Ep. 2 of “Inside Mayweather/Pacquiao” Has Floyd Showing Sides

Fight fans, and the merely curious, were given entrance into some of the world of Floyd Mayweather, as Showtime put out their second episode of “Inside MayPac”, and no surprise, Floyd stirred the pot and put out there his “Money” persona, for your perusal and appraisal.

Folks close to him say the persona and the attendant sound-bites are a bit of a put-on, utilized to help sell tix. Seems to have worked, as he will come away with enough money to buy a two percent stake in a major league baseball franchise for services rendered on May 2.

Floyd tells us, when asked why he fights, that he does it for himself…and but of course, for money. For legacy, also, because he wants to be the best, because he wants to go down as history “as one of the best.”

Ah yes, Tuesday he says he’s TBE..and then Thursday he says he wants to be known as “one of the best.” No, the man isn’t the picture of certainty and solidity when it comes to consistency of message, but that is part of what makes him compelling..or at least debate-worthy, I suppose.

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We hear Manny say he like seeing the underdog, and then that this is not personal, but business. Hey, at least the production team admits it, so copious points for honesty. This is the age we live in, this is the undeniable truth of this event, that it is AB, about business, most of all, and but of course, for many purists, that is a saddening acknowledgment.

No, I’m not sure if it’s a line, like a pro wrasslin promo, when he says, “Money isn’t everything, money is the only thing.” Or when he says he’d rather be hated for being “real,” rather than being fake. I’m not sure he knows the line, or if it’s been blurred beyond recognition…or even if there is a line.

Team Mayweather celeb David Hasselhoff tells us why he thinks this fight is big, and I picture that video of him eating a burger, blitzed out of his gourd…

We see the mass of people at Mayweather media day and both boxers talk up the immensity of the clash. We hear snippets from each boxer, from trainer Freddie Roach, and compare and contrast how they see the clash, and life.

Vegas is a boxing town, we are told, and Floyd says he came to Vegas as a teen. He got $25,000 for his first pro tangle, in 1996. Showtimes’ Al Bernstein talks about Floyd’s debut, when he was called “Pretty Boy.” He ditched that nickname and re-invented himself, and willingly wore the black hat, and embraced the wardrobe change, at least from the effectiveness of that way of being conjuring interest.

“I feel like in 96, I was crawling, and now I’m running,” 2015 “Money” says.

We see MM in the gym, he trains up to six hours a day, throws like 10,000 punches in the sessions. Quite the well tuned robo-person and it’s amazing he has been so durable.

Then we see him brag to gym-folks, tells them that he works hard and that’s why he makes so much money.

We see David Levi, a Money Team worker, and the 38-year-old hitter hits a cryogenic chamber, to heal better and faster, we are told. Man, I miss the reefer rolling sessions we used to get in these promo videos, lol….

Floyd begs to be let out, says he’s frozen. “Let me out,” he says, but hangs in there.

His endurance is the main component of greatness, the narrator tells us. Debate among yourself what role genes play, as a building block…

Floyd shows his softer side, talking about Don Hale and his wife, who helped looked after him when dad did time. Roger couldn’t handle Floyd, so Hill, for two years he lived with the family from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Floyd said he looked up to Hale, and wanted the sort of house Hale had. He said he appreciates what Hale did.

Nate Jones also looked up to Hale. Jones tells us, at 21, he got out of jail. He fought in the amateurs, went to the Olympics, won bronze, and then his career didn’t take off like Floyd’s. He retired in 2001, and he got depressed. He didn’t want to sell dope or do stickups, and was happy when Floyd called him to work with and for him. “As long as he’s my friend, he will always be OK,” Money says. Softer side, he does have…

Back to the Strip…the lights…Money runs, and tells us he believes he is “one of the chosen ones.” OK, back to that other side of the man..

“If the persona is part artifice,” the narrator considers….and we see friends, and family, and then the hitter says he sees family during the fight. Softer side alert…

Pacman came from squalor, and enjoys a level of adoration that must seem infuriating to people with narcissistic tendencies who exist to have their false selves fed with compliments, who need that approval and acknowledgment of omnipotence to sustain them, and fend off that little voice that pops up now and again, which tells them that false self doesn’t fool anyone, probably, and the world knows what they really are, frauds…

The compare and contrast exercises in the buildup have been constant and will continue to be as we look to Saturday, when Floyd will either enjoy the signature win of his career…or will be in for the most rude of awakenings, when his armor of confidence is pierced, and he tastes defeat, and he is forced to adapt to a truth that could be explained or ameliorated, but not denied.

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