No rest for Mayweather until he fights Pacquiao -- Examiner

By Scott Heritage, Examiner.com

As if Floyd Mayweather isn't having enough of a rough time of it lately, it now appears that even a peaceful shopping trip surrounded by his entourage and team of enormous bodyguards is beyond him.

Out and about on New Year's day Mayweather faced chants of "Pacquiao, Pacquiao!" from several fans, and even taunts about his height, something he not so long ago mocked Pacquiao for.

Keeping his composure and going about his business, Mayweather didn't outwardly seem to be that bothered, but judging from his recent outbursts, from his profanity laced racial tirade on Ustream to his recent berating of a security guard outside his mansion with little provocation, the lack of respect he gets from fans is getting to him.

Mayweather likes to think himself an untouchable figure to both opponents in the ring and the growing number of fans opposed to either his antics or lack of activity. Indeed one of his favorite comebacks to interviewers who ask about the people who want to see him lose is usually something along the lines of not caring what people say so long as they are all talking about him.

But paradoxically often he seems to crave the adulation heaped upon his rivals and seems to believe rightly or wrongly that he should be celebrated for his past achievements instead of being harangued for his recent underachieving.

The chanting might only have been down to a few Pacquiao fans on this occasion, but in all honesty, there aren't many places Floyd could go even in the United States without at least one or two these days, and until he addresses his future plans this is probably what Mayweather can look forward to whenever he goes out in public.

Should he announce either his next fight, retirement, or intention to fight Pacquiao after the Filipino takes on Shane Mosley, the fans would probably give him a break. If not at the very least he would have a riposte, something to counteract the accusations of him ducking the best competition and protecting his perfect 41-0 record.

The fact that Pacquiao is once again taking on a former opponent of his that he beat easily should be all the motivation he needs to start firing off quotes to the media and laying the groundwork for a fight later this year, and would have been just a few years ago.

Equally, if he were to take on and beat Pacquiao as the bookmakers still favor he would, even those repulsed by his mercurial personality would respect his skills and never question his mettle again. Likewise few would begrudge him a few easy paydays to end his career should he take on Pacquiao win or lose.

Of course, even if he does want to fight Pacquiao at some point, for the time being Mayweather can't really fight anyone. With a court case pending over alleged domestic abuse and ludicrous incidents happening almost by the week, Mayweather might eventually find himself unable to ever fight again.

Until he addresses some of the questions surrounding him though, fans chanting the name of his biggest rival to him is to be expected, as are the regular appearances in TMZ reports and brushes with the Las Vegas police department.

Tim George, Pitt: "Not surprising he does all this stupid stuff when he gets abuse from fans whenever he leaves the house. if he just took the fight it would stop, and most experts think he would win anyway"

Franz Peterson, Las Vegas: "Floyd only bullies people if they're alone, he's known for it around here. He wouldn't do anything in public because he can't outnumber people"

Source: examiner.com