Floyd Mayweather can claim to be one of the best athletes of modern times. After all, he is not just undefeated as a professional boxer but also someone who has won fifteen world titles over the course of his career so far. Furthermore, he is one of the highest-earning athletes in not just his sport but sports as a whole, so much so that he has topped both Forbes and Sports Illustrated‘s lists of the highest-paid athletes on more than one occasion. Summed, there can be no doubt that Mayweather is one of the most dominant figures in his chosen sport, which in turn, means that there is plenty of potential in a Mayweather biopic.
What Would a Floyd Mayweather Biopic Entail?
There is a natural rags-to-riches tale that can be told about Mayweather. Now, he is someone who wears expensive suits while ensconced in expensive cars and private planes, but he has stated that when he was a child, there were times when his family couldn’t afford the basic utilities, which says a lot about the circumstances in which he grew up in even without considering the fact that his mother was addicted to drugs and his father spent time in prison for dealing drugs. As a result, there is a heroic narrative that could be woven out of Mayweather’s inexorable rise in professional boxing through a potent combination of keen intelligence, outstanding talent, and unbelievable self-confidence.
However, something so simple and straightforward would be a real shame because Mayweather’s tale is much more interesting when it includes both the positive and negatives. After all, no discussion of Mayweather would be complete without noting that he is not just one of the most beloved figures of professional boxing but also one of the most detested figures of the same sport at the same time.
In part, this is because there is a perception that Mayweather is too cautious and too calculating when it comes to protecting his undefeated record as well as the rest of his reputation. For example, there have been accusations that while he has defeated boxing greats such as Oscar De La Moya, Shane Mosley, and Manny Pacquiao, he delayed until the first two were past their prime while the third had shown vulnerabilities by losing a couple of fights. Furthermore, that cautious calculation extends to the boxing ring, as shown by Mayweather’s fight against Pacquiao, which was a remarkable show of his strategic thinking as well as his technical expertise and experience but nonetheless not very good TV. With that said, it should also be noted that Mayweather has a history of domestic violence, including one infamous incident when he beat an ex-girlfriend in the middle of the night after learning that she had started up a relationship with a NBA player while also threatening to beat his two sons if they called the police. Unsurprisingly, that’s the sort of thing that tends to sour a lot of people’s impressions of a man.
Who Should Play Floyd Mayweather?
Technically, it might be best to wait to make a Mayweather biopic because there are bound to be further twists and turns to his career, but to be honest, that has never stopped Hollywood. At the moment, there are a number of directors who have made names for themselves making biopics, with examples ranging from James Marshal for a biopic about Stephen Hawking to Morten Tyldrum for a biopic about Alan Turning. However, the best choice might be Bennett Miller of Capote, Moneyball, and Foxcatcher fame, who has the expertise and the experience needed to capture complex characters in an interesting manner.
As for who should play Mayweather, well, there are a number of promising candidates, but the best seems to be Jamie Foxx. After all, he has proven himself to be more than capable of handling a role such as this. More importantly, he has the athleticism as well as the right attitude, both of which should be considered must-haves when it comes to casting someone as Mayweather.
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