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It is finally upon us. The biggest fight in the last decade, the undefeated “Pretty Boy” vs. the “Destroyer” Pacman. This fight has become bigger than both Mayweather and Pacquiao. It has taken on a good vs. evil battle with Mayweather being depicted as nothing more than a convicted woman beater and Pacquiao being looked at as the champion of the people.
Floyd Mayweather may have made A LOT of money and knocked out A LOT of people, but he does not deserve a pass for his history of violence against women. To make matters worse, Mayweather Promotions has reportedly pulled both Michelle Beadle and Rachel Nichols’ media credentials for tonight’s fight. Both Nichols and Beadle have reported on Mayweather’s domestic violence history. The Mayweather team of course denies pulling their credentials, however, they both don’t have any and they were expected to be there covering the fight. You do the math.
Beadle, who covers boxing on HBO’s “The Fight Game” has not held back in criticizing Mayweather’s violent past against women. She,along with others, called for fans to boycott the fight altogether. Nichols, who had her own show on CNN previously, interviewed Floyd Mayweather and asked him about his history of domestic violence. Both of these women lost access to the fight because they dared to stand up to Mayweather and his team. However, someone like First Take’s Stephen A. Smith who has done everything he can to deflect blame off of Floyd for his past convictions is allowed. Smith has gone as far as to blame the victims saying they just wanted some of Floyd’s mega-fortune.
All of the coverage of this fight has solely been placed on Mayweather and his past bad behavior. How will that affect Pacquiao as he goes in as an underdog, but with something to fight for. No matter who wins in this fight, a discussion about allowing convicted abusers to fight should be had.
