The most recent effort to put together a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight has collapsed, and this time Mayweather is clearly to blame. His seemingly-pious stand on steroid testing looks increasingly like the dodge that many commentators believed it was all along. Mayweather, it seems, is running scared. I don’t think that “Money” is physically afraid of Pacquiao, but Mayweather has clearly decided that he is unwilling to risk defeat at this stage of his career. He is running scared from the prospect of losing his “0,” and to his long-term detriment at that.
Floyd Mayweather has always struck me as a man who was rather insecure about his fame and success. People with long memories will recall when young Floyd, with an Olympic bronze medal and only a dozen professional fights under his belt, told anyone who would listen to him that he was being shafted and deserved Oscar de la Hoya-style fame, glory and paydays. Mayweather did not mean that those things would one day be his, but that he was a wronged man because he did not already have them. More recently Mayweather retired because he wanted to prove that he was bigger than boxing. Once Manny Pacquiao exploded onto the scene and threatened to eclipse him, Mayweather came running back… yet only to crowd Pacquiao out of the limelight. Actually squaring off with the man apparently was never part of Mayweather’s plan.
What “Pretty Boy” Floyd has forgotten is that an undefeated record alone is not enough to ensure lasting fame and glory in boxing. Sven Ottke retired as an undefeated fighter and world champion, but the only time anyone remembers him is to scoff at how stage-managed his career was. Mayweather is forgetting the true lesson of Muhammad Ali‘s career: to be the greatest, you must prove it repeatedly. Mayweather has avoided showdowns with the best possible opponents ever since his scare in the first bout with Jose Luis Castillo. To be fair, some of these bouts, such as facing off with Oscar de la Hoya and not Shane Mosley in 2007, can be labeled as wise business decisions. Still, if Muhammad Ali had pursued Mayweather’s career strategy, his career after winning back the heavyweight title from George Foreman would have been dull indeed. Some of his most memorable bouts would never have happened.
If Pacquiao cleans out the welterweight division while Mayweather stands on the sidelines posturing, only Mayweather will suffer. “Pretty Boy” Floyd likes to believe he is bigger than boxing, but the only person who believes that is Mayweather. Without boxing, the man has zero celebrity. A defeat in a thrilling bout for the ages would do nothing to diminish Mayweather’s standing. Instead, it would enhance his fame and set the stage for a rivalry that could only build the legend of both Mayweather and Pacquiao. However, ducking Pacquiao while the Filipino warrior goes around fighting and defeating all the men Mayweather also avoided? In running scared from the possibility of defeat, Mayweather is marching down a path that will drive a stake right through the heart of his entire career.
