Floyd Mayweather was instantly criticized for pricing himself out of big fights after dismantling veteran
On this day in 2005, Floyd Mayweather faced criticism before he went on to do exactly what he had said.
Mayweather could be returning to the ring to face Manny Pacquiao in a rematch to secure another huge payday before hanging his gloves up for good.
While ‘Money’ competed against some all-time greats in his career, he was still criticized for the way that his career played out.
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There were questions as to whether Mayweather avoided certain fighters altogether or waited until the odds were in his favor before taking on significant challenges.
This became a talking point after he stepped in the ring with a veteran that he beat in convincing fashion despite being linked with some big names.
Floyd Mayweather fought Sharmba Mitchell in 2005 after being linked with huge fights
Long before Floyd Mayweather would make fortunes in one-sided exhibition bouts, he made it look easy when stepping in the ring on November 19 of 2005.
The 34-0 fighter had been linked to bouts with the likes of Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, and Antonio Margarito but didn’t face off with any of them at this stage.
Instead, he received criticism for taking on 35-year-old veteran Sharmba Mitchell, who he dispatched in six rounds in unsurprising fashion.
Immediately after the bout, HBO’s Larry Merchant questioned whether Mayweather’s demands were preventing him from competing against other top names.
“I know you say this but it appears that when you get below that, what you’re saying is, ‘I’ll fight him if I get 2/3 or 3/4 of the money and they’re not going to give you that,” Merchant said in the post-fight interview.”
“I’m not here to talk about money,” Mayweather responded. “I’m here to talk about fighting the best guys out there and right now, Zab is a good fighter. That’s a good fight for me. ‘Winky’ Wright is a good fight for me. There’s a lot of big names. Oscar De La Hoya this summer. So there’s a lot of fights out there.”
As Mayweather left the ring, Merchant went on to summarize what had just taken place.
“Just a final thought, Floyd’s probably going to have to come down a little bit in his expectations of what it’s going to take to make some of those fights. He does want the money as well as the fights and that ain’t going to work.”
Floyd Mayweather’s potential drawback is what made him the most financially successful boxer of all time
While he never did fight Ronald Wright or Antonio Margarito, Mayweather did go on to tick the other names off his list in the coming years.
His very next outing came against Zab Judah before he went on to beat Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in 2007, Shane Moseley in 2010, and Miguel Cotto in 2012.
By the time that he’d beaten a few of those names, Mayweather pricing himself out of big matchups was no longer considered to be an issue because he often held more bargaining power, meaning he could make financial demands.
The approach that could have hindered his career ended up being the reason why he’s earned more money from boxing than any other fighter.
