By adopting this brash, cocky, pantomime villain persona, he may well have got many more PPV buys than his style could have sold on its own, but I believe he has also made people reluctant to acknowledge his brilliance. The reason, I believe, that he has had so many PPV buys is people tuning in hoping to see him get beaten i.e. vs De La Hoya and Hatton. I think now that Manny Pacquiao has ripped through both his last two opponents with a great deal more ease then Mayweather did, he feels his greatness in the minds of the fans has been tarnished, hence why he has returned. Do you think that his attitude will make it harder for him to remembered as one of the greatest of all time, which is what he so dearly wants? Don't get me wrong, I think on skill alone he deserves to be remembered as one of the greats.
It won't matter in the long run what he says now. There are fighters who have done some seriously bad **** and are revered years later as fighters. Floyd just talks to promote which he's brilliant at. It won't take anything away from his career. History shows us this.
yeah a lot of bad dudes who've done way worse than floyd have gotten accolades later on when their careers are done. Monzon for example.
i disagree. By claiming "I'm the best" every 5 seconds, you have alot of people who say that they don't like Floyd's personality but they acknowledge that he is one of the very best fighters ever. If you repeat something often enough eventually people will start believing it, wether its true or not, and thats what has happened with Floyd.
Mayweather didn't return because of Manny's success, he returned because he was always going to return. Besides, the JMM fight was arranged before Pac/Hatton. As for persona and legacy, no, the persona won't affect the legacy in any long term sense. Clearly, Floyd's resume will be the question that nags that. He still has time to clear that up to a large degree, but if he doesn't that will be the single debating factor in how he's ranked.
i would say if you repeat something often enough (like "you're the best") then people expect him to prove it too.
floyd is a smart business man he is the most talked about active boxer, he dnt care love him or hate him... As long as you buy his next PPV..
Really... and how did you know that? Mayweather returned because he needs money. He'll fight and fight to get money and duck Pacquiao because he is ONE of the biggest threat for his career. If he loses badly to Pacquiao, his maketability is surely decline and he will probably retire.
i got to agree with DJM, floyd was always going to return. i said that from the get go and floyd will get beaten before he hangs them up - which could be a few years away. floyd's ego and him missing the limelight will demand it. it's common (and understandable) that a lot of fighters keep fighting past their expiry date, and that's exactly what floyd's going to do.
i agree with the original poster....I think Floyd may have come back to show he can still beat the best...to do that he does have to fight Pac and hopefully a MOSLEY/COTTO 2 WINNER!
Didn't he announce his comeback before the Pacman-Hatton fight? Either way I agree that he's returned in an attempt to secure his place at the top of the P4P list. Money talks but Floyds like any other top class fighter, respect and legacy is important and I think his pride will have been hurt at what to him probably seemed like he'd been forgotton after the rise of Pacquiao.
The reason he got so many PPV buys for those fights are because he was facing Hatton and DLH. Those 2 guys are like the biggest draws possible and their fans were buying. Pac-PBF will get insane numbers as well regardless of what pbf does cause pac is the draw.
I believe legacy was far down his list of priorities for his comeback. When he retired in 2007 he said something like "I went from the ring to wallstreet". Well a few months later Wallstreet crashed. Then we start hearing things about the IRS and all that... And we know Floyd spends alot of money as well. Also, Floyd has often said he fights for the checks, not to prove that he's the best. So when you do the math, I think Floyd's bank account took a massive hit after he retired, and now he's back to fill it up.