Home

Boxing

The Force That Drove Floyd Mayweather to Be Who and Where He Is

Published 06/13/2022, 1:30 PM EDT

Follow Us

via Getty

A dream has come true. Floyd Mayweather, 45, is now officially a Hall of Famer under the International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2021-22. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, “Sugar” Ray Robinson, Roberto Durán, Mike Tyson, and now finally ‘Money.’ At only ten years of age, Mayweather made his amateur debut. And today, it is over three decades since the lad out of the ghettos of Grand Rapids has been hustling.

A few things are time and time again reiterated in a discussion concerning ‘Money.’ His unbeaten professional record, an unparalleled work ethic, insane PPV numbers, and an irreplaceable contribution to the exposure of the sport. However, for most, what stands out is his lavish life and extravagant way of living.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

What determines the consciousness of Mayweather Jr.?

From the eyes of a sports person, what is spectacular about him is that he is 50-0, officially retired, but still fighting. However, from the eyes of the critique of social science, he is an advocate of capitalism, a motivator of labor, and a construct of several unattractive circumstances faced in life. He calls himself ‘Money,’ and goes by the self-given title of ‘The Best Ever.’ Therefore, the intelligent question at this is: What determines the consciousness of Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather?

via Getty

Watch This Story – Top 5 Best Selling PPV Fights Of Floyd Mayweathers Boxing Career

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Boxing stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Karl Marx once said“It is not consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.” Given his will to compete, earn, and flex; in the light of the above statement, the development of Floyd Mayweather, the boxing wizard, makes quite an ideal study.

Poverty and violence: What drives Floyd Mayweather?

Floyd Mayweather grew up with poverty and violence threatening his life. His father, Mayweather Sr. often got into altercations and nasty fights with his maternal uncle Tony. In one such tragic incident, Mayweather Sr. was even shot. At that time, Floyd was only 2.

via Getty

This is how Mayweather Sr. later recounted the tale, “If you’re going to kill me, you’re going to kill the baby, too,” However, Sinclair. “[Floyd Jr.’s] mother had said, ‘Give me the baby.’ She was pulling the baby out of my arms so her brother could shoot me.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“But I would not put that baby down. I didn’t want to die. It wasn’t about putting my son in the line of fire. I knew [Sinclair] wouldn’t shoot the baby. So he took the gun off my face, lowered it to my leg and bam!”

In addition to violence, the Mayweathers dealt with poverty while Floyd was young. According to ‘Money’ himself, once upon a time, they lived in a one-bedroom apartment without water and electricity.

Mayweather is driven by his obstacles

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

To sum it up, under the analysis of Marx, Mayweather’s social being was fraught with violence and poverty. However, ‘TBE’ fought back. Instead of crippling Mayweather’s progress, it helped him set a series of goals and get determined to climb.

Because he found himself challenged by poverty and almost always threatened with violence, Mayweather took up boxing at such an early stage in his life. In one way, armored with gloves, he fought anxiety and frustrations, and in another, he tackled and eradicated poverty from his hard-knock life.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Samrat Sardar

1,795Articles

One take at a time

Samrat Sardar is a Boxing writer at EssentiallySports and is currently a final year undergraduate student of English literature. A passionate content creator, he has been writing since his high school days, and possesses work experience as a commercial writer for companies such as WordsKraft among others. Samrat believes he fell in love with boxing the day he watched Vasiliy Lomachenko share the ring with Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Show More>

Edited by:

Ajinkya Aswale