As divisive welterweight icon Floyd Mayweather Jr. takes the ring for the 49th (and presumably final) time against Andre Berto this Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, what more can be said about his controversial yet brilliant 19-year career as it comes to a close? Amidst the millions upon millions earned, the never-ending deluge of counter punches, shoulder rolls, and slips and slides, the wall-to-wall display of title belts, the silly feuds and shameful legal troubles outside of the ring, the self-proclaimed “Best Ever” distinction, and the 46 men (he fought Marcos Maidana and Jose Luis Castillo twice; shoutout to the technicality police) who have tried and failed to dethrone him from his perch atop the boxing universe. Is there anything really left to say about Money Mayweather that hasn’t been said already? As it turns out, the answer is probably no. Because Floyd himself has often been the one doing most of the talking.
For as technically gifted as he is between the ropes, the five-division world champion has embraced the villain role like no other figure the sweet science has ever seen. He embraces it, feeds off of the negative energy, and channels it into something else entirely. And one of Floyd’s main tools for achieving that much throughout his career has been through brash manipulation of the media. After all, the late great Jim Morrison once said, “Whoever controls the media controls the mind.” And if that’s truly the case, then with his outrageous interviews, abrasive personality, and knack for producing headline-grabbing spectacles, nobody has controlled the boxing mind better than Mayweather has. At least that’s what he would like us all to think. For better or for worse, here are Floyd Mayweather Jr’s ten most infamous media moments.
10. Floyd duels David Lloyd and Brian Kelly to a split decision
As much as he enjoys squaring off against fellow prize fighters, Mayweather loves to trade blows with members of the media as well. Sometimes, the tides turn in his favor, like the time that he exposed SportsCenter anchor David Lloyd as a pugilistic ignoramus for the entire world to see.
But other times, it blows up in Floyd’s face, such as the time that a prepared and confident Brian Kenny (Lloyd’s colleague at ESPN) systematically ripped Mayweather to shreds live on the air for ducking Manny Pacquiao.
Guess he’s not undefeated at everything.
9. Floyd doesn’t know what the word “magnitude” means
Magnitude- ˈmaɡnəˌt(y)o͞od (n.) the great size or extent of something.
Apparently, this is news to Mayweather, who appeared more flummoxed by a reporter’s use of the word in an interview after his superfight with Pacquiao than by anything Pacquiao threw at him in the ring that night. It was something truly astounding to watch the 38-year-old fighter labor to first comprehend the word and then to enunciate it.
And Floyd’s look of pure bewilderment just about said it all.
8. Floyd on Ronda Rousey: “I don’t know who he is”
These days, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey is probably the biggest female sports star in the world. But she used to come from very humble beginnings, beginnings so humble that Mayweather used to not know who she was or even what gender she was.
Not to fear, however, as with both her dismembering of opponents in the Octagon and her numerous zingers of Floyd in the media, she has made for dang sure that Mayweather knows who she is now. And she has provided us one of the all-time great (albeit unexpected) cross-combat sports rivalries in the process.
