Floyd Mayweather trying new approach after years of embracing bad guy role

LAS VEGAS – Eight years ago, in the nascent days of "Money" Mayweather and his plan to make a defensive-oriented 140-pounder into boxing's (or all of sport's, actually) richest draw, you couldn't shut up Floyd Mayweather.

He came to the MGM Grand to not just beat Oscar De La Hoya (as he would via split decision) but to ride the Golden Boy's marketing power into superstardom. That meant, Mayweather believed, playing the heel. He was a vulgar, trash-talking buffoon, never missing an opportunity to say something look-at-me outlandish.

It worked, of course. The part perfectly played. And, let's face it: the act wasn't much of a stretch.

Mayweather has made hundreds of millions since then, reliably pulling in seven-figure pay-per-view buys as he's run his record to 47-0 heading into Saturday's megafight with Manny Pacquiao.

Now the money has grown absurd; Mayweather may pull in $180 million alone for this fight. Ringside seats are going for six figures. The production will net $130 million from global television and marketing, even if no one in North America buys a pay-per-view.

The bravado, however, has all but disappeared, replaced by a soft tone.

Floyd Mayweather is done shouting.

Some of this is because it's not necessary. Some is because, it appears, Mayweather has found himself in the middle of an untenable dynamic, the desire for mainstream fans to dole out $99.95 but suddenly having his personal life held to the standards that a larger audience expects.

Floyd Mayweather is a domestic abuser, repeatedly accused and once even pleading guilty to "misdemeanor battery domestic violence and harassment" of an ex-girlfriend and the mother of three of his children.

In the run-up to this fight, it's been repeated often, the chorus growing louder, the questions more frequent. Pacquiao, meanwhile, has become even more outspoken about his religion. The battle lines have been clearly drawn.

"This isn't good versus evil," Mayweather protested here Wednesday. He argued, instead, it was just a fight between two great fighters.

Back on Cinco de Mayo weekend of 2007, Mayweather would have loved it. Now, he shrinks against the debate. He appears a bit stunned that it's become an issue or lingers as an issue and part of that makes sense.

While his domestic abuse allegations and cases were covered extensively in real time, he still operated in the cocoon of boxing. For myriad reasons, it wasn't made out to be that big of a deal. Maybe it's because fans expect little out of athletes who compete in such a violent endeavor. Maybe it's because they are individuals, not employees of teams that represent communities. Maybe it's just because boxing fans needed a star and Mayweather was it and outside the sport's niche – a sizeable niche, but still a niche – few cared what as going on.

Even in the darkest hours of his personal life, Mayweather never previously broke stride. In the days before he was to report to the Clark County (Nev.) Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas, he was using social media to turn the entire thing into a marketing opportunity.

There he was tweeting a picture of him betting $150,000 on the Little Caesar's Bowl, proof he had no care in the world. There he was with members of "The Money Team" working at what appeared to be a soup kitchen – "taking care of the less fortunate," he wrote.

There he was dropping $300,000 on a fresh, white Bentley that he dubbed his own "going-away present." He may have traded his 12,000-square foot mansion for a 6-by-10-foot cell; eight bathrooms for a stainless steel toilet, but he was going to make the most of it.

When his two-month stretch behind bars overlapped with his then fiancée's birthday, a big bash was still held. Mayweather sent diamonds. It conveniently made the local newspaper gossip column.

When he was released, he jumped in a different Bentley, blue this time, and drove away. His popularity was never higher. Questions about his behavior were mostly brushed aside. It was clear he could not just survive, but thrive.

Mayweather is still thriving of course. This is the richest fight because of him. He controls everything. Pacquiao is the secondary character. Most people won't care what he did or didn't do with various women through the years.

Still, Mayweather bristles at the domestic violence stuff. He doesn't look too happy about being dubbed evil, being called out for violence, on what he claims is the culmination of a long-held business plan for sporting domination.

"From the beginning of my career, I've always made calculated moves," Mayweather said, trying to explain why he's so quiet this time. "Once I got with the right team, with the right chess pieces, me speaking out loud, me having personality, I did that in the past. I'm a lot older now, a lot wiser.

"This fight sells itself," he continued. "My ultimate goal, no matter who the fighter is, no matter if it was Canelo [Alvarez] or Oscar, our ultimate goal was to get to this point. No matter if it was Manny or another fighter. I don't take anything away from Manny Pacquiao, he's a solid fighter, he's a solid competitor and he's going to be an intriguing match-up come Saturday."

There is no love lost the other way, however, especially with Pacquaio's promoter, Bob Arum. As such, Wednesday's press conference continued the theme of playing up Good vs. Evil, not so much by calling out Floyd, but pumping up Manny.

Pacquiao went on and on about God's grace in his life, about how he is fighting to show the world what is possible through the Lord. He even declared his ultimate hope for the weekend is a chance to proselytize to Mayweather.

"The most important thing, I'm hoping that after the fight we can have a conversation with Floyd, sharing my faith, about God," Pacquiao said.

Later, Arum was at the dais speaking of Pacquaio's greatness, crediting him for everything from saving the life of an innocent prisoner back in the Philippines to the Senate campaign of Harry Reid here in Nevada.

As Arum droned on, Mayweather turned to a Showtime executive and asked, "what does this have to do with the fight?"

Nothing, except one side is selling a morality play to an audience far bigger than boxing is used to, and thus far different and far more interested in hearing about it.

Floyd Mayweather, now with money beyond his dreams in hand, looked like he just wanted to get to the ring.

All this talk has become annoying.

Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole breaks down Pacquiao-Mayweather

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