Outspoken: Why HBO and Michael Eric Dyson failed on its intentions of presenting a different side of Floyd Mayweather
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 27 Apr 2012
Floyd Mayweather Jr. opened his one-on-one interview with acclaimed author and Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson with the words, "I am outspoken. And I think because I'm spoken. I'm judged." He is right. He does not only lay it on the line in the boxing ring where he is known as one of it's best athlete but is equally recognized off the ring because of his candor. His statements and actions of late invite controversy and criticism. Which make s me wonder, if these are of his intentions or is just plainly what he is.
And so last Saturday, I intently watched the 26 minute HBO special of the undefeated champion open up to the academically gifted Dyson in hopes of learning more of the controversial athlete. Maybe, Professor Dyson will see through Mr. Mayweather's flashy image and garish words and in turn present him to us in a way where we can understand the man beyond the image that he intentionally or unintentionally projects.
Dyson and HBO had the right questions. They touched on his past, his dysfunctional life as a youth devoid of a father figure. They present us his economic and social struggles in New Jersey and Grand Rapids, Michigan as he grew up. Topics that both lay the groundwork for the viewers to understand him and also for them to relate to him. A rationalization that even the judge in his domestic assault case thought of as one of the reasons for his behavior pertaining to the case.
But the pros of the show end there. Because just like in the network's 24/7 series, they let Mayweather took over the show.
Dyson was reduced as a yes guy, never wanting to ask secondary questions or delve further on topics that require more than the usual Mayweather answers that we grow accustomed at. Mayweather talked and talked and Dyson listened. The show felt like a psychologist letting his patient vent out whatever feelings he has harbored inside. It's not exactly, the combination that would work when you are looking for something other than the ordinary interview the boxer doles out to promote his fights.
I was not looking for Dyson to touch on the sensitive issue of Mayweather's personal and family life. But certain subjects that Mr. Mayweather spoke of required a little bit more inquisition from a very intelligent man like Professor Dyson. When the boxer compared himself to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King because he like them would be spending time in jail. Dyson, who authored numerous books about Malcolm X and King should have done more than nod in approval and utter "Right." Dyson should have explained to Mayweather that King went to jail because of his noble stand for civil rights and not because he was convicted of a crime like Mayweather. He might have offended him by doing so, but at least he is setting the record straight. There is no similarity between him and King's situation, none at all.
When Dyson delved on the sensitive issue of racism which Mayweather has been in bad light recently because of his insensitive comments against Jeremy Lin. Dyson let Mayweather once again rationalize his controversial "tweets" about Lin. Once again, he just nodded and uttered "Right." He never mentioned the boxer's previous racially motivated rant on Ustream about Manny Pacquiao and his race. That maybe, the "Lin tweets" wasn't just an isolated case of racial insensitivity. Dyson could have him explained why he did it and maybe in the process make him realize that you can never be too straightforward about topics of race and color.
Mayweather has always been vocal of his "greatness", because of his achievements in the ring. And when the subject of Muhammad Ali, who is considered "The Greatest" boxer who ever lived came about. Mayweather cannot stop himself putting in Ali's level. "I know that me and Ali, right now, we would sit down and have a crazy conversation. He would say, Floyd, you know. I'm better than you because I did this. I would say, Well you know Ali, I'm better than you because of how many weight classes I went to," Mayweather said.
This to the amusement of Dyson. Mayweather then added "I feel like I'm in the same shoes like Ali." No Mr. Mayweather, you are not in the same shoes as Muhammad Ali. You may have won more weight classes, more belts and may have made more money than Ali but you do not come close to what he has achieved. Ali is beyond boxing and he is the American icon that he is now not primarily because of his achievements in the sport but because of the causes he championed for. He stood against the evils of war. He stood for his race. He stood for his religion. He does not go around the country clubbing and raining money on fascinated onlookers. He does not burn a 100 dollar bill in the midst of an economic depression. He was sentenced to jail because of draft evasion, refusing to go to Vietnam to be a part of a war he doesn't believe in. And unlike Mayweather who will begin his 90 day sentence in June, Ali never spent time for his conviction which was latter overturned. Ali did make controversial statements about race in the past, but he has since retracted it and corrected himself. Maybe, one day Mayweather will do the same.
And when Dyson talked of his ongoing defamation suit which was filed by his rival Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather downplayed it as mere "Trash talking." Dyson should have known the cause of Pacquiao's defamation suit against the man he is interviewing. That it is not merely trash talking as he says it is. That he accused a man of cheating in front of the world without him having any proof of it. That he insinuated that Pacquiao's successes in the ring is because of him using steroids and not of hardwork and dedication to his craft. These are very serious accusations, hence the lawsuit which is ongoing right now. Dyson, either lacked the preparation for this interview or just plainly rode the script he was given to by the show.
And as the interview winds down, the feeling that this show is not what I hoped it'll be clearly validated that feeling. It is what I'm afraid what it'll be in the beginning, a mere promotional stunt to generate interest on his May 5th bout with Miguel Cotto. It did not present me a different side of Mayweather that I so desperately want to find out. That despite all the bravado, the image and the controversies that surround him. I was hoping that Dyson and HBO can shed him in a different light. One that can make me understand why he does the things that he does or says the things that he says. Mayweather said in the interview that "I don't think that no one will understand me." Sadly, this show did nothing to reverse that, despite its intentions to.
Mayweather is still a puzzle of a character to me. Flashy yet at times tasteless. Confidence that borders delusion of grandeur. Articulate yet misrepresented and misunderstood. Fascinating to watch on and off the ring yet at times you wished he did not do the things he just did or have uttered the words he just said. And nothing in this 26 minute one-on-one interview changed that. In fact, it only will add to the negative perception he suffers in the public eye. Maybe, that is what HBO intended it to be anyway. Because, no one sells the role of a villain like Floyd Mayweather. And why mess up with a winning formula right?
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for reactions to this piece.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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