In the West, rationale, reason, logic, and utility rules. Things and people are measured; quantified; judged; categorized; admired or commoditized - or worse, disarded. The ends are to ensure maximum benefit for minimal loss, risk, or threat. Investment / portfolio managers and actuaries instruct clients on life expectancy, or on net worth. A boxer may be worth $100 million and must rationally implement sound strategies for that wealth.
Out with the Old
The old traditions have made way for the marketplace's paradigm - commanding the pursuit of pleasure, gratification, self-indulgence. Presentism: "life is now - live it up." Once it's gone, it's gone.
The idea is pervasive and most persuasive. Old notions of temptations are discarded as lies spread by ancient mystics - who perhaps were bent on mind control over the populace. Floyd has limitless access to the famous, the beautiful, and royal settings. Material wealth and social standing is the benchmark for idolatry, the standard by which a commoditized person-worker is made superior or inferior. Actually, worker is an appropriate label, not person. And preferably not human being. Worker, commodity, metrics. Watcha got? Micro-values and macro-hypnosis have created a consciousness of commercials, beliefs, and reinforced system of hyper-consumption: you don't have money, fancy cars, gorgeous dates, the latest gadgets? You are IRRELEVANT.
Ring Dominance
Floyd has defeated (and embarrassed – i.e., Arturo Gatti) the vast majority of his opponents, with ease. He is in command - fans chase what he has, just as boxing opponents attempt to catch up to his ring generalship. The master dictates the fight, he views matches as less and less of a challenge.
Such mastery is the culmination of an entire lifetime of top-tier training - eliteness by which Floyd has accepted, and endured, the harshness of perfection's code and demands: father Floyd Mayweather, Sr. was a welterweight contender. Uncles Jeff and Roger Mayweather were once world boxing champions. Floyd is the unquestioned champion at the craft. He is untested. Fans have clamored, to no avail, for contests with compelling adversity, such as involving welterweights Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and / or Paul Williams.
- Manny is the unquestioned battle-scarred veteran. His seek-and-destroy attacks leave opportunity and openings for a gifted athlete / boxer. -
Perfectionism
In 2008, Floyd retired with a perfect 39-0 record. He has clung to his undefeated status - unwilling to let go. Ego clings - to youth, advantage, prestige. Ego has a lot to lose. He has held tightly to this perfect record at the risk of a diminished stature in boxing's all-time pantheon. At all cost Floyd protects and defends his exceptionalism in the boxing world. He is the defensive boxing master who lives out this strategy. In facing elite opponents, even the best fighters are supposed to lose over the long-run. "Why be like everyone else? I am different. There is an elevated standard no one else can touch. There is nothing left to prove."
This preference jibes with American Exceptionalism - a paradigm regarding America's niche and unusual uniqueness in credo, values, resource and population composite, history and origins, prowess, and destiny. The West dresses omnipotent Stature and Success in such parameters as to allow Floyd to wear its golden robes.
The Hero IS
According to Campbell: The Hero IS. I AM. Not I want to be. Not I am trying. I AM. The best IS Floyd. I AM Floyd. The Exception. No one else. The Exception in the heartland of American Exceptionalism.
Ancient, mystic views of (inferior) man is replaced. Advances, Western might validate the ego as desiring justified ends. "The fact the system works makes it the right system, the correct system, for all." The ancient is bondage for man. Floyd's representation shatters the obsolete.
He holds up a broken mirror for observers. What you find is a shattered tradition. He has violated the accepted the template for all Men: life, death, resurrection / rebirth. I am the exception - there is no loss. There will be no failure. Safety. I am the exception - 39 - 0. No death, no failure. No loss, no rebirth. Not death in the literal sense (of the flesh), but death of the ego resulting in a rebirth of identity. "I have reached a threshold others have not - in the boxing universe, I am the king of kings." In the West, money talks. BS walks. Success and failure is a zero-sum equation.
In a hyper-competitive setting, of which Floyd is a brand / enterprise in the marketplace, you can only push yourself. Pride, ego drives the best to the brink. Apotheosis comes from from flesh reaching a point, a limit, no other competitor has. Apotheosis is born from taxing the flesh and spirit, and effecting supremacy in performance expands the Ego. The results break world feats and world records. The West regards such cultivation as the rational progression of Man reaching his potential.
Comments
oops a typo there.. otherwise part deux comes off as too cranial, too pseudo-literate to be appreciated as a fun and enjoyable boxing article.. half the time I was trying skimming towards the end - the point of all this being? Still, looking forward to the rest of the parts though. cheers
literary approach in sports is quite good.sports fans are not strange to literature. this article yields more sense in today's realities of the boxing world.go ahead marv.
don't ever dream of pacquiao-mayweather jr fight, because pacquiao will give mayweather a good fight by chasing him and mayweather will not give manny a goog fight by running and this is not fair. mayweather is never a pound for pound king for me. have mayweather fight joan guzman and it will turn out to be a boring fight.
because these two fighters have the same styles (afraid to get hit). now you know....
Come out Floyd and fight Pacman... Dont hide from your mother's dress
floyd makes a lot of excuses for not going back to the ring. fearful of not tarnishing his 39-0 record. records mean nothing when fears overcome the owner. what counts is the brave heart fearing no one. floyd makes his own ghost.
I like it! Looking forward to the rest...
gayweather will surely be done after pac attack him with series of combinations to the body and ultimately, launching the jaw breaking lefthook to the chin....its over!
genius. so floyd is not a winner after all, eh!
not as great as the first one. this part now sounds more of a "trying hard to associate" with the materialistic consumerist idea of the world. the first one associated the sport and boxers and metaphors fit right in. but this one, it sounds like the author is reviewing a capitalist generated marketplace and trying to fit the sport and the boxer where it may be. to the author, the plot and story line, as well as the metaphorical citations of the first part is good enough to be great. you dont need to saturate this with metaphors for it will clutter the greater idea flow of the work. anyway, just my opinion. and by the way, did the last one said there will only four parts?? why is it seven now? is this also an example of demand-driven manipulation of supply to maximize profitable ends or gains? bottom line, the first part is better and its idea and format should be followed. and deliver it in four parts as previously stated. ill stay in watch.. :)
mayweather's defense on ropes is an advantage for pacman's lefthook!
i agree with you,peter.i liked the first one.this time around, i have to pick up my brain down my pants,i have to stop and try to figure out the metaphor of all this.i admit that literature isn't my forte but i know i'm not dumb not to understand literature.this case was just too much for me..nosebleed! hehe! anyway, still kudos to you, marv! still did a great job.will wait for the next part(maybe the next part would say 3rd of 10 then 4th of 13 and so on....).. keep it up!
yall haters quit hatin on floyd. he's the best out there. no one can stop him. lets be realistic. boxing is brutal and it all comes down to talent and how you can destroy your opponent. he will beat down pac boy. for reals
yall haters quit hatin on floyd. he's the best out there. no one can stop him. lets be realistic. boxing is brutal and it all comes down to talent and how you can destroy your opponent. he will beat down pac boy. for reals
cotto? he's not worthy? he lost to margarito! margarito? he's no tijuana tornado...he;'s tijuana cheater. paul williams? he's too tall for mayweather, he's a natural middle weight. no worthy opponent.
cotto? he's not worthy? he lost to margarito! margarito? he's no tijuana tornado...he;'s tijuana cheater. paul williams? he's too tall for mayweather, he's a natural middle weight. no worthy opponent.
He's gay... lol. He runs away too much. When he fought DLH he was just dodging around. what a gay fighter
pretty money is gay too...
but he wins over and over again, you cant argue with results. u can only hate
floyd is the biggest cherry picker of all time..the reason why he lost? he avoided the biggest risks of his career..
cherry pick, he beat several world champions
Mayweather is a good fighter but not an interesting fighter. The way he fights does not give the boxing fans excitement.
39-0 record does not amazed me.it does not make the best boxer in the world.best fighter cannot figure out by just winning a fight.its all about performance in the ring no matter if you win or lose as long as you give the world an exciting fight unlike mayweather's fight, so boring,cunning fighter.by the way floyd is so gay in his pink gloves.he should be called boxing queen!
Mayweather is a good fighter but not an interesting fighter. The way he fights does not give the boxing fans excitement.
pink is the new red
Wow pink gloves! I like you baby.. please join our club.. F-I-G-H-T Club FIghting Gay, Hot while on Top. Hehehe
Avoiding the easy... and cheap, shots at Floyd, such as the pink gloves and what not, let's quickly analyze his resume. He "retires" from the welterweights because he says that he has nothing left to prove. What naturally big welterweight did he take on while he was there? None whatsoever. Instead he decides to take on blown up jr. welterweights... and when he was at jr. welter he avoided the stronger foes such as Tzsyu and basically Cotto twice both in jr. welter and welter. He would say that such opponents were not in his league, what... now he was a boxing analyst too?! His job is to train and fight, not weigh other boxers. He was a spoiled brat that was given the freedom to claim that he was the "pound4pound" best in the world. An undefeated fighter such as himself taking on the likes of Carlos Baldomir, the "average joe" champ of the welters at that time. Then he took on Judah... guess what, Judah made him touch the canvas with his glove, but Kenny Bayless waved it off as a slip, then the inevitable happened, Zab went into meltdown mode. In the meantime, true welterwieghts waited in the shadows: Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito and Kermit Cintron. Let me remind all of those who mention height as a factor for Floyd avoiding these fighters, Manny took on a much taller and larger DelaHoya and look what happened. Floyd avoided these fighters because he was scared of losing, worse to someone like Margarito and Cintron who already had losses on their records, Williams at the time was undefeated. Paul's only loss came at the hands of Quintana, a strong and cagey lefty, but look at what Paul did to him in the rematch. I could keep on but I would wind up writing a column. Let us look at the example of Cotto, who was roaring through the welters until he ran into the big welter. Unless you are Mosley, another battle tested warrior like Paquiao, do you dare take on the big boys and pound them into submission. Why doesn't Floyd come back and try to take away Mosley's title? Floyd should stay retired, boxing doesn't need him and it's doing just great without him. Ignore him, eventually he will go away. Floyd's been weighed.
Pacquaio will TKO mayweather
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