The latest being that rather than strengthening his claim of being the best boxer of his generation, Mayweather is taking another easy fight. His main rival Manny Pacquiao is taking on Joshua Clottey, a top contender who gave Miguel Cotto a run for his money. From there Pacquiao will likely take on any opponent who he can make a lot of money from and have an exciting fight with.
Far from being a fan of boxing in general though Mayweather seemingly fights because he isn't very responsible with the tens of millions of dollars he makes every year. Rumor has it that his return from a brief retirement was in fact caused by the fact that he was running out of money rather than actually wanting to box again.
After losing most of what he's made from boxing, Mayweather needs to fight to keep his lifestyle the way he likes it. After losing millions from robberies, being scammed by an associate and owing the IRS money, Floyd has little other option than to continue to fight. He does have a number of other business ventures including a record label, but none have proved to be much of a success so far.
His latest fight, which seems likely to be against no 33 ranked welterweight Matthew Hatton, is just the latest incarnation of his need for money and desperate attempt to preserve his record. Floyd seemingly feels undersized at welterweight to take on the very best fighters, and instead picks and chooses his fights to suit his style and to give himself an advantage going in. His last three opponents all fit this bill, Juan Manuel Marquez being too small to pose much of a challenge, Ricky Hatton being predictable in his aggressive style and Oscar De La Hoya being past his best.
Taking easy fights are one thing, all boxers do it from time to time, but continuing to be brash about it and claiming to be the greatest boxer who ever lived at the same time is rather insulting to the fans.
If there was no Manny Pacquiao, then Floyd could probably get away with this for much longer, saying he had beaten all the best fighters and having no one who on paper would be the favorite to beat him. In Manny Pacquiao though, Floyd finds his nemesis, someone who seems to have the direct opposite attitude to the sport that he does, and that continues to eclipse him more and more as time goes on.
Floyd and his team tried to discredit Manny through the extra drug testing debacle and the allegations, but it backfired. Instead of the public taking his side as he no doubt envisioned, he has become a pariah to large sections of the press and fans. The latest mark on his reputation is that he uses injectable pain killers illegal in most parts of the world, while at the same time accusing Pacquiao of using illegal drugs himself.
According to the latest reports both fighters are still aiming to fight in March, Manny and Clottey in Texas and Mayweather and his as yet unnamed opponent in Las Vegas. The pay per view figures for each fight will show just how much Mayweather has damaged his credibility with the fans, and how much he needs a fight against Pacquiao to lift himself back to where he once was.
Source: Scott Heritage | examiner.com
