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During a tumultuous week in boxing which saw a number of in-house disputes aired out – from Andre Ward’s promotional dispute with Dan Goossen, to Oscar De La Hoya’s rift with Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, to Kathy Duva of Main Events filing a suit against Al Haymon and Yvon Michel – these were but a primer for the now very public fall-out between Floyd Mayweather (45-0, 26 KO) and his ex-fiancée, Shantel Jackson. Thursday morning, Mayweather unleashed a salvo against Jackson via social media. First, he released an actual image of Jackson’s sonogram on Facebook and Instagram from December 2013 detailing an abortion procedure she underwent. Captioned under the image was this message from Mayweather:

“The real reason me and Shantel Christine Jackson broke up was because she got a abortion, and I’m totally against killing babies. She killed our twin babies. #ShantelJackson #FloydMayweather #TheMoneyTeam #TMT.”

Floyd would later remove the captioned image, only to post new images of a “before & after” photo collage of Jackson highlighting the changes in her appearance before she met Floyd and after, captioned with: “I’m the Indian Giver. I had to pay for this plastic surgery, I want my money back.” This image was also removed, but not before the digital world could screen-shot and virally disseminate throughout the Internet, creating a frenzy of low-culture gossip and vitriol. This bizarre activity followed an odd quote from Mayweather earlier in the week when he referred to shamed Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling as “a great guy.”

Many will say that this is all orchestrated by Mayweather to promote Saturday’s PPV fight against Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KO), which has been largely met with lukewarm enthusiasm from the boxing world because of a perceived mismatch. However, there is likely more to this than simply being another alleged ingenious marketing ploy to crank up PPV numbers. Floyd’s fights do big numbers, regardless of the opponent, and the underbelly of social media that turned this story into a gossiping inferno will likely be watching the event via bootleg stream – negligibly impacting the overall PPV numbers.

Despite the legal implications of wantonly invading Jackson’s privacy by publicizing her privileged medical records, this bizarre activity may signify deeper issues within Floyd Mayweather’s personal sphere; issues that can affect him both in and out of the ring. While Floyd’s training preparation is meticulously consistent – casting little doubt that he is physically prepared to fight – his recent behavior does warrant suspicion into his mental state, and even his spiritual state. While there is no doubt that Mayweather’s career has been managed masterfully from a business standpoint, it can certainly be argued that Mayweather has been deficient in attaining the requisite wisdom that should accompany a man enthroned with his power. As king of the Money Team – Floyd attracts associations with those who crave and are often narrowly focused on money, power, fame, and Instagram likes. Thus, he is surrounded by hundreds of yes-men (and women) who do little to develop Mayweather inter-personally as a human being. Virtually everyone in his inner-circle is around him only because of his magnetic ability to generate record-breaking currency as the world’s highest paid athlete. He considered 50 Cent a “brother” – but in actuality he was just another person masquerading and along for the ride – as long as the money was there. He has had a tumultuous relationship with his father, and the mother of his children, and now Shantel Jackson, who also arguably was around him for one reason only: Money.

At some point along the way, the “Money Mayweather” persona shifted from being merely a promotional tool to sell fights into an integral facet of Floyd’s personality, nearly turning him into a caricature of the persona itself. But where are the trusted counselors within Floyd’s inner-circle who provide an alternative perspective, even if it directly conflicts with Floyd’s behavior? Observing Floyd’s team firsthand and throughout Showtime’s All-Access segments into his personal life, there seemingly exists a considerable amount of disconnect and superficiality. Despite the outwardly pristine, gaudy, and lavish aspects of the Money Team lifestyle appears to exist a deep void; a hole; a disturbance in the force; a soul seeking solace.

Perhaps this will only ignite Floyd within the confines of the squared circle where he does his best work – propelling him to channel the pain and hurt that exists within him to inflict it upon Maidana with the same kind of unrelenting bad intentions as he inflicted upon Shantel Jackson this week when exhibiting the vengeful behavior of a jilted high-school lover. But at 37 years of age and on the brink of accomplishing an unthinkable achievement in modern sports – retiring undefeated – there is no doubt that Floyd’s antics are distractive to a warrior about to enter battle in the theater of the unexpected.

Marcos Maidana may be glaringly outclassed by Floyd’s athletic dynamism and unparalleled mastery of technical boxing science, but any opponent at this level is dangerous, particularly one with the mentality of Maidana. During this week’s highly charged pressers, Maidana basked in the buzz of coliseum culture, drenched in machismo, confidently stating in his native tongue: “I don’t give a f#ck about Floyd Mayweather. I’m going to knock him out.” Such confidence is believable coming from Maidana – who accepted a relatively low purse for the chance to disrespect Mayweather in the manner in which he embarrassed Adrien Broner. He has made his career in out-manning his opponent with grit – and he doesn’t care if you are more skilled, he is coming for war. Floyd is still at the apex of his powers, seemingly impenetrable coming off a staggering one-sided fight where he astoundingly outclassed boxing’s most prized prodigy, Canelo Alvarez. That said, even a three-second lapse of concentration in ring can have devastating consequences, and thus the question must be asked if Mayweather is able to be as focused as he needs to be when his mind is full of sophomoric vengeance just two days before a mega-fight.

While boxing junkies can argue all day about how this may or may not impact the outcome of Saturday’s fight – or whether it’s just distasteful hype to boost PPV buys, the recent Donald Sterling debacle refreshingly reminded us of something we often forget: Some things are bigger than sports, namely human dignity. In Episode 3 of Showtime’s “Mayweather-Maidana All Access” series, a sober and insightful Mayweather reflected on the present cyclone of negativity surrounding him:

“I’ve been meditating like Floyd, You have to stay focused. I’m only human. I wasn’t brought up in a home to where I seen a husband a wife. I didn’t have a stable home, I always had to fend for myself. I never knew about a one-on-one relationship. I’ve done some things that I know I shouldn’t have done, but I know I’m not a bad person and that I can become a better person. I’m ready for change. Only thing I can do is work at it.”

Having already overcome so much in his life to ascend to the top of a brutal and merciless profession with barely a blemish, perhaps it’s time for Floyd to move on to bigger fights in life so that he can become the human being that he and everyone deserves to be: a more whole one. For in just 18 months the bright lights of MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas will no longer illuminate him for the world to see, marveling at the genius classicism that personifies Floyd Mayweather the fighter. Instead, the question will be: can an inner-light within Floyd Mayweather glimmer and grow such that it illuminates Floyd Mayweather the human being.
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