Sports Illustrated going at Mayweather

[Yuri]

Mayweather ensures Pacquiao negotiations descend into farceby Chris MannixPosted: Tuesday July 27, 2010 4:29PM ; Updated: Tuesday July 27, 2010 9:21PMFloyd Mayweather is a bully, one neatly wrapped in a cut 5-foot-8, 147-pound package. Like most bullies, Mayweather is intimidating. He sends promoters, managers and networks cowering in the corner with the mere threat of withholding his services. He holds the boxing world hostage by saying he will take his gloves and go home unless the fight isn't when he wants, where he wants and at what weight he wants. He perpetuates a lie -- like the one about his advisor, Al Haymon, not being involved in negotiations with Manny Pacquiao -- because he is confident in the fact that no one in the industry will stand up to him.Well, someone finally did. Late Monday night, HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg -- the man in the middle of this mess -- issued a statement. In the statement, Greenburg confirmed what everyone in the world already knew. Yes, there had been negotiations. No, there will not be a fight between the two biggest names in the sport this year."Fights like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao are significant because of these fighters' ability to connect with sports fans around the world," said Greenburg. "It's unfortunate that it won't happen in 2010. I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it."Mayweather's team issued a series of swift denials. But it is preposterous to suggest that Haymon, Mayweather's chief negotiator and the man Mayweather praises for his work at every ... single ... press conference would be involved in any kind of talks for a Mayweather fight without Mayweather's express approval. Greenburg has no reason to lie. Haymon has a large stable of clients that include Andre Berto, Paul Williams and Chris Arreola. But Mayweather is Haymon's golden goose. He brings home the biggest paycheck. And to believe Haymon pretended to speak on Mayweather's behalf for two months -- two months -- strains credulity to Avatar-like levels.It didn't happen. Mayweather knew exactly what Haymon was doing, just like Leonard Ellerbe and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer did. Ellerbe is Mayweather's mouthpiece. He's a good man, one well-liked in the industry. But as sycophants come, he may be the definition. He parrots everything Floyd says -- "All roads lead to Floyd Mayweather" -- to the point where it almost doesn't matter who says it. The words are the same; the voices are just different.Schaefer's stance is even more baffling. Schaefer, too, is well-respected in the industry and has advanced boxing as much as anyone with his innovative marketing strategies. But by backing Mayweather and denying any negotiations took place, he not only is calling his boss Oscar De La Hoya a liar -- De La Hoya, remember, went on Univision last month and said the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations were "very close" to being completed -- but he's calling every journalist he has spoken to on the subject a liar, too.Sure, Schaefer has offered a firm "no comment" when asked about negotiations, but his words have been laced with hints that there was indeed something to comment on. Earlier this month, after Arum told SI.com that a deal had been struck, I called Schaefer looking for confirmation. Again, he said he had no comment. But he later announced, somewhat triumphantly, that I should tell Arum that he had "won the shut-up contest."Shut up about what, exactly? Right.The truth is Schaefer and Golden Boy have attached themselves to Mayweather because his affiliation with the company is one of the few assets keeping it viable. Click on the fighters page on Golden Boy's website and check out the four faces highlighted at the top. De La Hoya is gone, Bernard Hopkins should be and Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez are one bad loss away from potentially following them out the door.They have a heavyweight champion (David Haye) who won't fight anybody. They have a former middleweight champion (Winky Wright) who won't either. There is talent at junior welterweight (Marcos Maidana, Victor Ortiz, Amir Khan) but not enough to carry the company. No, Golden Boy needs Mayweather and to cross him would burn a very lucrative bridge. And they are not going to do it.Meanwhile, Mayweather sits back, content to amuse himself by working Ellerbe and Schaefer like puppets. He's comforted by the $65 million he earned in his past two fights, the kind of cash that reinforces the fantasy that he's the G.O.A.T ... when the reality is that he has yet to even prove he is the greatest of this time. He had a chance to cement that legacy this year by following up a win over Mosley with another over Pacquiao.He passed.But like it was with LeBron James, it wasn't so much the decision as how the decision was delivered. Coldly, and littered with a whole lot of lies.

[Lethaldabizzle2008]

Nice read. Sounds like Mayweather is just sitting back countin his skrilla, With an evil laugh goin on.

[Lethaldabizzle2008]

Pos for the gif yuri....niceee

[Guillermo Rigondeaux]

imo this is so simple and falls to 3 things:1. mayweather is the champ and the best boxer of our generation, possibly of all time. he does not need to fight unless he wants to. he does not owe us anything.2. mayweather made a basic but vital stipulation - if he is to fight pacman there must be random testing. this was not agreed upon. in any other business transaction (which this is) - if you cannot agree on a fundemental part of a contract or you break that part, there is no valud contract. 3. mayweather can made just as much money fighting two smaller scale fights, in which he will incur less wear and tear and be much easier to prepare for. he fights for the $, he's said it 1000 times already.now my personal view is different, I think that boxing has given mayweather everything he has. he owes it to the sport to give it this huge injection that is so vitally needs to rejuvinate. this fight has the potential to catapult boxing back up to a great sport and a fight of this magnitude only comes around very rarely. name me two fighters on the horizon that have the potential to repeat a fight of this size? there is no one and there may be no one.

[Yuri]

I think what the article got across very well was the way that the sport now seems to revolve around Floyd Mayweather to a large extent, and the way that Mayweather has convinced himself (and apparently everybody else) that boxing needs him and so he's entitled to make whatever demands he likes and everything can be on his terms - because he's the "cash cow". And, to be fair, he's succeeded in creating a persona that makes him one of the few boxers that non-boxing fans will tune in to watch (just look at the amout of clueless vi2 users that never come in this section who suddenly appear in mayweather threads).I think Mayweather DOES care about his legacy and the sport...a lot. This "money talks" persona is partially created to generate hype (obviously) and it's also partially a cover-up for the fact that although he's undoubtedly a great fighter, he never seems to have confidence in his ability to beat other great fighters. So it's always "the money's not good enough" when fans ask him to put himself to the test.Also, the fact he spent 8 years bitching about Shane Mosley going on vacation instead of fighting him means he is taking the piss out of fans for saying "I'm on vacation" when asked about Pacquiao.

[Guest Blue State Of Mind]

imo this is so simple and falls to 3 things:1. mayweather is the champ and the best boxer of our generation, possibly of all time. he does not need to fight unless he wants to. he does not owe us anything.2. mayweather made a basic but vital stipulation - if he is to fight pacman there must be random testing. this was not agreed upon. in any other business transaction (which this is) - if you cannot agree on a fundemental part of a contract or you break that part, there is no valud contract. 3. mayweather can made just as much money fighting two smaller scale fights, in which he will incur less wear and tear and be much easier to prepare for. he fights for the $, he's said it 1000 times already.now my personal view is different, I think that boxing has given mayweather everything he has. he owes it to the sport to give it this huge injection that is so vitally needs to rejuvinate. this fight has the potential to catapult boxing back up to a great sport and a fight of this magnitude only comes around very rarely. name me two fighters on the horizon that have the potential to repeat a fight of this size? there is no one and there may be no one.

I agree with you.

[kahuna]

its a shame that the ball in in mayweathers court to such a degree.imo pacquio is usurping mayweathers position as pound for pound champ, and it is he(manny), that feels he needs this fight to justify it. so floyd can call the shotspisses me off when they say that the money isnt right when this will probably the most lucrative fight in history.im by no means a boxing expert, before anyone picks apart my words for criticism

[roberz999]

u lot get off mayweather''s c*ck he bottled it

[Guest Yilmaz]

He's definitely not scared, but I think he IS mildly apprehensive. He's essentially just waiting for Manny to show a slight chink in his armour before he fights him.And because he knows his own style and fitness is embedded into him through years of training, then he literally can afford to wait. It's smart *really* but annoying to fans.

[Gordon Gekko]

Word is Don King has gotten involved and is gonna try and sign Floyd to get this fight done and Bob Arums said if Don King gets on board then the fight will definitely be happening (but im sure neither of them will see the cut they're expecting)