Floyd Mayweather JR’s Racist Rant: Manny Pacquiao Super Fight Circus
By Geno McGahee
It’s all over the news and that’s exactly the way that Floyd Mayweather, JR., wants it. He is in a tough situation right now for a guy that enjoys the spotlight and doesn’t have a fight scheduled or a battle with a grappler at some WWE event. The pound for pound best in the world has elected to sit by and watch Manny Pacquiao grab headlines as he prepares to take on Antonio Margarito, and as Floyd begins to once again fade away through his inactivity, he spouts off about the biggest threat to his undefeated record and the fighter that everyone wants to see him face, Manny Pacquiao.
In a recent verbal tirade via Youtube, Floyd bashed Pacquiao. He made it personal and stated that he would beat Pacquiao, who he called a “midget,” and then make him cook him some rice with some barbequed dog, or something to that effect. ABC has picked up the story and so has USA Today, and just about every boxing site has some article or blurb on the topic. It is hot news.
Mayweather with his “Money” persona, creative marketing, and ability to sell have placed him in the news time and time again, has sold record pay per views, and have made him very high in demand, which is rare for a defensive boxer. Pernell Whitaker, a superior fighter than Floyd, but similar in style, fought better opposition, but was not the draw that he is and that is because “Money” knows how to grab headlines, but this recent rant has me curious.
It appears that the continual headlines featuring Manny Pacquiao going into this fight has bothered him and with Uncle Roger beating up women and getting into trouble and no fight on the horizon, it is much for him to handle. Combine that with the fans and those that suggest that he did not fight Manny because he is afraid to. It’s all gotten to him.
Floyd is not immune to this. He is on line often and most certainly has a Google alert on his name, and there are a lot of Manny Pacquiao groupies out there, all in attack mode on Mayweather. The PacNuts that fill up message boards, calling Floyd racist names as well as homophobic names must get under his skin and may have sparked a return, hitting back with some racial stuff of his own.
Groupie journalists have come out strongly on this topic now and have voiced their disgust over Floyd’s comments but can any of them be taken seriously? Manny Pacquiao is responsible for bringing fans back to the sport and providing the viewers with exciting and memorable fights. He is a good thing in the sport, but when you have a good thing, you also have people hanging onto it and hoping to vicariously live through him or get some popularity from it. Internet journalism doesn’t get the respect that it should and that is largely due to those that write “Fan-Boy Articles. “ Amazingly, these writers may have stirred something up in Floyd.
Money Mayweather is not as secure as he seems. There is a definite level of insecurity when you listen to him speak, especially about Pacquiao. As much as he brags, he cannot handle not being the best and there are many that not only rank Manny ahead of him in the pound for pound ranking, but there are also those that believe that Pacquiao would win in a showdown.
Floyd is relatively inactive, has been stunned, has been hurt primarily by southpaws and Pacquiao is a devastating puncher with lightning speed. He is, by far, the biggest challenge that Floyd will ever face in the ring up to this point, should he face him and that is on his mind. He can dismiss Manny as a “midget” but in reality, he is a true challenge to Floyd and he’s not the only one. There are a lot of guys out there itching to get a crack at Money Mayweather and with equal or more of a chance to defeat him, but the public wants this and this is the best fight style-wise and when it comes to the draw. Of course we want it and I believe that Floyd wants it and it is killing him not to be in the position to take the fight.
At the time, Floyd noted that he didn’t have “the urge” to fight again, but suspects that he will. He may not have the urge, but he is using fighting words, and although the chants of “racist” have come out from the Pacquiao fans and many journalists, I don’t know if that is necessarily the case. Fighters use whatever they can to get over, to get into the head of the opponents, and to generate interest in them and in the fight that they are trying to build.
Muhammad Ali called Joe Frazier a “gorilla,” a derogatory term for African Americans historically, and continued to use it, along with “Uncle Tom” and various other anti-black terms, but Ali was not a racist. He wasn’t a good guy, but he wasn’t a racist. He was using terms that would irritate Frazier and they did work. Smokin’ Joe is still upset after all these years, even finding joy in the current condition of “The Greatest.” Floyd Mayweather has used many pages out of the Ali handbook, and the racist “rice” and “dog” comments are right out of it.
It is getting dirty people and still leading to a showdown between the two biggest names in the game. We have Manny Pacquiao in a disgusting showdown with proven cheater Antonio Margarito and we have Floyd Mayweather, JR., making anti-Filipino comments…boxing has always had trouble getting into the mainstream and staying there. What could have been boxing at its best, a collision of two great fighters, has stemmed off into this circus, which boxing is typically known for. Look at the news its making…loaded gloves, steroids, and racism… It’s no wonder Nascar has moved in and become the world’s most popular sport (if you consider it a sport and if you actually watch it).
I suspect this will be only the beginning. Floyd’s phone will be ringing off the hook with calls for a follow up and he will go on the attack again, spewing whatever comes to mind in hopes to keep his name alive in the papers and reassure himself that he is the best. Floyd is only human and nobody is as sure as he comes off, and this was the first chink in his armor. He’s upset and slightly nervous about a showdown with Manny, although I still make him the heavy favorite to win.
When Manny Pacquiao beats Margarito to a pulp, expect the super fight to arise again, and maybe it will come off this time….let’s hope. It’s not fair to the boxing fans to keep on waving the carrot in front of our faces.