Some concede to loving him.
Many more proclaim their loathing.
Nevertheless, in the paraphrased words of former NFL head coach Dennis Green, unbeaten five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains precisely what he says he is.
Money.
Tuesday’s disclosure that Mayweather’s May 2 fight with Manny Pacquiao amassed more than 4.4 million pay-per-view buys puts a diamond-studded cherry atop the must-see sundae that the Las Vegas-based multimillionaire had been carefully crafting since the match first whetted appetites five years ago.
Though the stops and starts that dotted negotiations across half a decade intermittently threatened to fuel a genuine Mayweather backlash, by the time more than 16,000 people filled the MGM Grand for the May 1 weigh-in -- and 16,000 more returned on fight night at 100 times the cost -- validation was his.
The 12 actual rounds in the ring, as it turned out, were merely a mildly violent victory lap.
Not so coincidentally, the most celebratory moment in Showtime’s two-part post-fight epilogue series came when Mayweather -- in the locker room moments after the most high-profile conquest of a 19-year pro career -- was presented not with an emerald-encrusted title belt, but with a $100 million check.
Make no mistake. He’s an old-school fighter, with a new-school retirement plan.
“Floyd fights for Floyd,” he said. “Because when my career’s long gone, the people and the critics and the fans are going to move onto the next one. My kids can’t eat an undefeated record.”
The record PPV number with Pacquiao means Mayweather has been a part of -- and, incidentally, won -- each of the three most-purchased fights in boxing history.
His May 2007 fight with Oscar De La Hoya drew the previous high watermark of 2.48 million buys, while a September 2013 defeat of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez had been second-best with 2.2 million.
With more than $400 million in domestic PPV revenue, it nearly tripled the $150 million generated by the Alvarez fight, its live gate receipts of more than $71 million dwarfed the Mayweather-Alvarez record of $20 million and it set new marks for closed-circuit admissions/revenue in Las Vegas and nationwide.
And looking forward, he insists only one chance remains to raise the bar further.
Mayweather insisted after the fight, at the post-fight press conference and throughout Showtime’s subsequent behind-the-scenes footage that he’ll return for just one more work night in September before retiring with what he anticipates will be a perfect professional record of 49-0.
And, he said, neither the lure of breaking a would-be tie with Rocky Marciano (who retired at 49-0 in 1955), nor the prospect of another showdown with Pacquiao -- who suggested a non-disclosed torn right rotator cuff negatively impacted his fight-night performance -- would alter his future thinking.
Interestingly, the epilogue showed Mayweather filling out pre-fight medical forms, including one where he was instructed to disclose any injury that would be cause for major concern. Pacquiao’s camp failed to answer “yes” regarding the shoulder issue, which was the basis -- according to the Nevada Athletic Commission -- for him being denied an anti-inflammatory shot in the locker room before the fight.
Clearly, though, Mayweather now considers it all a moot point.
“If we fight a hundred times, I’m going to win a hundred times. He’s not a better fighter than me,” he said. “There’s a difference between a great fighter and TBE (The Best Ever), and I proved that I’m the best. I worked my whole life to get to this point, and no one is taking this away from me.”
Weekend Watch List
ESPN2 -- Friday 9 p.m.
Monty Meza-Clay vs. Reynaldo Ojeda -- 10 rounds, lightweight
Luis Rosa vs. Jonathan Perez -- 8 rounds, junior featherweights
TruTV -- Friday, 10 p.m.
Jose Benavidez vs. Jorge Paez Jr. -- 12 rounds, junior welterweights
Antonio Orozco vs. Emmanuel Taylor -- 10 rounds, lightweights
HBO -- Saturday, 10 p.m.
Gennady Golovkin vs. Willie Monroe Jr. -- IBO/WBA middleweight titles
Roman Gonzalez vs. Edgar Sosa -- WBC flyweight title
