Opinion: Did Mayweather Call Pacquiao 'Ethnic Minority and an Amateur'?

Floyd Mayweather jr has again grabbed the sports pages in the Internet for having issued statements that are considered by some boxing fans as racial assault on the person of Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao on his recent victory over Joshua Clottey.

Sports pages in the Internet are loaded with latest statements from Floyd Mayweather, Jr. calling Manny Pacquiao, among others, 'an amateur', 'one-dimensional fighter' and and 'ethnic minority' in the Philippines.

If these statements are true and came from Mayweather jr himself, they were indeed loaded statements coming from a professional boxer who claims be righteous with his proposal to help clean up the sports with his own blood-testing protocol for all boxers to go through before they are issued a license to fight. Here are some of the statements allegedly uttered by Mayweather jr as contained in the report by Abac Cordero of Philippine Star:

Mayweather liked what he saw in the sense that Pacquiao, according to the ex-pound-for-pound champion, was exposed on that cold night as being a “one-dimensional fighter” who he also described as “an amateur.”

In the quoted statement, Mayweather was clearly criticizing Pacquiao's boxing prowess which he is entitled to although it seems unethical for a professional sports figure like him to say. In another statement quoted below, Mayweather was clearly attacking Pacquiao as being an ethnic minority from the Philippines which may not true. Pacquiao came from a poor family in southern Philippines but was not reported to belong to an ethnic minority group.

“Let’s not forget who generated a revenue of $2.5 million in one fight alone. The only reason why he’s popular is because he’s an ethnic minority and from the Philippines so it’s something special. If he was from Africa he would be just another boxer,” he said

Boxing fans say that the alleged 'ethnic' statements is a racial assault on the person of the Filipino boxer. It may be recalled that Mayweather jr was also reported to have issued statements that tends to discriminate against Filipinos particularly members of Philippine media during a press conference to promote his upcoming fight with Shane Mosley.

Apparently Mayweather issues statements that are intended to generate a high degree of awareness for his upcoming fight with Shane Mosley but in the process he seems to be unmindful of the repercussions that his statements will bring.

If it is indeed true that Mayweather actually said in the quoted statements, he deserves to be junked by boxing fans to remind him of his role as a professional boxer and a role model. But if he is misquoted in the latest news reports, he should clarify the published statements with full media coverage in order to clear up the issues and his name.

(original article appeared @ Digital Journal )