Home/Boxing

USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

In every person’s life, there’s a catalyst. It either pushes him to the heights of success or shoves him towards the depths of nadir. In the case of Floyd Mayweather Jr., it was the hunger to become great. There was an inner drive compelling him to emerge from the challenges that haunted his childhood.

Growing up in a tough neighborhood, he didn’t want to end up doing something that would eventually put him in jail. More significantly, he realized that to attain greatness, he would have to deviate from the path that his father had reportedly taken. As it happened, once he took to boxing, there was no looking back.

Against All Odds: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Ryan Clark, one of the hosts of the podcast ‘The Pivot’, said that the undefeated former champion wasn’t crediting himself enough. The former NFL safety said that the fact remained that Mayweather Jr. always won. If he hadn’t been so good, then so many people wouldn’t have thronged the arenas or paid for the pay-per-views.

But on the flip side, there were many who disliked him so much that they wanted to see him lose. So they would also end up buying PPVs just to see if anyone could defeat the former world champion.

To explain, ‘The Money’ took them back to where it all started. “The the thing is this, and the people in the world need to know this: what happened was I was a black kid from the ghetto with a father who taught me a skill, and my dad hustled because his career because his career didn’t go right, so my dad took chances and hustled,” said Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Then he explained how his father started working the game through banned substances in order to provide a better life for him.

Steering Clear of the Missteps of the Past

He added, “He hustled. I don’t think he hustled the brown, but he hustled the green, and he hustled the white. The brown is h**oin, the green is w**d the white is c*ke. My dad hustled to give me a better life, and I love him for that.” But then he learned the reason why his father, Mayweather Sr., actually catapulted him towards a life of renown and fame. He didn’t want to repeat the same errors that his father made.

The only thing that occupied his mind was to become a world champion someday. Later, when he retires, he should have something to lean on. “Each and every day I’m thankful for my father, but my dad hustled to put to put his son in a position just to become world champion, and I learned from my dad mistakes. I didn’t want to hustle drugs; all I wanted to do was become a champion someday and have something when my career was over,” ”Money’ said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

It’s true that many criticize Floyd Mayweather Jr. for one reason or another. However, they invariably fail to look out for what he had been through in his formative years. Where most kids his age would be spending their time studying and playing, ‘The Money’ was toiling hard, toughening up in the gyms. He had one goal to achieve.

Read More: Watch: Floyd Mayweather Sr. Display Wicked Speed at the Age of 65

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

What’s your take on the story? Where would you put Mayweather Jr.. among boxing’s greatest?

Read More: “The Ending Is So Funny”: Fans React as 71-Year-Old Floyd Mayweather Sr. Bloodies Person’s Nose in His Gym