These, friends, are pugilistic times. Jon and Kate, Republicans and Democrats, The Real Housewives of New Jersey—everyone is looking for a fight. So why, then, has the sport of boxing fallen on such hard times? The whiff of corruption that stilllingers from the Don King era and the dearth of new talent in the upper divisions are two easy explanations. But while boxing might never again achieve the kind of transcendent place in the culture it had in the days of lumbering heavyweights like Ali, Foreman, and Frazier—who talked smack and pounded the life out of each other with a kind of brutal grace—the future of fighting might very well rest on the shoulders of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
When asked—and often unprompted—the 32-year-old Mayweather will offer that he is the best boxer ever. But while the accuracy of that self-assessment is the subject of much debate, it’s hard to argue with the numbers: Since turning pro in 1996, Mayweather has won 40 matches—25 of them via knockout—and lost none, and he’s scooped up six titles in five different weight classes along the way. In the ring, he is more of a smooth-operating tactician than a Tyson-esque weapon of mass destruction. His style is defensive, but his reflexes are quick, and his rare yet seemingly basic ability to hit other men in the face while somehow managing to protect his own—his mug is still remarkably devoid of scars—earned him the nickname Pretty Boy as an amateur. Another nickname that Mayweather has earned is Money, and that one, too, is well deserved—as much for the fact that he is one of the highest-paid fighters in boxing today as for his affinity for walking into battle dressed in ostrich-skin trunks and chinchilla robes. (It’s worth noting that in the middleof the photo shoot for this story, Mayweather left to go to the bank. He also went to the bank a few days later in the middle of the interview.)
Growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mayweather was introduced to boxing at an early age. His father, Floyd Mayweather Sr.—once a welterweight fighter—started training Floyd Jr. when he was just 5 years old. However, his tutelage of Floyd Jr. was derailed when the elder Mayweather was sentenced to five years in prison in 1994 on a drug-trafficking conviction. But the relationship between Floyd Jr. and Floyd Sr. remains a complicated one, filled with periods of estrangement and reconciliation: Floyd Jr. has said that his father pushed him too hard when he was a kid; Floyd Sr. has taken credit for his son’s success; when Floyd Jr. defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in a 12-round decision this past September—his first match after a brief, 21-month retirement—Floyd Sr. was back in his son’s corner for the first time in nine years.
By the numbers, Mayweather may very well be the best that boxing has to offer right now. But the more looming issue for him is quickly becoming one of history. The most important fighters of all time—the ones who changed the sport—were always about more than wins and losses. They were galvanizing forces, polarizing personalities, rogues, radicals,misfits, and dissidents—and, in the case of Ali, all of the above at the same time. They weren’t just boxers—they were fighters in every sense of the word. Despite his perfect record, Mayweather’s critics have argued that he has gone to great lengths to protect it, going long stretches between bouts and carefullychoosing his opponents. They are also quick to point out that he hasn’t fought either of the top two contenders in his division, Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, who at press time were scheduled to fight each other on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The winner of that match would appear to be the natural next opponent for Mayweather, but whom he will fight next is anyone’s guess. As the 40 men whom he has dropped in his career thus far can readily attest, the moment you think you’ve got Floyd Mayweather figured out, he hits you with another surprise.
Writer Jonathan Ames—a sometime amateur boxer who fights as The Herring Wonder—recently spoke to Mayweather, who was in Los Angeles.
Courtesy of Interview Magazine
By Jonathan Ames
Photography Craig Mcdean
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