Blame the media for putting athletes on a pedestal. Growing up, my role model was my dad, not any athlete. As far as the "youth", It's partly the parents fault for not pointing them in the right direction and showing them what is feasible and what isn't, without spouting too much about how in a perfect world someone can do anything they want if they put their mind to it. How often does it work out like that? A young persons role models should be tangible people, not so much as often something someone sees on TV. Parents, teachers, grandparents, etc etc. People who actually know they exist and care about them are who they should look up to.
As far as what Floyd does from a boxing standpoint, nobody can duplicate. Call it an opinion or a false fact, it doesn't matter. He's where he's at because he was wearing boxing gloves when he was in diapers. Given the fact that most people aren't brought up that way; it's okay to admire what he does in the ring, but to sit idly by and let your child aspire to be what he is- is just a fairytale, and bad parenting. I only say that, assuming that most people wouldn't pull their offspring out of school to make way for training in a sport that guarantees nothing but getting punched upside the head. The things learned from the training are life lessons, and will undoubtedly make a better person out of the trainee if they stick with it. Don't get me wrong. It's just not something to hang a hat on. It takes a special breed of person to take up this sport as a way of making a living. It is in no way easy, and I've seen more people quit from frustration and broken wills than I've seen people stick with it through the long run.
That said, I don't know about you, but I don't need a role model, and I don't pay much mind to anything a boxer says or does outside of the ring. At the end of the day, nobody can get in the ring and fight for you. That's something you have to do yourself. Out on the canvas infront of a crowd of people, you're all by yourself. It can be a lonely place. From my intimate understanding of that fact, I'm able to separate the popularity contest and constant gossip that follow todays athletes, and the actual act of the fighting: what the sport is all about. I can't speak for everyone, but I am a Fan of Floyd Mayweather the boxer, and at the same time I am not at all emotionally invested. I don't care if he wins or loses other than for monetary reasons. I just appreciate his prowess in the boxing ring. It's as simple as that.
As far as I'm concerned, I couldn't care less if Floyd Mayweather was a deaf mute. Fans of the sport of boxing appreciate what he does inside the ring because they realize what he's doing with his skill-set is special, whereas his detractors like to point out the things that come out of his mouth rather than pay as much attention to his ring-work. I am accustomed to the former, but I suppose boxing wouldn't be what it is as a whole without the latter. To each their own.