Mayweather versus that ‘little fella’ Pacquiao

SAN FRANCISCO—Now, he says he wants to fight.

And in a jaw-dropping display of arrogance, Floyd Mayweather even set a date and place for the much-awaited showdown with Manny Pacquiao.

There’s just one little detail his team left out – they didn’t bother to tell the Pacman.

And, in yet another proof of how classless Team Mayweather really is, his adviser Leonard Ellerbe told ESPN.com, “We’re looking to make the biggest fight possible and everyone knows what that fight is — the little fella.”

“Little fella?” Sounds so much like the way white racists in the U.S. would call an African American man “boy.”

Then again, it’s not all that surprising coming from a member of Team Mayweather.

After all, Mayweather himself was caught on video last year launching on a racist rant against the Filipino champion.

Mayweather bragged that he was “going to cook that little yellow chump,” adding that he would “make that mother-(bleeper) make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice.”

The latest Mayweather assault was clearly meant to throw Pacquiao off as he gears up for his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

But it’s not going to work.

For one thing, Mayweather simply doesn’t get it. Pacquiao is undoubted the greatest boxer in the world today. But, unlike him, Pacquiao’s not obsessed with winning.

That’s been Mayweather’s big problem.

Sure, he’s an undefeated champion. But nobody truly cares about that. Unfortunately, Mayweather got caught in a trap: He came to believe that to remain a winner, he has to keep winning his fights — even if it means avoiding those that he knows he’d surely lose.

And that obviously is why he can’t and won’t face Pacquiao.

On the other hand, for Pacquiao, losing is not that really a big deal. He’s lost before. He’s already achieved greatness in boxing. And he’s already eyeing other arenas.

Many of us are not that crazy about the Pacman’s nascent political career. But he’s done so much for Filipinos, we’re willing to give him more time to hone his political skills.

Meanwhile, Mayweather has only fighting career, his undefeated record, and his twisted view of his place in the world of boxing.

His racist assaults and his adviser’s classless remark only prove that, while Mayweather is certainly a major African American athlete today, he definitely is not a figure one would put in the same class as other great African American sports heroes, such as Muhammad Ali or John Carlos.

Ali was a great champion, as well as a Civil Rights hero. Carlos was the American Olympic track and field champion who raised a black-glove fist after he received a bronze for the 200 meters in Mexico City, as a way of protesting the way African Americans and other minorities were being treated in the United States.

Recently, while Mayweather was cooking up his latest cheap stunt, Carlos was making a rare public appearance at the Occupy Wall Street protest against inequality in New York City.

“I am here for you,” Carlos was quoted as saying by USA Today. “Why? Because I am you. We are here 43 years later because the fight is still to be won. We must never stop, for this day is not for us, but it’s for our children.”

Indeed, it’s tough for Floyd.

Here he is trying to convince the world that he is the greatest. But the spotlight is focused squarely on the ‘little fella.’ And despite Mayweather’s insults and attacks, the ‘little fella’ is clearly the most beloved boxing figure out there.

Just ask basketball star Kobe Bryant.

The basketball star even paid Pacquiao a visit during his training. Asked months ago whom he would pick in a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown, the Los Angeles Lakers player was quoted as saying, “I love his tenacity. I love his competitiveness, you know what I mean? So, Manny’s my guy.”

And Manny was even on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

Now how many world boxing champions would sing “How Deep Is Your Love” on American television before a big fight?

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