Image via Complex Original
1.
Floyd Mayweather's reign as the undefeated champion continued in 2014. In May—in one of his closest fights in recent memory—Mayweather came out with a W against Marcos Maidana. He then dominated the rematch, thus pushing his record to an astonishing 47-0.
And next to no one gives a shit.
For a long time, Mayweather's rason d'etre was money, which has made him appear invulnerable. We'll refer to this as what many, totally non-made up scientists refer to as the Mayweather Paradigm: Even if the sky falls, as long as Mayweather's getting this money, everything is good.
That idea came under serious fire in what turned out to be a bizarre year for Mayweather. He began 2014 with a retirement announcement. The kidnapping and assault came just a few weeks later, which was then followed by tragedy, betting success, Instagram twerking (because there's no love like sexual objectification), skipped tips, more domestic violence claims, and a verbal altercation. And that doesn't even cover everything.
So does the Mayweather Paradigm hold up? Find out as we take A Look Back At Floyd Mayweather's 2014.
2.Floyd Mayweather Sets His Retirement Date
Date: 1/17/2014
His boring fights were still raking in PPV money. Father Time doesn’t care about PPV money, though; Money Mayweather is nearing 40 and he has to call it quits at some point, lest he suffer a tally on that loss column. The champ set the date when he spoke at a South African gala: Sept. 2015. That’s two more fights and—assuming he stays undefeated—one shy of 50 wins, a fitting final record for those who believe he ducks the big fights.
3.Allegedly Getting Two of his Employees Beat Up
Date: 3/12/2014
This is where Mayweather’s year starts to go crazy—as in 0-to-"Yo, what?" He reportedly noticed some jewelry missing. Although he certainly has the money to replace it, it’s about the principle. You can’t steal from the champ. Unfortunately for two contracted workers, Mayweather suspected they were the culprits.
Mayweather called them for a meeting and what they got were broken arms and legs from his crew—or what one TMZ Sports source referred to as, “some Breaking Bad shit.” Unlike Breaking Bad, an alleged set-up like this would warrant a criminal investigation. Mayweather got off free on this one. Two days later, the police denounced the report as a rumor.
4.Mayweather Considers Buying Clippers
Date: 4/30/2014
Maybe Mayweather wanted to save the Clippers from the paternalistic racist ownership. Or maybe he just wanted to floss—as is usually the case. But the fact is that Mayweather was interested in owning the Clippers during the Donald Sterling fallout, and he wasn’t interested in a paltry percentage.
“I can't come in here talking about Mayweather only going to get 3 percent or 4 percent,” he said. “I got to get a solid percentage. But do we want to buy the Clippers? Yes, we do. We're very, very interested in buying the Clippers … Me and my team want to buy the Clippers. And we can afford the Clippers.”
Unfortunately, Mayweather was left with millions of dollars without a team to spend it on. Steve Ballmer, who eclipses Mayweather’s net worth with more than $20 billion, became the majority team owner.
5.The Abortion Revelation
Date: 5/1/2014
Even the most austere Mayweather apologist had trouble defending this one. Mayweather made an already bad breakup even worse when he revealed on Facebook—sonogram and all—that an abortion was the real reason he and Shantel Jackson broke up. “The real reason me and Shantel Christine Jackson @missjackson broke up was because she got a abortion, and I’m totally against killing babies,” the deleted Facebook post said. “She killed our twin babies.”
Mayweather was well within his right to be upset, but this post, which aimed to shame and humiliate, is indefensible.
6.Mayweather’s Interview with Big Tigger
Date: 5/2/2014
Was Mayweather’s head in the game for his upcoming fight against Marcos Maidana, whose popularity grew after felling fellow Money Team member Adrien Broner back in December? Big Tigger chatted with the star one day before the fight in an interview on V105. Of course, Mayweather claimed the year’s events wouldn’t affect him. Emphasis on of course: Money Mayweather wasn’t going to admit weakness.
The only two real takeaways from this interview was that he originally believed Shantel Jackson had a miscarriage, and that post-Rap City Big Tigger is actually doing pretty well for himself.
7.Mayweather Escapes Marcos Maidana
Date: 5/3/2014
Mayweather was still his extravagant self that weekend. He got Rick Ross and 2 Chainz to escort him to the weigh-in and Lil Wayne to perform “Believe Me” (for the first time, mind you) as he walked into the ring to face Marcos Maidana. Humbled Mayweather was not. But what followed was one of Mayweather’s closest bouts in years. Others tire out by the seventh round. Maidana didn’t. The Argentine just kept firing away, which was admirable, but the fact that very few of his shots were landing did him in with that majority decision. Mayweather landed over half of his, so undefeated he stays.
8.Mayweather vs. T.I.
Date: 5/25/2014
T.I. was going through some things with his wife Tiny, so he wasn’t too pleased when she was seen chilling with Mayweaher, regardless on if it was on a plutonic basis. According to Mayweather, Tiny came out to see his fight against Maidana and met up with him at a post-fight party his mother held for him. She posted a picture of herself with Mayweather on Instagram, and a perturbed T.I. approached him soon after outside a jewelry store in New York. Mayweather said that his friendship with Tiny was strictly a friendship, but when T.I. heard they were together again at a birthday party for Mayweather’s 14-year-old daughter Iyanna, he wasn’t pleased.
Which brings us to the Fatburger Incident. T.I. sees Mayweather and says he wants to talk. Mayweather responds with, “You need to get the fuck outta my face. That’s what you better do.” Then, boom. Whatever “respect” Mayweather had for Tiny goes out the window (“Control yo’ bitch!”) and a throwdown ensues at the Las Vegas Fatburger. Could you imagine? You’re drawing your name on fries with ketchup, and you see chairs flying and T.I. ready to scrap. There weren’t any major injuries between the two parties, but Tiny couldn’t even say hello to Mayweather at the BET Awards.
9.Mayweather Defends Justin Bieber
Date: 6/2/2014
Bieber’s popularity took a hit when footage of him surfaced saying a racist joke five years ago. As a fellow Money Team member, Mayweather was obliged to defend him in a statement: “Justin has been nothing but kind to me, my daughters & sons over the years,” Mayweather tweeted. “We all make mistakes when we are young, it’s part of growing up. I am proud of what he’s doing as a 20-year-old musician and business man.” It’s a defense you’d expect. That’s his mans. Plus, it’s way less fuccboi-ish than Don Lemon’s two cents.
10.Mayweather Resigns from Golden Boy Promotions
Date: 6/3/2014
Mayweather cut his ties with Golden Boy Promotions after a seven-year relationship. The move came after Richard Schaefer, Mayweather’s close friend, resigned as the company’s CEO. He now fights under Mayweather Promotions, because why not?
11.Getting Named Highest Paid Athlete of 2014 by Forbes
Date: 6/11/2014
Mayweather earned $105 million this year, making him the first athlete to earn more than $100 million since Tiger Woods. It’s a reminder of Mayweather’s raison d’etre: Come what may, as long as Mayweather is getting this money, it’s all good. Everything is good, man.
12.Runs into Shantel Jackson in Awkward Situation
Date: 6/27/2014
You might have traded shots with your ex on social media (which is childish and something you should avoid doing) and ran into her at the club or some sort of public space. Awkward, but not sharing-a-sonogram-to-expose-an-abortion awkward. That would be Shantel Jackson and Mayweather. The two saw each other at a Hollywood club, and Jackson ignored Mayweaher’s attempt to grab her attention. Mayweather later left the club, avoiding a potential crisis.
13.Ronda Rousey Is a He?
Date: 7/16/2014
UFC President Dana White has been saying for some time that he thinks Ronda Rousey has a shot at beating Floyd Mayweather. The champ gave her a reason to challenge him when he repeatedly called her “he” and pretended he didn’t know who she was. Mayweather got jokes, but there’s some seriousness in those arguments on whether Rousey really can break him.
14.Mayweather’s Literacy Gets Pulled into Question
Date: 8/23/2014
50 Cent always had that ether for Mayweather, and he threw some again following the shade Mayweather threw during an interview with MLive.com. 50 Cent responded with a challenge: “This is a special ALS/ELS challenge for you, Floyd. If you could read one full page of a Harry Potter book, nigga, I’ll give $750,000 to whatever charitable organization you want to.” This was after 50 Cent talked about Nelly stealing two of Mayweather’s girls. Some Slytherin shit.
However, the true low blow came from Charlamagne Tha God. On The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne aired an audio clip of Mayweather struggling mightily to read a drop — momentarily turning one of the greatest boxers of all time into a buffoon. His publicist released a video of him reading scripted lines for promo spots (without mentioning how many takes it took him to do so), but the damage was already done.
Of course, Mayweather responded by posting a picture on Twitter of his checks: “Read this $72,276,000.00. God bless.” This again proves the Mayweather Paradigm: As long as he’s getting this money, all is well.
15.Mayweather and Warren Buffett
Date: 8/27/2014
What does an 84-year-old investor and a 37-year-old boxer have in common? Money, which is one of the only explanations Buffett has for being caught in a Money Team hat. It’s also worth noting Buffett is worth more — billions of dollars more — than that Money Team combined. Yet, Buffett was reportedly supposed to walk Mayweather to the ring for his rematch with Maidana.
16.Is Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Happening?
Date: 8/29/2014
Bob Arum, who’s had a tense relationship with Mayweather, reignited talks about the fabled Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he speculated that the fight could finally take place in early 2015 (Mayweather’s next fight). Arum also revealed that Showtime/CBS and HBO were working on making this fight happen. So nothing is set in stone, but at least we got some verbal sparring.
Paquiao and Mayweather traded weak verbal jabs throughout the year. The shots were just too obvious: Pacquiao called Mayweather uneducated, and Mayweather referred to his bank statement (refer to the Mayweather Paradigm again) and what happened when Juan Manuel Marquez’s right fist met Pacquiao’s face.
17.Shantel Jackson Sues Floyd Maywather Over Domestic Violence Incident
Date: 9/4/2014
Shaming someone over an abortion like Mayweather did is bad. (Allegedly) Pulling a gun on somebody is a little bit worse. Jackson accused the champ of doing just that. Mayweather’s ex-fiancee sued him for assault, battery, defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and harassment. Yeah, all of that. She went on to say that in 2012, Mayweather demanded at gunpoint that she give him back the 17-carat engagement ring. Mayweather stayed quiet about the lawsuit, but the troubling saga between him and Jackson still continued.
18.Mayweather Doesn’t Think Ray Rice Should Be Suspended Indefinitely
Date: 9/10/2014
Sometimes a celebrity who has no business opening their mouth does so anyway when some landscape-changing news happens. During the aftermath of the Ray Rice elevator attack, Floyd Mayweather was that celebrity.
He defended Rice, saying that he didn’t deserve to be indefinitely suspended partially because the NFL had already laid down a punishment and worse things happen. “I think there's a lot worse things that go on in other peoples' households, also,” he said. “It's just not caught on video, if that's safe to say.” So by that logic, what Rice did was cool.
Mayweather sensibly apologized the same day.
19.Mayweather Doesn’t Know What Hearsay Means
Date: 9/13/2014
This was the year of the misused and overused term. See “white appropriation,” “spoiler alert” and “bae” for examples. Another is “hearsay,” especially when it comes to the notorious cases. For example, reports that accuse Bill Cosby of rape are just accusations. Very plausible accusations, but still accusations. Reports that talk about the multiple Cosby rape allegations aren’t based off hearsay—it’s fact. People are accusing Cosby of rape.
Mayweather made this type of mistake when Rachel Nichols pressed him about his domestic violence history during an interview. What followed is what happens when you don’t follow media training advice. Nichols specifically cited his 90-day jail sentence for his misdemeanor battery charge against his former girlfriend Josie Harris. Mayweather dismissed it as hearsay, which, you know, it isn’t.
20.47-0
Date: 9/14/2014
Maidana looked like he had a legitimate shot at beating Mayweather in a rematch during the May bout. That hope diminished pretty quickly during the actual fight. As usual, Mayweather dominated and took that unanimous decision with ease. He stays undefeated. Nothing more to see here.
21.No Tip from Mayweather
Date: 9/15/2014
Mayweather pocketed at least $32 million from his second win over Maidana. Not a dime of that purse went to Nik Nyugen, the waitress who served him and his party of about 150 at Rehab at the Hard Rock. Maybe it was bad service. Anyway, a tip would’ve helped, because Nyugen was dealing with her father’s recent passing at the time.
22.Those Purple Boots…
Date: 9/26/2014
There must’ve been a couple of digits on that endorsement deal for Mayweather to wear this in public. Moving on…
23.Unhand 50 Cent’s Son!
Date: 9/27/2014
There are two surefire ways to get a man heated: His family and his money. Mayweather went for the former when he took a picture with Marquise Jackson, 50’s estranged son. To be accurate, this was more so Jackson’s attempt to get back at his dad. He posted the picture on his Facebook with the caption, “With Tank And Floyd #TMT.”
24.Woman Doesn’t Know Who Floyd Mayweather Is, Leaving Him Agape
Date: 10/1/2014
It appears we’ve struck a hole in the Mayweather Paradigm. It’s not always good if the money is still coming in. A woman of Caribbean descent proved that with just two lines: “I don’t know you, so what’s the big deal?”
Look at Mayweather’s grimace and the twinkle in his eyes. His entire world has been shifted. There was Mayweather before this moment, and the Mayweather after this moment. How can this be? Is Floyd Mayweather not Floyd Mayweather if not everyone in the world can confirm this is, in fact, Floyd Mayweather? What is life? Does anything even matter? Is that which is, isn’t? What am I doing in this barber’s seat? I don’t have any fucking hair.
25.Gets Into It With Stephen A. Smith
Date: 10/10/2014
Like many, Stephen A. Smith felt that Mayweather has been ducking Pacquiao and said so on First Take. Mayweather didn’t care, and damned if Smith and the world didn’t know that. He explained his apathy in an interview with Fight Hype:
“Listen, I don't give two flying fucks about what Stephen A. Smith say. I ain't never seen Stephen A. Smith dribble a basketball, catch a football, or box, so I can give two flying fucks what Stephen A. Smith say. Quote me on that! I repeat, I don't give a fuck what Stephen A. Smith gotta say…He's just a critic.
“Critics got an opinion, like everybody else. Everybody can always talk like they're a football genius, like they're a basketball genius, or like they're a boxing genius, but we ain't never seen them doing nothing but criticize athletes. So it doesn't matter who I fight. I can fight two duds. At the end of the day, it's about working smarter, not harder, so Stephen A. Smith can go on First Take and say whatever he want to say.” Smith didn’t care about Mayweather not caring. He still went on to First Take to again criticize the fighter.
26.Police Tries to Ban Mayweather From Strip Club
Date: 11/1/2014
Do not touch strippers. Mayweather does not get this golden rule of the booty pole. The Las Vegas Metro Police Department asked many strip clubs to ban Mayweather for “sexually harass[ing] strippers.” But the strip clubs would not comply, claiming Mayweather has never been a problem. In other words, they’re not turning down Mayweather’s money in the name of workplace decency.
27.Mayweather Watches Murder-Suicide on FaceTime
Date: 12/8/2014
One of the most jarring moments of Mayweather’s year happened just this month. Earl Hayes, Issac Hayes’ son and a signee to Mayweather’s Philthy Rich Records label was found dead inside an L.A. apartment complex after a murder-suicide. An investigation revealed that Hayes shot and killed his wife, dancer Stephanie Moseley, before taking his own life. And Mayweather saw the whole thing. He was Facetiming Hayes and trying to calm him down before witnessing the tragedy.
28.Mayweather Sued for Car Accident
Date: 12/11/2014
Last June, J’Leon Love, a boxer who trains at Mayweather’s gym, was allegedly driving a vehicle over 100 MPH with Mayweather’s kids in it when he got into a head-on collision with another car. Mayweather’s name is connected. And he’s rich, too. So of course the driver (Peter Park) found a way to sue Mayweather for his faint connection to the injuries suffered in the accident. Gotta get that dough somehow.
29.Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: May 2?
Date: 12/13/2014
The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao conversation continued throughout the year, but this time we got a speculative date. If things work out, this could be Mayweather’s next fight. But according to him, the ball is on Pacquiao’s and Arum’s court: “The fans would love to see the fight. And of course, I want to go out with a bang. So let's make this fight happen. Manny Pacquiao, Bob Arum, you guys have been ducking us for years.” Well, it’s next year or never.
30.Would Mayweather Be Even Richer If He Were White?
Date: 12/18/2014
Alas, we’ve poked another hole in the Mayweather Paradigm. It isn’t infallible, because Mayweather is a black man in America. Multibillionaire boxers don’t exist, but Mayweather believes he’d definitely be one if his melanin count were down. Yes! Even Floyd Mayweather can’t overcome white privilege.
31.Floyd Mayweather Gives $250,000 Worth of Jewelry for Christmas
Date: 12/19/2014
And here we are. Mayweather has survived a year of tragedy, relationship drama, booty butts, verbal sparring, and earning an eight-figure income. Still he stands. He was dishing out the most expensive jewelry, like a diamond-encrusted watch, and spreading Christmas joy. Plus, look at the picture above. The Mayweather Theorem stands. Everything’s good, man. Everything’s good.