the ability to popularize boxing the way it used to be many years ago. His actions will never do that however.
And no, that isn’t his job, but it would be nice to see everyone focus on the betterment of the sport that did so much for him.
Boxing used to be a mainstream sport where families huddled around the radio to listen to the big fights. Those days are long gone, but I’d like to see them come back.
There were some GREAT fights this year. The casual sports fan missed out however. We need to draw them back to the sport.
Ross
Floyd’s antics are all hype, and I think HBO’s 24/7 did a great job selling a fight that was a mis-match from the beginning. Hatton never had a chance against Floyd, who was too big, too strong, and too fast; however, the camera angles, interviews, and slow mo shots really made folks believe that the “good guy” (ie., Hatton) could actually overcome all odds and beat the “bad guy”. Master marketing at its best. Anyway, I think that we have the Mayweathers and Hopkins of the world is because boxing is a dying sport. Money, corruption, weak PPV fights, like the undercard of Mayweather-Hatton’s fight, are all bringing boxing to a slow death IMO. Also, with the rise of MMA, which brings something new and refreshing to US audiences, that boxing has yet to recover.
I strongly disagree ^. I enjoy MMA as well, but this was also a very strong year for boxing. There were some GREAT fights.
Here is one VERY brief highlight film that I certainly enjoyed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBDcC92F78w
I do think that a lot of Floyd’s antics are hype as well. Like Dennis Rodman, who used to go above and beyond with outrageous antics to get inside the heads of the other team members, it always seemed to work and Rodman became the best at what he did, rebounding. Let’s face it, Muhammed Ali used to have an annoying mouth on him too which I’m sure was a ploy to hype the fight and psyche out opponents. Hype or not, Floyd’s mouth has gotten old. He is a role model and needs to conduct himself as such. Like Ross said, most in his sport do not make that kind of money or anywhere near it and the flaunting of money these days by people that have it is ridiculous and stupid to say the least. Though I love the way Floyd trains and believe he is extremely talented, I must admit I would love to see him on his back dazed from a knockout. Who’s gonna do it? Too early to tell. Too bad Ross doesn’t compete anymore, I’m sure he could rip Floyd’s head right off his little body. Come on Ross, shed 15 lbs and knock this mutha out!
First off, sports figures are not role models. Parents… Hello? Secondly, it amazes me that when ppl can’t knock a guy’s talent, they look for other areas to criticize. Mayweather is not the only trash talking boxer out there. It’s like the things he says, ppl never heard before. The same person complaining about his language will go to a movie and be entertained by the same language. I think it’s ironic that ppl want a clean, toned down boxer, yet want that same person to go in the ring, bloody the opponent and knock the guy’s head off.
Spears – I agree 110 percent. Parents SHOULD BE ROLE MODELS!!!
Many are not however. At the boxing gym, there are young fighters whose parents are drugged up, perhaps locked up in prison, or simply not interested in ANYTHING their kids do.
For another example, my wife teaches in a city school district. Many of her students have no parents. They have no family. I agree that athletes shouldn’t be role models, but many kids have no one else to look up to.
Like it or not, but kids DO look up to athletes in the spot light. Floyd doesn’t need to be a role model, and he doesn’t even need to be nice. My only point was that he also doesn’t need to be a 100 percent complete ass in front the camera.
Ross
well.. i think in my opinion you should do a lil’ trash talkin just a lil’ just to attract some fans but if you think that your king of all kings in boxing then everyone will turn your back and start boin you.
but yea i think your right ross someone should beat “money” to prove him that he’s not the only one who’s really strong.
and the second though….. the superfeather weight match is comin up manny pacquiao who is the 2nd best of the pound-for-pound against juan manuel marquez who is the 3rd best of pound-for-pound. hey ross you should make an article about those new legendary guys
Ross-
I absolutely agree with you. Mayweather’s antics in the lead-up to the fight were nothing short of disgusting, overshadowed only by the comments made by members of his team. In that regard, it is conceivable to expect trash-talking from the fighter himself — but it is laughable to hear such venom from members of his entourage who have never (with the exception of Roger Mayweather) fought a single round, and at worst are merely there to ride Mayweather’s money train.
I was fortunate enough to be at the Mayweather/Hatton press conference in Los Angeles, and had a chance to talk with Billy Graham and Kerry Kayes, both of whom are Hatton’s trainer and conditioning coach, respectively. Both gentlemen exemplified the class that Hatton himself displayed, and took the time to answer my numerous questions.
Mayweather is undoubtedly one of the finest fighters to ever lace up the gloves. His skill speaks for itself, which makes it all the more alarming to hear the flagrant disrespect he spews at his opponents. Yes, after the fight he was very complimentary of Hatton, but why the disrespect in the lead-up.
I feel it is absolutely unnecessary. Many fighters do not feel the need to exhibit such tactics. Gatti and Ward, Mosely and Cotto — great fights fought by great fighters, who did not need to show disrespect to one another prior to the bout.
Some of the previous comments here have mentioned Ali in regards to trash-talking. I feel that even the great Ali was out of bounds on occasion. The way he treated Joe Frazier has never been forgiven by none other than Frazier, and I feel Frazier is justified in his indignation. When Ali was banned from the sport, it was Frazier who came to his rescue, campaigning for Ali’s return to the sport, and even helping Ali out financially. And Ali returned the kindness by calling Frazier an “Uncle Tom”, and an ungly gorilla in the lead-up to their first fight.
But I digress. I admit that I have been a huge fan of Hatton for many years, not just because of his boxing style, but also for the way he carries himslef outside of the ring. It is an often overlooked trait of athleticism. You made an excellent point. Children often look up to athletes as role models. Personally, I think that speks disastrously of our society. At the end of the day, athletes are not curing cancer, and yet receive more recognition than those who are, I don’t know, maybe ACTUALLY WORKING ON A CURE FOR CANCER. Or maybe those (like your wife) who are teachers. Or fireman, policeman, etc — the list could go on and on of those more befitting the younger generation’s admiration.
Bottom line, I feel Mayweather’s antics overshadow his pugilistic BRILLIANCE, leaving his amazing skill in the wake of his bnig mouth. It is a pity that too many, THAT is what he will be remembered for.
I agree that you dont need to be so crude and show disrespect to not only his opponment but the whole of the boxing community, but i disagree people like Mayweather turn people off the sport. If any thing i think the sport needs men with charisma, wether that be people like Hatton (a pure bread british lion heart) or a Mayweather (spoilt and disrespectful pain in the arse) and this was prooved with the record amount of pay perviews. Every sport needs its so called ‘bad guy’ and there isnt any one who fits that bill better mayweather. And with out goin on to long Mayweathers comments might have been disrespectful and shamefull, but thats what made not only my nation want to see him beat but the whole world seemed to be rooting against him.
Yours faithully a a true english man
To be fair both sides talked trash extensively. On HBO’s program 24/7 Hatton constantly talked trash on Floyd from his style of fighting, calling it cowardice (paraphrasing), to his punching power. Although, I am sure this was in retaliation to the comments Floyd had it still lowered Hatton to his level. I am a Mayweather through and through so my opinion my not be quite so objective, but towards the end it appeared that Hatton began to talk trash more than Floyd albeit not as cleverly crafted.As far as it being bad for the sport? “The Louisville Lip” was probably the mouthiest boxer I can think of and probably the most hated in his time. The Lip was able to draw 60000 people to his fight in Ziare, Africa. I am sure I am not surprising anyone when I say that The Louisville Lip is none other than Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali once said something to the affect of… People watch me to watch me win and people watch me to watch me lose, I dont care as long as they watch me. And, dont think that it was just the racists back in the 60’s and 70’s who hated Ali. Joe Frazier to this day cannot stand Ali for what he said about him. Given all this, I would venture to say that no boxer in the history of the sport has done more for boxing. Now, dont get me wrong it takes a special type of charasmatic boxer to talk trash and have people still tune-in, and I believe Floyd is that type of boxer. As far as the benefit strategicly, there is no better example than the first Ali/Liston fight where Ali’s mouth and antics intimidated Liston so severely that he didnt want to step in the ring with Ali. Ali went as far as driving his van into Liston’s lawn in the middle of the night to scream into a megaphone that he was ready to fight Liston right then and there (to the best of my knowledge Floyd has never gone this far).
Finally, let me go on record as saying that, athough I love both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Muhammad Ali, I hate trash talk from any athlete. However, I do concede that it draws more to the sport than it pushes away (if done in a charasmatic fashion like Floyd and Ali), and it does serve some sort of psychological advantage.
I don’t agree…
Money Mayweather is the man… trash talked Hatton and than destroyed him- he really reminds me of U.S., we’ll tell you that you suck, kick your a$$, than tell you that you suck again. Oh- and booing the U.S. anthem is ok as long as its a bad guy huh? pleeeaseee
He’s at the top, if he wants to act like an a$$, he can, and make millions doing it!
a big draw?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vCrvn6Aw1A