Floyd Mayweather talks to troops
Floyd Mayweather was the first well-known athlete to stand by and support Israel. While his peers carefully chose their words, he wrote a post showing his unequivocal support. On Sunday, his private plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport carrying military equipment he purchased for IDF soldiers.
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When 46-year-old Mayweather wants to make a point, he does so in a grandiose fashion. If he's into luxury cars, he'll buy a hundred of them. He also owns a gold chain that weighs two and a half kilos. (5.5 lbs) So, it's clear that if he's supporting Israel, It makes sense to him to send his private jet full of military equipment.
Mayweather’s close connection with Israel began last year, when the former professional boxer made a surprise visit. He went to the Western Wall and strolled through the city's Machane Yehuda Market. The image he posted in support of Israel on social media was one from that visit and he later posted another message showing his support.
But Floyd also takes action for what he believes in. his private plane arrived a week and a day after the war with Hamas began, while athletes in his position often think twice before expressing their opinion on any issue.
Mayweather’s childhood was a nomadic one, moving between Michigan and New Jersey, staying with extended family, and seeking a warm bed to sleep in at night. "Sometimes, seven or eight of us would sleep in a small room without electricity or heating in winter," he once shared.
Even though his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., was a fairly successful boxer in his day and lost to Sugar Ray Leonard, he couldn't provide properly for his family. He had been mixed up with the wrong people and was a present but troubled figure in Floyd Jr.'s life.
When his father was around, he "would beat me with a belt or an extension cord," Mayweather recounted in 2013. "He would hit me over anything; I would never beat my children the way he beat me," he said. His mother wasn't around to protect him because she was struggling with drug addiction. Mayweather Jr. and Sr. had a lot of ups and downs in their relationship. The boxer even hired and fired his father as his trainer multiple times.
With victory after victory, Mayweather had an uninterrupted streak, with a perfect record of 50:0 wins in his career. This is an unprecedented record, the kind that should have made him the greatest boxer of all time, greater than Muhammad Ali, better than Sugar Ray Robinson, Jack Dempsey, or Joe Louis. But that didn't happen.
"To fight him is like fighting the wind," one of his opponents once said. Mayweather's boxing style was highly defensive and often described as boring. The problem for his opponents was that it always worked for him. "I don't care if people watch the fights just to see me lose," he said. "As long as they pay to see me."
And pay they did. According to Forbes, Mayweather is the first boxer in history to reach a billion-dollar net worth. The world paid hundreds of millions to see Mayweather evade the punches of fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez. The boxer managed to escape his opponents time and time again, making them chase after him until they gave in, exhausted.
Mayweather finally retired after defeating Conor McGregor in what was called the “Fight of the Century." Even though McGregor stood no chance of beating him, Mayweather managed to make everyone believe he could. He walked away with $100 million before hanging up his boxing gloves for good.