Saul Alvarez facing off with Shane Mosley last year in Las Vegas (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)
By Chris Robinson
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that outspoken trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. has a tremendous amount of confidence in his son Floyd heading into his Sept. 14 clash with junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez.
On the heels of his masterful display against Robert Guerrero last month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the 36-year old Mayweather is roughly a 2 ½ to 1 betting favorite to emerge victorious against the 22-year old “Canelo”.
The Guerrero triumph was notably special for Mayweather Sr., as it went hand in hand with his return to Floyd’s corner as his trainer. So too did the Mayweathers reconnect on an emotional level outside of the ring after some well-documented disagreements in the past.
During a recent sit-down interview with Mayweather Sr., we touched on several aspects of the Alvarez fight, including his assessment of the Mexican star, his comparison of Alvarez’s performance against Shane Mosley last year to Floyd’s victory three years ago, and his displeasure with the fact that the fight is being held at a catch-weight of 152 pounds.
This is what Mayweather Sr. had to share.
A winnable fight…
“I think it’s winnable. I think it’s a winnable fight. I don’t think that he has the experience, the speed; he’s not as mobile, don’t move as good. It’s a whole lot of things and his mind is definitely not as good as Floyd’s. When you add all those things up, it comes with a name called ‘shaddup’.”
Assessing Saul Alvarez…
“I’ve seen him a couple of times. He can’t compare himself to Floyd. He’s got as many fights as Floyd, maybe more than Floyd. But who heard about him? All those fights that he fought was in Mexico.”
Alvarez’s performance against Shane Mosley compared to Mayweather’s…
“It tells you a lot. That he’s [facing] a man that is older than my son and he’s giving him all these problems. A man that’s older than my son. And if he can hit him, trust me, how good is Floyd’s chances?”
Whether it meant more for him to reconnect with his son or for him to see him score such an impressive victory over Guerrero…
“They both meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to me, him winning. But, of course, nobody wants to have ill feelings with their family; father, sister, mother, brother. I think that was a very nice thing that Floyd did, the way he carried the camp and the way the camp went. It was beautiful and I think he did a splendid job with Guerrero. I think he dominated him in the fashion like the old Floyd. And I don’t think it’s going to be no different in Alvarez. You’re punching, you’re punching, but your punches mean nothing if you can’t find nothing to hit.”
Still upset at the catch weight limit of 152 pounds for this fight…
“I don’t like it. I don’t like the weight, whatever it is. Even if Floyd wins, I don’t like the weight. I don’t like that. I’m just saying that, I don’t know how it came together with them getting that. I would have at least made it 150. I wouldn’t have made it [152]. For what? If you’re a junior middleweight and you’re fighting junior middleweight, you should be able to make 150 pounds easy. He might have a little struggle but it shouldn’t be that much of a struggle.”
Why the critics won’t be silent despite Mayweather taking on the challenge of Canelo…
“They’re always going to have something to harp on. Floyd’s been fighting for seventeen years and been winning for seventeen years, and they’ve been harping ever since then. It’s still doing the same thing. It aint going to stop. The only thing that can stop it is them looking for my son to lose. That’s the only thing that can stop it.”
PLEASE CHECK OUT the full interview with Floyd Mayweather Sr. below as well as other exclusive updates from Chris Robinson
Mayweather Sr. talks Floyd vs. Canelo, 152 lb. catchweight, and Alvarez not being on Floyd’s level
Shawn Porter (21-0-1, 14 KO’s) sparring Jermaine White (17-6, 9 KO’s) at the Mayweather Boxing Club
Roger Mayweather feels Floyd needed the Canelo fight in order to prove himself as the best
Breaking down Paulie Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner at the Mayweather Boxing Club
Gennady Golovkin showing off his speed and movement while shadowboxing at the Summit Gym
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com