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After World War II, many Americans considered boxing a “dying” sport. Thanks to legendary greats such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Iron Mike Tyson boxing has stood the test of time. Even in the year 2012, there are still individuals who believe that boxing will dissolve, disappear, vanish, or go away. Whoever thinks so should have a conversation with Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr.
Boxing fan or not, most people have an opinion about the 35 year old titleholder. Some love him; some can’t stand him. Some see nothing but his twelve- man entourage, Escalade limos, Prada and Gucci clothing, diamond-frosted watches, luxurious hotel suites, curvaceous women by his ring side, and that ever so famous “I say what the f*** I want” attitude. Others may view him as a street thug with an addict mother and a drug dealing incarcerated father. Very few witness the generous side of “Money,” the side that paid for Joe Frazier’s funeral and the side that is cutting checks on medical bills for sick children whom he has never met.
No matter which side one decides to perceive of “Money,” his undefeated record, 43-0, cannot be disputed. The road to perfection wasn’t easy for Mayweather. It took defeating a long line of skillful boxers for "Money" to prove his case: Victory Ortiz, Sugar Shane Mosley, Juan Marquez, Jose Castillo, Oscar De La Hoya, and the newly added Miguel Cotto are a few who have succumbed to his extraordinary ability.
What does a man have to do in order to obtain such impressive bragging rights? The answer is to train like a champ. Mayweather’s day starts off at a gloomy 1:00 a.m. morning, where he begins his first training session with six energetic sparring partners, seven minute neck breaking rounds, rapid nine punch combos, 1,000 solid blows to the heavy bag, swift jump roping, followed by a fast paced ten mile run. Amazingly, Mayweather will repeat this regime three times a day.
So, what can we, as Golden Touch Craps advantage players, learn from Floyd “Money” Mayweather? I say we need to train like a champ as well. We can start our day with a throwing session; set our alarms earlier to make time to train if needed. Throughout the day, we can practice our grip and release. Add in controlled breathing and meditation. Then, go back to throwing, and repeat three times a day. As Mayweather shows us, if we leave no other option but to be great, then we will be great.
Replies:
Posted by: Timmer on May 16, 2012, 1:58 am
As Clark of Lois & Clark pointed out, yes, it is certainly true that many, including what seems to be a disproportional number professional athletes, exhibit unacceptable, harmful, hurting behavior in their private lives.
Clearly Clark falls into the "can’t stand him" camp that you mentioned in your original post.
Lance Rentzel, O.J, Simpson and Michael Vick are just a few flawed athletes that come to mind.
Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield’s ear and – heaven forbid – our beloved Babe’s showing up for baseball games drunk and his notoriety for picking fights after a drink (or two) are but a few examples of this hurtful, destructive behavior.
While certainly tainted by their behavior, the athletic accomplishments of these flawed individuals – O.J.’s 2003 rushing yards in a 14-game NFL season, for example – cannot be dismissed.
In fairness, portraying "Money" or any other athlete as a role model or wasn’t the point of your post as I read it.
In fact, you mentioned several examples of what most would likely view as his unacceptable behavior.
VeraS, I love sports, and I especially enjoyed how you used the training regimen and discipline it took for Mayweather to become an undefeated boxing champion as an example of the discipline and determination needed to achieve success in advantage play craps.
As with your earlier "Meet the Beatles" post, I appreciate how you weave GTC’s teachings and philosophy into a story that is not only a great read, but also something we can all learn from.
As Dominator said, you are a great writer, VeraS. Thanks for taking the time to post with yet another positive contribution to our board!
Well done!
😎 😎 😎
Posted by: Skinny on May 16, 2012, 2:12 am
I also enjoyed both of those posts. You have an artful way of weaving one story into another to make your point. Your messages regarding bringing attention to yourself at the tables and the diligence required to perform at the top of the game as a controlled shooter are right on point.
Your willingness to choose controversial topics to illustrate your lesson is laudatory. Please keep these gems coming. They are highly entertaining.
Posted by: brothelman on May 16, 2012, 2:55 am
I am a firm believer in the sayng you must seperate the person from the deeds, people get caught up in the moment at times and make very bad descions.
Not all people who make bad descions are bad people, look at what vick is diong now for the kids.
thank you for the post.
Posted by: Dominator on May 16, 2012, 3:16 pm
I got to say that it is a shame that when you wrote about this great fighter and wove it into the lesson, that there is a post on the bad things about Mayweather. I agree with Timmer that you did bring up some of these bad things and all sports have some good guys and bad guys, but that wasn’t the thrust of the post.
Lessons on what it takes to succeed in any anything we try to do, be it our job or life in general takes hard work and a discipline that seems to me we are lacking in this great country. With the amount of hand outs that our government, (excuse me for getting a little political) gives to so many people and our elected officials talking about "fairness", I think we have forgotten that it takes hard work to make a good living and we shouldn’t put down someone who has made it.
What we in GTC try to do in this game of craps is to turn the tables on the casinos with hard work and practice. It isn’t easy, but if a person has the dedication to practice and do the right things, he or she will succeed in craps and in their daily lives.
Dominator
Posted by: Finisher on May 16, 2012, 3:36 pm
I remember when I was learning how to ski a little boy came bye me like I was standing still. I then said to myself that I was starting this too late in life but I can still enjoy it.
I use to get up between 1 am and 7 am to go to work finishing concrete for 40 yrs. You will not see me doing that to practice craps. I am past that age along with a lot of others on this site.
You should read the book . You will find it vary interesting.
Do you think Floyd will be doing that in his 60s or 70s ?
I started shooting dice in the 70s were you born before that?
Just a thought . It is good to practice as much as you can but it should be enjoyable.
Good Rolling.
Posted by: Dominator on May 16, 2012, 5:11 pm
Your ski story reminded me of my one and only ski experience. I went skiing because all my friends were doing it. I was about 23 years old. The same thing happened to me, I had so much trouble on those things and then this little kid went right by me. I said to myself, do you really want to do this? How much fun was it? Well I decided that the club house is where I would rather be drinking some hot cider and mingling with the opposite sex.
I guess my point is, no matter how old you are when you start anything, the question is always if you really want to do what ever it is and be the best you can be, or if you don’t and if it is just something that you enjoy doing. I made my mind up about skiing, and others can make their mind up about dice control.
Dominator
Posted by: Dice Pilot on May 17, 2012, 7:54 pm
That was when the family would all gather around the black and white tv and watch it on the local networks. Good times. I think Schlitz beer was the popular brand back then. LOL
Posted by: fscobe on May 18, 2012, 2:09 pm
Posted by: Timmer on May 25, 2012, 3:50 pm
"I’m a baaad man," "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, Joe Frazier’s gonna be on the mat in three," "rope-a-dope."
You never knew what Ali was going to come up with next…!
I also remember several interviews and documentaries of Ali at his Pennsylvania training camp as he prepared for his upcoming bouts. Just as VeraS points out, the training, discipline and dedication neeeded to be "the best of the best" is without question.
The comparison of boxing discipline to GTC and advantage play craps is brilliant, and something I now think about during my practice.
Great writing, VeraS!
😎 😎 😎
