How image conscious and controlling is Floyd Mayweather Jr.? The boxer reportedly insisted that if HBO wanted to produce his fight on May 5th against Miguel Cotto, their announcers would not be able to discuss his out-of-ring affairs.
Sports by Brooks reported the story and says Mayweather’s representative, Al Haymon, made the demand that also prevents HBO’s announcers from discussing Mayweather’s management team.
Brooks says Mayweather made the same demands during past negotiations but previous HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg would not agree to those terms. New president Ken Hershman reportedly has agreed.
What’s confusing is why Hershman would agree if Greenburg did not. If that was an issue for Mayweather in the past, wouldn’t he have just gone to Showtime? Maybe it wasn’t as big of an issue until his in-ring blowup with Larry Merchant. Or maybe now that Floyd has dealt with several court cases and is headed to jail, he’s more concerned with protecting his image.
If all the information from the report is true, it’s extremely disappointing that HBO would agree to the terms. Discussing the multiple lawsuits and court cases Mayweather is facing, including his upcoming jail sentence, is a big part of his story. I guess this proves what we already knew: Money talks, and Floyd delivers plenty of that.
