WBC welterweight champion, Floyd Mayweather, spoke candidly during a recent interview with Michael Dyson. He covered many controversial topics during the HBO special, "Floyd Mayweather: Speaking Out," showing boxing fans a side of him that we seldom see.
"Me and HBO … it's been on a rollercoaster ride as far as our relationship," Mayweather responded, when asked about his post-fight clash with Larry Merchant, after his controversial knockout of Victor Ortiz. "We got people that is [are] boxing specialist, how can you be a boxing specialist or boxing commentator if you've never fought. You don't know anything about this sport. … There's a lot of fighters out there that would do a remarkable job being commentators, but you got guys that's commentating and supposed to be boxing specialist that never even boxed before. I didn't just wake up and become 42-0."
Mayweather also spoke about his impending incarceration, inferring his wealth and celebrity had a lot do with his legal problems.
"I'm pretty sure Martin Luther King has been to jail," Mayweather said. "I'm pretty sure Malcolm X has been to jail, and there's many more that's been in jail. You take the good with the good, and the bad with the bad. This is just another obstacle put in my way, but I can get through anything. Am I guilty? Absolutely not."
With such an outspoken personality, it really isn't surprising Mayweather has become one of the most vilified athletes in the history of sports. Mayweather doesn't seem bothered by that fact though, and he's pretty confident his legacy will withstand the test of time.
"[Muhammad] Ali stood for our little cause," Mayweather said when asked about how much he was influenced by other outspoken Black American athletes. "Ali is the one that made you say, 'you know what, I'm proud to be Black.'… I'm in the same shoes with Ali. They hate me when I'm at the top, but when my career is over, they're gonna really miss me."
For now, Mayweather remains focused on his upcoming fight against Miguel Cotto. The two will meet on May 5, and the sports' pound-for-pound king vows to add one more win to his professional record. As far a super-fight against Manny Pacquiao goes, it'll probably never happen, as Mayweather has no intentions to offer the Filipino congressman a 50/50 split.
David is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing practitioner that has watched and studied MMA for the past 7 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.
Sources:
Fight and fighter information from HBO and BoxRec.com
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