By Vitali Shaposhnikov: Right now, the expression ‘put you money where you mouth is,’ belongs to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Saying that Mayweather Jr. is confident is a gross understatement, as according to numerous reports, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is willing to bet Oscar De La Hoya and Victor Ortiz $2.5 million a piece on their upcoming fight.
Mayweather. Jr. makes his willingness to bet public, with an offensive jab as Oscar’s recent life troubles: “If Victor Ortiz believes in himself and Oscar De La Hoya believes in Victor Ortiz, I bet ‘em both $2.5m a piece,’ said Mayweather as he took a break from the heavy bag. ‘I got $2.5m to Oscar; then he can buy more product because he got vices. Then we got Victor Ortiz, I seen him in Victoria Secrets outfits, so how we can handle this is this; you know your payday is $2.5m Victor, so you go and bet your $2.5m and Oscar is going to put $2.5m on it. So I got a $5m bet right now.” (http://www.boxingfutures.com/news/0907-floyd-mayweather-media-workout-pictures)
People always find bad things to say about Floyd, and so can I, but when it comes to real entertainment and backing up his confidence with actions, he is definitely the biggest diamond out there.
Would he really go through with this bet if both Ortiz and De La Hoya agreed? Of course he would. Floyd has never felt deprived of confidence and self esteem, and for good reasons. People always find ways to look past Floyd’s achievements and his upcoming fights, as if expecting him to win no matter what. This alone is a big deal, indicating the amount of respect the fan base has acquired for Floyd over the years. Of all the boxing fans out there, the majority agrees that Mayweather Jr. is indeed the best out there, and is a tremendous fighter with no fear as part of his personality. All except for one group: Manny Pacquiao fans. They are the only ones who find a way to propose Floyd’s career in a negative light, with speculation of fear and exposure of is personal life as an indicator of his boxing legacy.