1. Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr.
Photo by Esther Lin
Undefeated Welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (48-0, 26 KOs) is the best fighter of his generation and the pound-for-pound list isn’t the only one that he tops. Mayweather has made an entire career and untold millions of dollars by creating turmoil and rubbing all but his loyal followers the wrong way. Let’s face it; he could make the Pope kick out a stained glass window.
Mayweather embraced the role as the villain years ago and as a result has become the highest paid fighter in the history of boxing. Rejecting an early multi-million dollar HBO offer as a “slave contract,” Mayweather watched the network giant disappear in the rear view mirror of his Bugatti as he drove to the more posh neighborhood that Showtime developed specifically for him.
Numerous allegations of domestic abuse authenticated the villain character to those who already disliked Mayweather and added untold members to their base. Mayweather’s stint in jail for assaulting his children’s mother in front of them did little to neutralize the disdain held by his detractors.
It has already been long debated who was to blame for the mind-numbingly drawn out road to Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather leveled the unsubstantiated accusation that Pacquiao was using performance enhancing drugs. He refused to proceed with negotiations until Pacquiao, who had never failed a drug test, concede to another kind of testing deemed acceptable by Mayweather. Facing a defamation lawsuit and having no proof he was forced to back off from the accusation though he maintained the testing condition in negotiations.
Once the blood testing issue was resolved Mayweather wanted a lopsided 80-20 split in the purse. Then Mayweather’s aversion to dealing with Bob Arum, who had been involved to this point was an issue. Mayweather floated the laughable condition that when Pacquiao’s contract with Top Rank was finished that he sign with Mayweather Promotions instead of signing an extension. Round and round it went until finally the abrasive fighter signed the contract for May 2.
Despite Mayweather insisting before the fight that he would stand and fight with Pacquiao and his uncle’s prediction of a stoppage, few gave it any credibility. Mayweather hadn’t scored a knockout since a technically legal sucker punch dropped Victor Ortiz as he was looking at the referee four years earlier.
The hope was for a crowd pleasing fight with the best man coming out with a dramatic victory and not a replay of the ugly 12 round clutch fest that was Mayweather’s last fight. In the end it was closer to the latter.
Defensive masters who stay in the pocket while deftly slipping punches and returning with sharp counters is the sweet science. Mayweather long ago stopped trying to win fans and developed a grab and shoot style suited to minimize excitement and preserve his undefeated record.
Say what you want about the undefeated welterweight champion, but you can’t deny at some points he has had your attention and at others your money.
I’ll bet that pisses you off.
