“I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court.”
Let's face it, no one would confuse Floyd Mayweather Jr., despite all his wealth and success in the ring, with a positive role model. He is loud, conceited, and obnoxious. He is a convicted domestic abuser. He fraternizes with celebrities with similarly checkered past and history of unsavory conduct (i.e. Justin Bieber, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne). He is a shameless self-promoter. His defense-first style makes his fights somewhat boring to watch. As a matter of fact, many have called the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight a "pay-per-snooze" and are ready to write the obituary of boxing, done in by greed, the lack of homegrown heavyweight talents, and the rise of UFC. These are all fair points. But I'm here to tell you why we all owe Floyd Mayweather a little respect.
#1 The Aura of the Undefeated: "Pretty Boy Floyd" is very good at his job. And in America, we reward people for being good at their jobs, positive role model or not. He may not be the most entertaining boxer to watch, but in terms of timing, footwork, and defense, he is clearly in a class of his own. Oh, and did I mention that he is still undefeated? 48-0, trailing only the legendary Rocky Marciano. Show me one sports fan who isn't enthralled by the mystique of an undefeated champion.
#2 Business Acumen: Whatever Mayweather lacks in firepower and likability, he more than makes up for it with his bravado. Perhaps one aspect of his legacy that is often overlooked is the fact that he is an astute businessman. He understands that he doesn't have the raw power, looks, and background to endear himself to mainstream fans, so he relishes playing the role of the villain in order to fulfill our thirst to be entertained. He also understands that in sports these days, most casual fans care more about the off-the-field storyline than the actual product on the field. Jay-Z once said, "I'm not a businessman. I'm a business, man," and Mayweather is a shining example of such. He and his team (Al Haymon and the very aptly-named "The Money Team") have mastered the art of self-promotion to perfection and demonstrated that you don't have to be likeable to be marketable.
#3 An American Story: Even though the fight took place at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Mayweather did not enjoy the slightest home-court advantage against Filipino national hero, Manny Pacquiao. In fact, the crowd were overwhelmingly pro-Pacquiao. Given Mayweather's well-documented brushes with the law and brash public persona, this was not surprising. The contrast was especially pronounced since he was facing off against Pacquiao, the humble, devout Christian, musician, and Congressman. But love him or hate him, Mayweather's controversial legacy is very much an American one. He is following the long tradition of flamboyant, larger-than-life figures in boxing, carrying the torch for Muhammad Ali, Don King, Mike Tyson, and Roy Jones Jr. He is the very definition of our nation's ethos, our capitalistic ideal, a symbol of our meritocracy, an imperfect rags-to-riches story, a self-made billionaire who made it to the pinnacle of his field through hard work, cunning, and a sound business mind. In short, Floyd Mayweather is the personification of America.
Saturday was a good day for the sports industry. First, we witnessed American Pharaoh blowing away his competition at the Kentucky Derby. Then, we got to watch the epic thriller between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers. And finally, the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout. Amid all the pre-fight hype, hoopla, and celebrity sightings, perhaps the fight itself was rather anticlimactic. But as I was watching it with friends and family, I was only thinking how extraordinary it was that two men, welterweight boxers under 5'8, could generate $300-400 million on one night and put together an event that rivalled the Super Bowl. Therein lies Mayweather's marketing genius. He's not supposed to be here. A welterweight boxer is not supposed to be the top marketing draw in boxing, much less in all of sports. A welterweight title bout is not supposed to receive international coverage of this magnitude. It is virtually unprecedented. It's an underdog story I can identify with.
We may not agree with everything Mayweather embodies, but that doesn't diminish his professional excellence (to his credit, he did serve time for domestic battery and paid his debt to his society, which is more than I can say for most public figures). And let's be fair, if we were to apply the same standards we use on Mayweather on every single public figure, we would've stopped celebrating people like Brett Favre, Kobe Bryant, Ben Roethlisberger, Michael Vick, Mark Sanchez, Riley Cooper, Woody Allen, R. Kelly, Roman Polanski, Ray Lewis, Chris Brown, Bill Clinton, Chad Ochocinco, and Karl Malone, a long time ago. It seems like, more often than not, the criticism levied at Mayweather has more to do with his cocky persona and his penchant for flaunting his wealth than his history of violence against women. He doesn't carry himself with enough class. He doesn't possess enough humility. He comes across as a "ghetto fabulous" nouveau riche. My question is, when have we become a nation of pretentious, elitist snobs? Here is a self-made man who started from the bottom and made it on his own; I can't say the same for most Washington insiders, Wall Street elites, and Hollywood establishment.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is no role model. We don't need to worship him. We don't need to love him—heck, I wouldn't want to run into him and his entourage in a dark alley—but respect is long overdue.