“I haven’t slept in three days.”
Not the first thing you would expect to hear from a fighter, less than a month away from the biggest fight of the year, but Floyd Mayweather isn’t a normal fighter.
While in town doing some cross promotion with CBS for the Final Four, he met with a select few media members including BlackSportsOnline and spoke about his May 4th fight with Robert Guerrero, as well as several other topics.
Mayweather says, he is really focused on giving the fans action packed fights, over the next 30 months, under his new arrangement with Showtime and CBS. He praised Showtime and CBS for their vision and business acumen He was very complimentary of “The Money Team” and credits them for standing by him while he was incarcerated. He states that he intends to stay active, more than he has been in the past.
He also spoke in-depth about some of the problems that are facing young athletes and entertainers. He said a situation like what happened with Mike Rice at Rutgers illustrates how athletes can be prisoners to their coaches, promoters, TV partners and bosses. He said because of that and the experiences that he went through, he wants to mentor young athletes on the pitfalls of such shady industries like professional boxing.
When I brought up Adrien Broner, who has been in and out of the news for good and bad reasons, here is what Mayweather had to say.
“I talk to Adrien often, he just needs more positive people on his team. Athletes and entertainers in general, need to understand there are limits and you don’t want to go over those. It isn’t cool to get locked up and things like that. Sometimes the fame comes so fast, that it gets out of control, but you have to know your limits. I support Adrien and any young athlete who comes to me for advice I am willing to mentor.”
Mayweather spoke about the key to his longevity is being a smart fighter. He said if he fought 43 fights like he did the Cotto fight he might not be undefeated. He says he is still sharp and thinks about life after boxing. He wants to be in 60s and 70s and be of right mind and body. He wants to be able to play with his grandkids and still be an active person late in his life.
When asked about people who are critical about the opponents he chooses, he had this to say.
“I have earned the right over 16 years of being at the top of my profession to pick and choose whoever I want to fight.”
He spoke about since getting out from under the Top Rank umbrella, he has been able to maximize his exposure and PPV dollars, because he controls his own career.
I wanted to get his thoughts on Robert Guerrero and how Guerrero has used social media to trash talk him. Also, I wanted to know if there was anything about Guerrero that worried him in the ring. Here was his response to that question.
Mayweather stated he has people running his social media pages and doesn’t read a lot of the stories about him. When asked about his perception in the public eye he had this to say.
“I rather be hated for being honest, than loved for being fake”.
Before ending the press conference Mayweather picked Michigan to win the NCAA Basketball Championship game on Monday and confirmed that the entire Mayweather family is working for him, during his training camp. Both his father Floyd Mayweather Sr. and his uncle Roger Mayweather are expected to be in his corner on May 4th.
Regardless of what you personally feel about Mayweather, the fact remains he is the PPV King of Boxing. Doesn’t matter if you are watching because you hope he loses, you appreciate his skill or want to be a part of the Money Team, as long as you are watching Mayweather will continue to win.
Robert Guerrero has an opportunity, just like Cotto, Ortiz, Judah and others to be the first man to solve the puzzle that is Floyd Mayweather. Father Time is undefeated, the clock is ticking on Mayweather’s career, but from his own mouth he isn’t losing any sleep over it.
That is when he decides to sleep.