Brian's Final Mailbag: Floyd Mayweather Ruined Boxing
By Brian Wilbur
Last week I stated that if Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather did not happen that I would quit being a boxing writer. Talks broke down in the two fighter’s most recent negotiations about a month ago; you will probably remember me moaning and crying about it in my mailbag. I just about peed my pants I was so upset. Mayweather said that he would rather take a year vacation than fight Pacquiao but hinted that next year was possible.
Last week, Floyd was charged with eight offenses, four of them felonies, resulting from a domestic dispute incident with ex-girlfriend. Turns out Floyd would rather fight women than Manny Pacquiao. Hey Floyd, I know that girls don’t put up much resistance, but trust me, there is much more money in a fight against Pacquiao, even if the risk of a loss is greater!
Strangely, part of me finds this very amusing because it exposed Floyd’s hypocrisy. Remember before Floyd’s fight with Diego Corrales? Mayweather was trash talking because Corrales was facing charges of domestic violence. He said that he was going to take revenge on Corrales for all of the battered women out there.
Hypocrisy about domestic violence must be ingrained in the hip hop culture. Jay-Z was one of the first and loudest to jump on Chris Brown when he was accused of striking Rihanna, yet there is video evidence of Jay-Z smacking around women.
Mayweather, JR., is going to have to use his legendary defense, but this time in the courthouse instead of the boxing ring. The pending legal battle should have Floyd occupied for a good while, which has caused me to lose all hope that Pacquiao vs. Mayweather will happen. And even if the two giants of the sport do eventually fight, the match will no longer be relevant since Mayweather is already in his mid 30s.
With that said, I am holding true to my word and officially ending my career as a boxing writer. I’ll still be apart of Ringside Report in one way or another; but not as a boxing writer. Maybe I’ll write about celebrity gossip. Maybe I’ll write about music and movies. I might even write about kitties. I’m really not sure, I haven’t figured that part out yet. But boxing is over. Mayweather’s antics (more of his fight ducking than his out of the ring exploits), has turned me off to the sport I used to love so much and be so passionate about. Boxing, you’ve lost one more die-hard fan and we are dropping like flies. I hope you’re happy Floyd.
Since this is my last boxing mailbag I’m going to keep it short and sweet. I end with two emails from two of my most frequent contributors.
Mayweather: Master of Defense
It seems that the fear of eventually having to face Manny Pacquiao drove “Pretty Boy” Floyd insane. First he went on a stupid rant, then he went to do what the Mayweather family does best (aside from drug dealing) beat the sh*t out of a woman. I guess he knows that being behind bars is the best defense against Pacquiao. LOL
-Vinjo
Vinjo,
Well said. Usually I try to be fair, even-keeled, and balanced in either defending a fighter from detractors or bringing them down to earth when talking to hardcore fans. But in this case, there is no excuse for abusing a woman and shouting death threats to children. “Money” Mayweather is slime for his actions, and cowardly for his avoidance of top caliber opponents.
I would never hit a woman, but that was how I was raised. You look at who raised little Floyd and you get an idea of how this happened. I hope he goes to jail if he is as guilty as he appears.
Retirement?
Brian!
Do you understand the disasters your retirement can bring? 2012! I understand how you must feel with boxing but you can’t let 2012 happen. With the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight looking more and more that it is never going to happen by each passing day, my interest is quickly declining with it even having a spill-over effect on other fight games since I am also losing interest in MMA. But you, retiring? 2012 man! No more mailbag? Think about it. You can’t let it happen. It should be on your shoulders to disprove the Mayan claim that the world will end on 2012… or 2024, depending on what calendar you follow. I use a tiny one that I snatched up from a cereal box and it says on August 9, 2012 the world ends.
Is it so bad that boxing might actually die at this point? I say, let it die… for now. Let the corruption along with the corrupt promoters and corrupt officials rot. Let people miss it. For a year or two at least. Killing boxing for now might be the only way to save this magnificent sport. You know what they say, time mends all things. When it’s time for boxing to live again, think of how easy it would be install one governing body that will decree the badly-needed rules and regulations. Even better, think of the fanfare it will generate when it is time for boxing to return.
Let boxing die for now and allow it time to rejuvenate! Meantime, RSR can focus on the little things that people tend to take for granted. Like the flowers in bloom or the rants of overly religious men who want the world to bow to them or the truth about aliens or Bigfoot’s actual whereabouts or the Loch Ness monster… Or if Jean Van Damme can actually beat Steven Seagal… Life has so much to offer than merely boxing.
By the way, that “Burt Tha Loven Fan” guy is creepy since I do not use the name SJ on Facebook.
-SJ
SJ,
You make a brilliant point my friend. As strange as it sounds, the death of boxing would be the best thing for the sport of boxing. That would allow an entrepreneur to built the sport up from nothing under one organization just like Zuffa did with MMA and the UFC.
Boxing is a better sport than MMA and is more fun to watch if presented correctly. The sport needs to go back to its roots when you fought until somebody was knocked out, and referees would disqualify boxers and withhold their purse if they were making a boring fight. The best fighters need to fight each other with regularity. A bracket system, a tournament format, rankings that make sense, round robins, anything but the unpredictable money hoarding that we see now.
I can already imagine boxing’s glorious return to prominence, but to see the light at the end of the tunnel, before the miraculous rebound, boxing has to hit rock bottom. When Mayweather is sent to jail, Pacquiao retires, the Super Six is called off due to repeated injuries, and the Klitschko brothers run out of half way decent contenders to fight, perhaps that will be rock bottom for the once mighty art of pugilism.
Before signing off from the mailbag for good, I would like to thank all of my fans and readers who have kept up with me over the years. I am truly grateful and appreciative of your emails, contributions, kind words, and support. If you would like to keep in contact with me I will still be around and at the same email address. Like I said before, I’ll be back next week at RSR with something different. Take care fight fans.
Read what Singer Robbie Dupree had to say about Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather, JR.