Of course it's not right.
We know Floyd Mayweather, the undefeated and undisputed king of boxing, is trying to rehab his broken image. He's out of jail on those pesky domestic battery charges, has mended his relationship dad Floyd, Sr. and is showing up at other fights to at least appear to be interested in something other than merely kicking ass and making money.
That being said, the thought of Money Mayweather conducting a two-day clinic in, of all places, Rockwall, Texas just seems a tad preposterous. And it should. Because, despite the blaring headlines and glitzy promotions being put out by
Rockwall Elite Boxing & Sports Performance, Team Mayweather members will be in town for a clinic July 26-27 but the current champ who has a six-fight, $250 million deal with Showtime won't be.
Which was news to a buddy of mine, who was about to plunk down the $475 for his 11-year-old to attend the camp.
"That's a bargain to have my son meet and hang out with Floyd Mayweather!" he gloated.
"Yeah," I reminded, "But does your son know who Floyd Mayweather, Sr. is?"
"Huh?," he said, dumbfounded until we read the fine print.
I'm not saying this is blatant false advertising. But a little sleight-of-hand deception? Absolutely.
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When Rockwall Elite founder/owner Pete Chapa
appeared on 105.3 The Fan with Elf & Slater last week he claimed "everybody will be here." And when host Mark Elfenbein jokingly promised he was going to show up at the camp and spar with Mayweather, Chapa didn't correct him.
And on
this boxing message board, Joseph Chapa posted details that certainly seemed to indicate Mayweather himself would attempt the camp:
Team Mayweather( Floyd Sr., Floyd Jr., Uncle Roger and Uncle Jeff) will be in town next month to do an exclusive Boxing camp at our gym, the Rockwall Elite Boxing Club! Don't miss this event! Contact us for details!
Since I wanted to hear for myself, I called Rockwall Elite this morning and asked if Mayweather Jr. would appear at the camp. I was told "there's a 30-percent chance." Yeah, and there's a 30-percent chance these 80-degree highs will continue all summer.
The camp - $375 for coaches and $475 for boxers - might be great and all, but if you promote a "Mavericks Basketball Camp!" you'd better produce something more than trainer Casey Smith and Dirk Nowitzki's mentor, Holger Geschwindner.
When Mayweather fights Canelo Alvarez in what might be the biggest revenue-grossing fight in the history of boxing on Sept. 14 he'll take a 44-0 record into the ring. But he won't have "Rockwall, Texas" on his resume.
This looks like a nice event and Rockwall Elite appears to be a cool gym. Just getting some members from Team Mayweather is a coup.
Just be warned, you won't see Money for your money.
Damn Richie! Now that you're free from radio you're turning into the Jim Schutze of the DFW sports world. Keep writing and I'll keep reading.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep trying. And that's a great compliment!
DeleteNot sure who has more credibility at this point...Aaron Hernandez or the sport of boxing
ReplyDeleteTrue that.
DeleteGood reporting RW!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Just trying to keep folks from being deceived that's all. For the record, I don't think the Rockwall Elite organization is bad by any stretch.
DeleteDisgraceful! You are a degenerate dimwit! You have no room to criticize anyone, let alone an amateur boxing gym that recently opened it's doors to help kids particularly. RAGE, Dallas Observer, FT. Worth Star Telegram and probably more, you've had terrible reviews and ratings, along with getting fired from everywhere. You are a negative and antagonistic ass-hole! You should be ashamed of yourself, I'm sure you already are, due to your repeated failures in radio and sports writing. "Good Job",sarcasm emphasized, you pointed out the fine print, I've never been to this gym but from what I hear they are upstanding and honest people, focused on keeping kids out of trouble and helping folks' reach their fitness goals. Around here in the DFdub' we promote and uplift our amateur fighters and their gyms. So next time you have anything negative to say about local amateur boxing, that's helps keep our Dallas streets safe, just tell it to the wall; we don't give a shit what you have to say LOSER!
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone with common sense pay any amount of money for a meet and greet? This clinic is supposed to be for fighters and coaches who are serious about the sport and want to be trained by the best trainers in the world...if by the off chance FM Jr happens to show up that's just a bonus...and if u had listened to the radio interview the comments about jr coming and hanging out were said in a joking manner. Mr chapa was asked if he did come would he take him to the harbor and jokingly said of course...your article says you have nothing against the gym, but basically you just threw them under the bus lile you have a grudge. Don't know anything about your career like the person above, but as a first time reader not impressed with the sarcasm of this article. Why not write about something more positive about what our local gyms are doing?
ReplyDeleteLook at the promotional material, it is misleading. If your 12 year old looked up to Mayweather and you sent him to camp and he wasn't there, would you be pissed? Thanks RW for putting this out there.
ReplyDelete