Mayweather remains as polarizing as ever
If you find someone who kind of likes Floyd Mayweather Jr., but only a little bit, pull out your phone and snap a selfie. They’re about as rare as the Vegas visitor who comes for the peace and quiet.
May- weather, boxing ’s pound-forpound ruler and biggest attraction, isn’t the kind of character who attracts fence-sitters. He is the sports world’s most polarizing figure, and the gulf of opinion between those who detest and those who adore him will only grow in the aftermath of the doping protocol controversy that has suddenly overshadowed the buildup to his latest fight.
That, in case you were wondering, is against Andre Berto at the MGM Grand on Saturday night. But as the weekend approaches, most of the talk is accusations and counterclaims regarding whether an intravenous infusion Mayweather took the day before he beat Manny Pacquiao in May violated regulations.
It did, according to an article by SB Nation’s Thomas Hauser. In a story published Wednesday, Hauser detailed how the fighter was injected with a legal mix of saline and vitamins, even though IV treatments before a competition are prohibited by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
standards, and that Mayweather sought a therapeutic-use exemption only after he defeated Pacquiao via unanimous decision.
Cue indignation from those who yawn rather than fawn when Mayweather opens his mouth, an army of critics who have, in reality, done as much to build his name as any amount of praise.
But, according to the U.S. AntiDoping Agency (USADA) and Mayweather, the IV did not break the rules. USADA and the boxer’s camp angrily snapped back at the SB Nation article in two statements Thursday. USADA said that while the exemption was not made until after the IV was administered, its officers were made aware of the IV in advance and that it complied with state regulations.
“It is important to immediately correct the record regarding the false suggestion that Floyd Mayweather violated the rules,” read the USADA statement. “It is simply absurd to suggest that we would ever compromise our integrity for any sport or athlete.”
Cue indignation from Mayweather’s loyal band of supporters, who now have more fuel for their theory that there is a conspiracy to discredit their fighter and who have long managed to look beyond his more questionable character record and criminal past.
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe declined to answer USA TODAY Sports’ questions seeking clarification as to why the exemption was not applied for at an earlier time.
Mayweather’s close friend and fellow fighter, Ishe Smith, described the controversy as “witchcraft” aimed at sullying Mayweather’s name.
While all this will only drive a wedge further between May- weather’s approvers and his critics, it probably won’t end up doing him any harm. USADA has cleared him, and while the Nevada State Athletic Commission is aggrieved that it was not notified of the exemption, its beef is with USADA, not Mayweather.
Suffice to say, bickering between athletic commissions and drug testing agencies doesn’t exactly hold the public interest for long.
Yes, Mayweather’s critics will jump on comments from Victor Conte, co-founder of the controversial Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative, criticizing the short window between the 38-year-old announcing his fights and actually stepping into the ring, which allows for only a brief testing period.
But that’s all just words, no matter how loudly or passionately they are spoken.
As for what the fallout is going to be, it has probably already happened. It is almost unthinkable that there will be any kind of meaningful sanction, even if Mayweather is found to have broken any rules.
Boxing doesn’t have the kind of all-powerful overseer or governing body who can levy punishments. It doesn’t have a Roger Goodell. It doesn’t even have a Sepp Blatter. The most powerful handful of men in the fight game include Al Haymon — Mayweather’s adviser — and the executives from the Showtime network, with whom he is coming to the end of a six-fight deal that has generated hundreds of millions.
In any other major sport there would be an investigation launched. But this is boxing, its own peculiar world, where truth and fiction and a heavy dose of farce swirl constantly together.
Down in the lower reaches of the MGM Grand, no more than a short walk from the arena where Mayweather will attempt to take his career record to 49-0, is an outlet where you can get an IV of saline and vitamins, promising to alleviate hangovers and refresh the mind.
At a passing glance Thursday afternoon it had more customers than either Mayweather’s TMT merchandising store or the Grand Garden Arena ticket office, which still has seats available at all price levels.
Because this week the show everyone is talking about is taking place out of the ring, and it is one Mayweather surely wishes would go away.