Image via Complex Original
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one of the most heavily-scrutinized fighters in the history of boxing. He certainly keeps himself in the spotlight by constantly making outrageous statements both via the media as well as his own social network, and despite a very defensive style has managed to go 45-0-0 as a professional fighter.
Tomorrow night, he’ll be taking on Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a bid for win No. 46, but quickly that is becoming just a small part of the story. In the last week alone, Mayweather has announced his intention to try to buy the Clippers and also gotten himself in some hot water with a controversial (and quickly deleted) Facebook post regarding his ex-fiance.
Whether you love him or loathe him, though, the man known as “Money” has a talent for getting a reaction out of people. Such a polarizing athlete comes around only once in a generation, and his intriguing path to an undefeated career explains a lot about how he acts today.
So, let’s take a look at this legendary fighter’s history as we seek to answer the question: Floyd Mayweather Jr.: King or King Douche?
Written by Doug Sibor (@dcsibor)
King: He Basically Raised Himself
When: 1977-1993
For all the flash and all the money he recklessly throws around today, Floyd did not have an easy upbringing. Growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his father was a drug dealer who spent time in prison when Floyd was a teenager and his mother was an addict who couldn’t really take care of him. He sometimes would go without electricity, and as a baby may even have been used at one point as a human shield. Not exactly ideal circumstances for someone to grow up in, but Floyd managed to take that rough start and use it as fuel to help him further his boxing career. Clearly, this guy has a drive to succeed that few possess.
King: Amateur and Olympic Career
When: 1993-1996
Floyd's early career was a runaway success, as he went 84-6 and won national Golden Gloves titles in three different weight classes (106, 114, and 125 pounds) between 1993 and 1996. There's plenty of controversy around Floyd's Olympic career, but it all centers around the fact that Floyd was robbed in his semi-final bout at the 1996 Olympics. After becoming the first American to knock off a Cuban in 20 years, Floyd lost a controversial decision when the judges made several errors on Mayweather's landed punches and may have been intimidated by Bulgaria's head of boxing officials. The referee even raised Mayweather's hand by accident when the decision was announced, and the USA Boxing team protested the decision. While Floyd never got the gold medal he deserved, that controversial decision in 1996 is the last time he has lost a fight.
King: Titles in Five Different Divisions
When: 1998-2007
Floyd was won titles fighting at 130, 135, 140, 147, and 154 pounds, a remarkable range that requires totally different preparation and tactics depending on what size he's fighting at. Only five men in the history of boxing have been "quintuple champions," and that list is loaded with prolific fighters: Thomas "Hitman" Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, and Manny Pacquiao are the other four in addition to Mayweather who can tout this accomplishment. Could six be next? Floyd would only have to bump up from 154 to 160 to fight in the middleweight class, so don't rule it out even as he advances in age.
King Douche: Early Legal Troubles
When: 2002-2005
It was not all perfect for Floyd at the start. He had a very difficult time controlling his temper and desire to fight, which led to numerous run-ins with the law. In 2002, he received a six-month suspended sentence and two days of house arrest stemming from a domestic violence incident. In 2004, he allegedly punched two women in an altercation at a club in Las Vegas, an offense for which he was convicted on two counts of misdemeanor battery and given a one year suspended sentence. Finally, in 2005 he received a suspended 90-day sentence for misdemeanor assault. These issues were all just the beginning for Floyd, but should have served as a troubling sign to the rest of us that this was a guy who could not stay out of trouble.
King: Wins at WrestleMania
When: 2008
With a loudmouth personality and the fists to back it up, Floyd is probably the closest thing to a professional wrestler that boxing has seen in decades. It's only natural, then, that he'd take his talents to WWE and their grandest stage, WrestleMania. At WrestleMania XXIV, Mayweather fought in a no disqualification match against the Big Show, knocking him out with brass knuckles to maintain his undefeated fighting record. Of course, we're not sure if the pre-determined results of WWE matches really count against professional boxing records, but if they don't then maybe that's a change the WBC will one day consider.
King Douche: Ducking Manny Pacquiao
When: 2009-Present
Who is ducking whom? The Mayweather camp will give one answer, while Pacquiao’s team will say another. Here is what we know: the rigorous drug testing porposed for a potential 2010 bout was too much for Pacquiao. According to Bob Arum (founder and CEO of Top Rank), Pacquiao had agreed to urine testing any time, and blood testing both before the introductory press conference and after the fight. That wasn’t enough for Floyd, who also decided somewhere along the line that he wanted more money as well. The fight now seems like it will never happen, although Arum thinks he has a way of finally getting the pair into the ring. We’re skeptical Floyd will allow that to happen.
King Douche: Imprisoned for Domestic Abuse
When: 2010-2012
It’s one thing to be outspoken and to occasionally get yourself in trouble. It’s entirely another when you repeatedly abuse women and fail to make amends. There’s no excuse for Mayweather’s troubling domestic violence streak, and in 2010 he was arrested for battery against an ex-girlfriend and threatening their children. He was sentenced to 90 days of jail time in December of 2011, and in June 2012 began serving out his prison term. Fortunately, he has managed to stay out of trouble since then, and hopefully he has put his days of hitting people other than his opponents behind him.
King: Prolific Gambling
When: 2011-Present
One of the great things about Twitter is that it has given us the Floyd Mayweather betting slip photo, a seemingly monthly ritual in which Mayweather posts a picture of an outrageous bet he has made at a Las Vegas casino. The highlights have included both huge wins (betting $3 million on Michigan football in 2012) and losses (this Lions halftime line, also in 2012). He also loves him some Johnny Football, betting $220,000 on Texas A&M’s first game last season and thanking Manziel for the win on Twitter afterwards. Mayweather’s gambling is a great source of entertainment, even though maybe it shouldn’t be considering that in a year it seems like he wagers the GDP of a small country.
King: Dominates Canelo Alvarez
When: 2013
Mayweather’s fight last year with Canelo Alvarez was supposed to be an evenly-matched, all-out battle between one of boxing’s rising stars and Mayweather, one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in history. While the fight was a commercial success (it was the highest-grossing fight in history), Mayweather easily handled his challenger. It was his finest in-ring performance in years, with many experts saying that Floyd won every single round of the fight. Any worries that Floyd might be slipping with age have, for now, gone totally out the window.
King: Wants to Buy Clippers
When: 2014
Why would Floyd want to buy the Clippers? Because he can. And that’s awesome. To his credit, Mayweather is unabashedly a huge basketball fan, sitting courtside regularly at both Clippers and Lakers games. And don’t expect Floyd to be a minority partner in an ownership group, either; no, he recently said that “With me, I can't come in talking about Mayweather only gonna get 3 percent, 4 percent. I got to get a solid percentage.” What constitutes “solid?” Who knows, but considering he’ll be pocketing a minimum of $32 million from the Maidana fight alone, we’re guessing Floyd’s got plenty of cash lying around.
King Douche: Shantel Jackson Facebook Post
When: 2014
Look, we know Floyd doesn’t handle his business with women well. His extensive record of domestic incidents can attest to that. But yesterday’s Facebook post where he denounced ex-girlfriend Shantel Jackson for “killing babies” was way over the line, even for him. Floyd is certainly entitled to being upset with Jackson if she violated a personal belief of his, but that is their business. To put her on blast in front of the entire world for an ostensibly confidential medical decision is terribly inappropriate at best. It’s no surprise that he deleted the post shortly after he put it up, but thanks to the magic of screenshots it was already too late.
King: Nobody Has Come Close to Beating Him
When: 1996-Present
It's not just that Floyd is 45-0-0, which is highly impressive in itself. No, it's that he has done it in such dominant fashion that it's hard to pinpoint any one fight where he even came close to losing. The general consensus is that his first fight with Jose Luis Castillo in 2002 is probably the most anyone has ever had him on the ropes, but even though he was fighting with a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder Floyd still easily won a unanimous decision. His defensive style and ability to avoid taking any hard shots is what has given Mayweather his incredible longevity, and so long as he can maintain that style there's no reason to think he'll ever lose.
King: Highest Paid Athlete in the World
When: 1996-Present
You can expect that, when Forbes releases their annual list of the world’s highest-paid athletes this summer, Floyd will be at or near the top of the list. He “plummeted” to No. 14 in 2013, but that was only because he happened to have just one fight between June 2012 and June 2013. When you combine his take from the Canelo Alvarez fight ($80 million) and the upcoming Maidana bout (at least $32 million), he should easily take the title for No. 1 in the world. It’s tough not to admire someone who can make over $100 million for two nights of work.
Final Verdict: Both
He has bank receipts that show a balance of $123 million. He has a lengthy arrest record that shows a troubling pattern of assaulting women. He is considered to be one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of all-time. He refuses to fight the man who is considered his closest rival, with little reason given. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is at once one of our generation’s greatest athletes and one of the biggest disappointments because of the erratic ways in which he chooses to conduct himself. While he is a true king for his in-ring prowess and incredible financial success despite a tough upbringing, his terrible treatment of women and his refusal to fight Manny Pacquiao also make him a king douche. We realize it’s a bit of a cop-out, but Floyd is most definitely both.