This has been a rough week for Floyd Mayweather Jr.
With press and promotion being a necessary part of the lead-up to any given fight, you can’t really blame the undefeated brawler for opening himself up to the media. At the same time, though, whenever Mayweather opens his mouth lately, cringeworthy moments seem to follow.
The latest such incident came as Mayweather once again, somehow, found the topic of Manny Pacquiao tossed in his direction. Like a fish, he took the bait hook, line and sinker.
Seemingly having come to terms with the fact his actual scheduled bout versus Victor Ortiz is essentially on the backburner in everyone’s mind, Mayweather is now content answering questions about his Filipino archrival without even bothering to pretend like he’s there to talk about Ortiz.
In essence, Mayweather told the press that Pacquiao’s most recent victim, “Sugar” Shane Mosley, told him that Mayweather was right for demanding Pacquiao submit a performance-enhancing drug (PED) test. In the process of the explanation, the undefeated superstar insinuated that Mosley wished he had forced Pacquiao to undertake a more stringent drug test because -- quite obviously -- he believed something was awry.
And yes, these are supposedly the words of the same Mosley who at one point begged his corner to stop the fight against Pacquiao. Also, yes, this is the same Mayweather making these claims who just last week said he never accused Pacquiao of taking PEDs.
Mayweather also suggested (read: said while leaving no room for misinterpretation) that Bob Arum’s Top Rank company was trying to keep Pacquiao relevant by piggybacking on the undefeated star’s name.
Pot and kettle, Floyd. Pot and kettle.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, Mayweather makes it very difficult to root for him sometimes. First -- after a year of suggesting the complete opposite -- Mayweather said that he didn’t accuse Pacquiao of taking PEDs. Now, yet again, he seems to be hinting that he believes the opposite. Then he states that Top Rank is piggybacking off his name, when in truth, every member of the Mayweather clan has made it a point to name-drop the Filipino champion to no end. Finally, after seemingly putting his foot down and saying he wouldn’t look past Ortiz, Floyd appears to be doing precisely that.
Ortiz is no pushover, mind you. He’s nowhere near the caliber of fighter that Mayweather is, clearly, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t surprise a rusty, distracted boxer who is too busy juggling 20 other balls in the air to adequately focus on him.
Mayweather better get his house in order and do so quickly. Here’s to hoping that next week is kinder to him than last week was.