Floyd Mayweather Jr. is American, black, and rich. He is the best boxer on the planet but you wouldn’t know that judging by the amount of hate he inspires in America , his own country. Last Saturday, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, who recently added the new nickname “money” to his name, scored an impressive knockout over Ricky Hatton of Manchester , England .

Even before Saturday’s fight, Mayweather was already universally recognized as the best pound for pound boxer in the world. The KO over Hatton solidified that status and ended a remarkable year in his career in which he defeated Oscar de la Hoya, boxing’s most marketable character, in the most lucrative fight in the history of the sport.

With such a roaring ring success, you’d think that Mayweather would get some love from his own countrymen. He didn’t last Saturday. He even pandered to their patriotic sensibilities by entering the ring to Bruce Springsteen’s patriotic anthem “Born in the USA .” Still no love for Mayweather.

Contrast this with his opponent. Tens of thousands of Hatton’s British fans invaded Las Vegas , venue of the fight, turning the arena into a mini Manchester stadium for the British challenger. Where were the American fans to match Hatton’s support and to cheer their fellow American to victory? They were conspicuously missing. Mayweather had to fly in a bunch of teenage boys that he supports through his charity foundation. They made up less than one percent of the crowd and were no match for the rabid Hatton crowd, which included hundreds, if not thousands, of Mayweather’s fellow Americans. Hatton got more love in defeat than Mayweather got in victory. American celebrities—some of them Mayweather supporters—attended the fight and gave it luster, but patriotic American fans willing to cheer for the champion were few.

Almost everyone had come to Las Vegas to see Mayweather lose. Before the fight American boxing blogs were awash with a steady outpouring of anti-Mayweather vitriol. Why is an undefeated boxing genius who is the first man to win championships in six weight classes without losing an object of such intense hate?

Several reasons have been advanced to explain Mayweather’s lack of public appeal. Mayweather is a trash-talking, money spraying, cocky personality who lives his life like a rap star. Mayweather likes to flaunt his wealth—his exotic cars, jewelry, and his Las Vegas nightclubbing lifestyle. He celebrates his friendship with brash, misogynistic rap stars like 50 Cent. In fact in a four-episode reality series leading to Saturday’s fight, Mayweather was cast as a foul-mouthed, cash-flaunting, arrogant and vain fighter. His opponent, Hatton, was by contrast cast as a “normal” person—homely, familial, down-to-earth.

In online boxing forums, where anonymity makes people more brazen and less subtle, some writers advanced Hatton as the next Great White Hope while pointing to Kelly Pavlik’s recent victory over Jermain Taylor as another White Hope moment.

But how does Mayweather differ from other successful athletes and celebrities who similarly push their fame and wealth in our faces? How is his display of wealth, self-absorption, and arrogance un-American? Are these attributes not as American as Jamestown ? Mayweather is simply being a good American, a good disciple—and victim—of American capitalism. A popular American axiom is: if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Mayweather is doing exactly that. Conspicuous consumption is the American capitalist way, and Mayweather emblematizes it perfectly. He should be celebrated as an American hero.

I am not sure that Bill Cosby would regard Mayweather as a model of responsible black manhood. In addition to the champion’s well known character deficits, he has children with several women—out of wedlock. Perhaps this has cost Mayweather potential fans among Americans who naively look to celebrities for some transcendental moral example. But Mayweather’s situation is hardly unique. American male celebrities, black and white, have long normalized the art of siring children by different women out of wedlock.

Then there is the canard that Mayweather’s family is dysfunctional and unlikable. But this, too, is a lame excuse for hating the “Pretty Boy.” Where is the American family without a degree of dysfunction? Where is the American family that can pass the normalcy test of the ultra-conservative family activists of the American Right?

Let’s face it. Mayweather attracts so much hate partly because he is black. This is not a revelation. There has always been a racial undercurrent in sports where black athletes dominate. Boxing has always been a flashpoint of American racial tensions, a gauge of American racial tolerance. Once the most universally popular combat sport, boxing mirrored—metaphorically and physically—the race war that was being fought quietly in segregation era America and which seemed to loom all over the world.

At the turn of the 20^th century, black boxers in America were not allowed to compete against white opponents, enabling white fighters to amass glorious records that are today touted in boxing history alongside the more legitimate ones of black fighters. Racism prevented Jack Johnson from fighting for the world heavy weight title until 1907 despite having earned a title shot many times over. Despite his subsequent seven year reign as the Heavy Weight Champion of the world, he remained unsung and his record was barely recognized.

When blacks were eventually allowed to fight white opponents, they fought for much less money, got the most unprofitable fights, and could hardly make a living as their white promoters shafted them of their ring earnings.

Starting in the 1930s, boxing became more racially democratized, bringing black champions into the mainstream of American sports and popular culture. But while this brought recognition to black boxers, it exposed them to white hate and ridicule for representing the threatening, if mythical, beastly brutality of black manhood. Black champions also became the object of intense hate because they destabilized the racist myths of white invincibility in Jim Crow America.

As black boxers piled up victories against formidable white opponents and dominated their weight classes, the notion of white hope crept into the sport. White challengers fighting black champions were no longer just out to win championships; they were out to restore white pride and supremacy. The highpoint of this racial appropriation of boxing came when Hitler and the Nazis used Max Schmeling’s victory over Joe Louis in 1936 to boost their doctrine of white Aryan supremacy.

Black champions like Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Fraser, Sonny Liston, and others were not insulated from the racism of America despite their fame and success in the ring. To receive American public acceptance a black champion had to essentially leave his boxing championship in the ring and become a docile black man in deference to the white establishment. It was a painful emasculation in exchange for acceptance. When Muhammad Ali rebelled against the white power structure, he was stripped of his championship, humiliated in the media, and exposed to more hate.

Mayweather’s plight is therefore not novel. In refusing to enjoy his wealth in quiet docility, Mayweather has offended a fundamental rule of black success in America : the successful black man must live his life by the standards of responsible black manhood articulated by the white power structure and by white racist holdouts. Wealthy blacks get points with the American public by displaying humility, gratitude, and by assimilating into American corporatist culture. Mayweather falls way short of these standards. The image of a cocky, brash, talkative black boxing champion that Muhammad Ali and Mayweather project has the same capacity to annoy white racists today as it did in Ali's era.

The build-up to Saturday’s fight exposed the depressing racial underbelly of American sports and celebrity culture. Mayweather was held to standards that white boxers are seldom held to. On blogs and on boxing messageboards, Mayweather only got love from black forum members and white boxing purists who appreciate talent and are able to uncouple Mayweather’s out-of-the-ring antics from his ring genius. Other black fighters who refuse to be held to alien standards of responsibility attract similar hostility. Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. get more hate than love despite their exploits in the ring.

Mayweather could do nothing right in the eye of the American public in the build-up to the fight. He was routinely booed. Many Americans confessed on blogs and in boxing forums that they wanted to see him lose. Even after the vociferous British fans booed the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, only a few of these American Mayweather haters switched their support from Hatton to “Money” Mayweather. Try as he did, Mayweather could not arouse his compatriots’ patriotic fervor.

The fight itself was reminiscent of Joe Louis’ dominance over Max Schmeling in their rematch in 1938—except that it took Mayweather longer to knock Hatton out.

Did the impressive victory win Mayweather more white American fans or endear him to his fellow Americans who must have been angered by the British desecration of the U.S anthem? No. The British fans’ insult simply made them indifferent to the outcome of the fight.

The hate from the American boxing fans has not abated with Mayweather’s blowout victory; it has increased. Kevin Iole, Yahoo Sports boxing columnist, who is white, claims that he received many reader reaction emails after his write-up on Saturday’s fight putting down Mayweather with the “N” word. How despicable. Mr. Iole aptly titles his current blog “Bring the Hate,” a sarcastic retort to the racist Mayweather haters. Kevin Iole is an honest and courage man for acknowledging and lamenting the racial dimension of Mayweather’s bad public image.

The irony of this racist hate is that Mayweather tried recently to market his fistic fame to mainstream audiences by participating in the popular ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars.” This decision to become corporately responsible in the tradition of self-interested but acceptable American capitalist self-promotion has apparently not altered public perception of him. It may have even backfired.

It is not only the out-of-the-ring conducts of black boxers that have been unfairly scrutinized. Mayweather’s ring performance has been devalued and/ or under appreciated. Other black pound-for-pound champions faced the same unfair ring scrutiny. For a long time, Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins had their championship credentials routinely questioned. They were both accused of selecting easy opponents to pave their way to the top. Some of this criticism is legitimate, but the problem is that it is almost exclusively highlighted in regard to black champions. White champions are similarly guided strategically by commercially-minded promoters to the top, but pundits don’t devalue their championship for cherry-picking their path to the top.

A black boxer has to achieve twice as much ring success to get the same amount of validation and fan base as a white boxer. Saturday’s fight underlined this sad truth. In a fight that Mayweather dominated and in which the most generous ringside journalists and experts gave Hatton only two rounds prior to the tenth round KO, HBO’s commentary crew called several of the early rounds for Hatton and Harold Lederman, the HBO’s unofficial judge, had an even fight going into the seventh round. Only elite trainer, Emmanuel Steward, who is black, called the fight accurately, emphasizing above the Hatton love fest of his commentary colleagues that Mayweather was controlling the fight with his clean, effective punching.

To deny black boxers their credit, even time-tested axioms of boxing are being rewritten. It used to be that in boxing the operative axiom was “hit and don’t get hit,” which distinguished it from a brawl and from gory combat sports. This is why it is called the sweet science. Today, Mayweather, who is one of the greatest exponents of “hit and don’t get hit,” is called boring and uninspiring, as if the new axiom is “hit and get hit, but hit more.” White boxers are seldom held to this standard when they are at the top.

I concede that this shift in the sport from finesse and fistic aesthetics to bloodletting gore is partly a product of the growth and popularity of mixed martial arts. Some of it however came about as a racial backlash to detract from the ring exploits of great black fighters of the recent era—Hopkins, Jones, and Mayweather.

So desperate are the White Hopers for Mayweather to be dislodged from his perch at the top of the sport that they are ready to adopt Miguel Cotto, a Puerto Rican, into the role of the Great White Hope. They are now calling for a Mayweather-Cotto bout, which I would like to see but not for the same reason as the racial bigots.

If that fight happens in 2008, Mayweather’s skills will prevail. But he still wouldn’t get the recognition and acceptance he craves and deserves. There would be more White Hopes for him to supposedly prove himself against.

Robot  # 1 | 12.12.2007 18:05

Let’s face it. Mayweather attracts so much hate because he is black. This is ...Read the full article.

mvp  # 2 | 12.12.2007 20:18

No doubt that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the best fighter in the world. Pretty Boy doesn't need any more fights. Money Mayweather should retire now and try to set up another Golden Boy Promotions. Then can he regain the respect that has eluded him. He should be wise though, hence, another mike Tyson in the making.

Abujaboy  # 3 | 13.12.2007 02:14

This article is right on target -- 30 or 40 years ago. The idea that he is disliked because of his race flies in the face of the obvious -- he is not Hank Aaron, or Muhammed Ali. American boxing has been dominated by black boxers for decades now -- Holyfield, Tyson, Leonard, etc. These boxers enjoyed TREMENDOUS support among white people, based on their abilities and character. Or not, in the case of Tyson, whose popularity declined among both whites and blacks in direct proportion to his crimes and sociopathic behavior. The much more obvious conclusion that a more honest or more accurate observer would draw is that he is disliked, if indeed he is, because 1) he is apparently not a likeable person -- the author admits it himself -- or 2) because boxing is losing popularity in the U.S. It has been replaced by -- SURPRISE -- basketball and football, sports that either are totally black dominated or at least have majority representation. All over America, white kids have posters of black athletes and entertainers up on their walls. Is racism dead in America? No, it isn't, but it isn't in Nigeria, Russia, China, or Brazil either. The good news is, the climate has changed so much that one can confidently say that this author is looking for a Klansman under every bush to explain away the things he doesn't understand about life.

Abujaboy  # 4 | 13.12.2007 02:59

Here's a great article that puts the lie to this Village Square submission: http://sports.si.cnn.com/default.asp?c=cnnsi&page=boxing/news/BPN4116317.htm

fxo  # 5 | 13.12.2007 09:29

What exact do you want? Muhammed Ali, Joe Frasier, Sugar Ray Leonard, and even mike Tyson enjoyed popular support in the US and guess what ,they are all black. Michael Jordon could have run for the Senate at the end of his basketball career and believe me he would have won. In the US where the black population is roughly about 10%. Black purchasing powers is limited. Large profitable sporting institutions are run by the so called 'white people'. And yet so many black athletes thrive and enjoy tremendous cult following. So where is the racism you are talking about. 90% of people who pay $2000 dollars for floor seats at NBA games are white, to watch a sport that is almost 90% black. In Nigeria and any other African community at that I am sure Mayweather will not be a favorite of parents as a sporting icon for there youngsters. So he will experience the so called " racism "you are claiming he endures even in Africa. Can we do something more productive, other than this chasing of shadow. Is it so hard to embrace people of other races? Must every black person be supported no matter what, so that there is no claim of racism. I don't know much about Mayweather, but if what the writer says about him is correct then he is not representing black people. He is an example of what young black youths should not aspire to be, " Out of the bush, but still a bushman" Another Mike Tyson in the making.

Ebe  # 6 | 13.12.2007 10:05

This article is right on target -- 30 or 40 years ago. The idea that he is disliked because of his race flies in the face of the obvious -- he is not Hank Aaron, or Muhammed Ali. American boxing has been dominated by black boxers for decades now -- Holyfield, Tyson, Leonard, etc. These boxers enjoyed TREMENDOUS support among white people, based on their abilities and character. Or not, in the case of Tyson, whose popularity declined among both whites and blacks in direct proportion to his crimes and sociopathic behavior. The much more obvious conclusion that a more honest or more accurate observer would draw is that he is disliked, if indeed he is, because 1) he is apparently not a likeable person -- the author admits it himself -- or 2) because boxing is losing popularity in the U.S. It has been replaced by -- SURPRISE -- basketball and football, sports that either are totally black dominated or at least have majority representation. All over America, white kids have posters of black athletes and entertainers up on their walls. Is racism dead in America? No, it isn't, but it isn't in Nigeria, Russia, China, or Brazil either. The good news is, the climate has changed so much that one can confidently say that this author is looking for a Klansman under every bush to explain away the things he doesn't understand about life. Abujaboy: I don't know how much you follow boxing, but all those black boxers you mentioned who received a degree of white American public acceptance had to in essence assimilate into the responsibility standards of white America. They were grateful, docile, and non-rebellious. Muhammad Ali is still a lightening rod for controversy and racial tension because he rebelled against the establishment and railed against individual and institutional racism in America. Even today, many white boxing commentators denigrate his record simply because they see him as not responsibly American enough. His life was never the same after he refused to go to Vietnam and converted to Islam. Many whites also resented his cockiness and supreme confidence in an era when blacks were expected to hold their heads low. Some of this is still true in America. Ali's offense was that he chose to be independent; to define himself rather than be defined by the white establishment. I personally don't approve of some of the character traits of Mayweather but he is living his life in an independent, self-defined manner. That should not entitle him to, or justify racist abuse of him and his legacy. I guess you missed the part about white boxing fans using the "N" word to abuse him and to put him down. Kevin Iole, yahoo sports columnist, a white guy, was courageous enough to point this out and to decry it. Dislike and racist abuse are teo different things. When dislike of character translates to racism, it suggests that the character issue is merely an excuse for racism. The problem is not that Americans have no right to hate or dislike celebrities based on their conducts or character. They do. The problem is that the character and conduct test is disproportionately and more harshly imposed on black athletes and celebrities. In any case there are examples of black athletes and celebrities that are just as challenged in ettiquette and moral character as Mayweather, but because they don't display the cockiness and arrogance that racist whites resent in blacks, they are never the target of race hate. Go figure. Elvis Preseley died of a drug overdose and lived a life of filthy hedonism, but he is revered and accepted in mainstream America today because when it comes to him, a white entertainer, white folks get all rational about the necessity to separate his personal life from his musical talent. The same courtesy of separating talent from character has hardly been accorded to Michael Jackson, or to Floyd Mayweather, or to Bernard Hopkins, or to Roy Jones, or other black celebrities. The white boxers who got to the top in this generation are not the example of moral and family values. But they hardly get any hate from the American public. Most of them, like their black counterparts, battle drugs, alcohol, and marital and gambling problems. Even Hatton has a child out of wedlock and is a self-confessed drunk. Mayweather doesn't drink or smoke but is racially and rabidly hated for living brashly and flaunting his wealth. I am usually very hesitant to throw race around, but as an ardent fan of boxing, I have noticed this racist trend for a long time. Mayweather is not the only victim. It's been going on for a long time. And I am glad that authoritative boxing pundit and expert, Kevin Iole has broached it. And speaking of racism in Nigeria, I can assure you that Mayweather may be hated by some Nigerians who dislike his antics, but that's not on par with being called the "N" word simply because some white people disagree with how you live your life or resent the fact that you're so talented that their favored white fighters can't beat you. Here is an excerpt from the link you provided: The e-mails floating toward my inbox this week - reacting primarily to his role in HBO's latest "24/7" hype-o-mentary - claim he's arrogant, ostentatious, a poor role model and, well... just a flat-out jerk. Readers don't like the way he taunts opponents. They don't like the way he acts superior. And they don't like the way he flaunts his wealth and status - "making it rain," if you will - for everyone to see. Tell me, AbujaBoy, how many celebrities in America DO NOT fit this profile. I guarantee you that MOST celebrities, black, white, hispanic and Asian, fit this profile perfectly. But Mayweather gets racially abused and his perfect record gets attacked for it and AbujaBoy doesn't seem to see anything wrong with it.

Fadu  # 7 | 13.12.2007 10:11

It's ashame racism is still well and alive in sports.

Ebe  # 8 | 13.12.2007 10:16

And by the way, if you know your boxing, you'd know that Tyson, with his brash and Mayweather-like lifestyle, was never liked by white Americans. That they paid to see his fights doesn't mean they liked him. Thousands of white Americans also pay to see every Mayweather fight. Love them or hate them, these guys are good--in the ring; well, in the case of Tyson, he was good.. Some people pay to see them get beaten. Others dislike them but appreciate their skills. Yet others pay to root for their white opponents.

Fadu  # 9 | 13.12.2007 10:28

Ebe I was still supporting Hatton initially as an Anglo-Nigerian, genuine patriotic and loyal citizen, before the bout last week on the television a British journalist was interviewing an American Yellow cab driver about the fight. To my astonishment the cab driver was spewing out so much hatred for "Pretty Boy" destroying him calling him all sort of names & again said "it's time someone knock him out" this is from a white American. Then I realised this is not about sport anymore it is about race issue. Racial tension is still well and alive in America not only in sport. I was so glad to wake up Sunday morning to find out "money" knocked Hatton out it was so pleasing and comforting but not in a malicious way, I don't have anything against Hatton or British fans, it's because of the white Americans who are thirsty for Floyds blood. they should go and hide their faces in the mud. Fadu UK

Ebe  # 10 | 13.12.2007 10:39

Well, Fadu, you need to go to the boxing blogs and forums to see the unvarnished racial insults being hurled at "Money." It's really disgusting to see in this day and age. I used to buy into the nonsense that Mayweather is disliked because of his attitude. I now know that that is just an excuse for racist hate. After all, racists always hide behind non-racial factors to express their racism. The same people who point to Mayweather's attitude fail to account for why only black athletes and celebrities, and not white ones, suffer such indignities and racism on account of their attitude. I will never see flawed, mortal, and insecure celebrities as role models. Good luck to those who do. I only want to be entertained by them, not to be influenced by them. So, as the white folks do only when it comes to Elvis, Marciano, and other white celebrities, I separate athletic and musical talent from personal foibles.

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