Floyd, is more than just and all-time great fighter. The best in the world as we speak in his late 30's. He is also a great businessman. Back, in 1999 he said 2-3 million was "slave wages" to HBO contract offer for a person of his talent. He said that at 21. Haters, such as we have today called him every offensive name in the book. But, over the years it seems his comments made him more marketable and made him the top/highest paid athlete in the world. Food for thought :deal.
Floyd hands down, had made the smartest business decisions in boxing history which has resulted him earning multiple record breaking purses. Of course let the haters tell it, he should have just stayed with Arum, fought Margarito who isn't even gonna be in the HOF, and continued to make peanuts compared to what he's making.
Hiring Al Haymon was the best decision he could have made. His pockets got bigger but at the expense of his legacy.
Yes, he was great at accusing HBO of racism. Floyd wasn't nearly the draw he is today (no one really knew who he was) yet he garnered a multi-million dollar contract. If anything, they paid him too much money.
PBF was a once in a life time talent even back then.:deal HBO knew this but didn't think his skills would translate to big $$$$.
No denying he has done a great job of promoting himself. He really embraced the whole villain persona and his brash ways do appeal to those that don't dislike him. Mayweather's notoriety fits in well in an era where celebrity is more prevalent than ever, when being a bad role model like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian who basically got famous for being ****s, can make you a house hold name and idolised my millions. So yes the controversy that has surrounded him ever since he made that "Slave wages" comment has only added to his fame and fortune. It's clear that even bad press is better than no press at all and with Mayweather's behaviour he will always have the media following him, waiting for his next mistake and that just feeds into what he wants and has made him rich beyond most peoples dreams.
To be fair, you can't blame them thinking his talent wouldn't translate into the money Floyd was talking about. Many fighter's of Floyd's style of fighting don't earn massive money. What HBO should be regretting is that they didn't see that Floyd had the persona, and ability to promote that persona world wide, that would translate into huge money.
The thing about that is, 2-3 million dollars wasn't slave wages. It was a fortune, and more than he deserved, because he wasn't a draw at the time, even with his talent. Just because he's managed to make smart business decisions and is the most overpaid athlete in history, doesn't mean that he used to be underpaid.
He said it was slave wages compared to what Prince Naseem Hamed was getting. Still not the best choice of words, but gets blown out of proportion. Hamed was selling more tickets and doing better TV ratings so naturally HBO would pay him more.
He probably learned from that. Hamed was loved by many and hated by many too. He could sell a show like no other and deliver a knockout. Perfect $$$ package.
