Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao (Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank)
By Chris Robinson
Floyd Mayweather Sr. has been a very busy man this year.
On top of reconnecting with his son Floyd as both a trainer and father, the elder Mayweather runs a busy schedule with a core group of professional fighters that consists of talented lightweights Mickey Bey and Lydell Rhodes, recently-debuted cruiserweight prospect Andrew Tabiti, and aspiring female prospect Maricela Cornejo.
With his son having beat Robert Guerrero convincingly this past May over twelve rounds, Mayweather Sr. now finds himself helping Floyd prepare for a huge clash with Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who he meets on Showtime pay per view on September 14th at the MGM Grand.
With so much of his time and thought devoted to his role as a trainer, Mayweather Sr. admits that it’s been hard to keep track of anything else boxing-related outside of his duties in the gym.
“I try to, but over these last months I’ve been very busy, man,” Mayweather Sr. stated. “I’ve moving here, I’m going there. A lot of things, man. It’s been kind of difficult for me to keep my eyes on things. I try my best to look at as much boxing as I can.”
On November 23rd, a welterweight clash will take place in Macau, China as former titlists Brandon Rios and Manny Pacquiao face off.
It figures to be an all-action affair but don’t expect any insight on the matchup from Mayweather Sr.
“See, I don’t even know Brandon Rios to tell you the truth,” stated Floyd Joy. “And who is Pacquiao?”
Mayweather Sr. was taking an obvious dig at Pacquiao with his comment, as he feels the eight-division champion from the Philippines simply isn’t worthy of notice anymore following his crushing knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez this past December.
“Why would he be relevant?” Mayweather Sr. asked. “He done knocked all these other folks out [and] now, all of a sudden his *ss gets knocked out. Who in the hell is he? No-damn-body, as you can see.
“And he got the hell knocked out of him by a non-puncher,” Mayweather Sr. continued. “I don’t know if Marquez is that good a puncher. He’s a good craftsmen; he’s a good boxer. I don’t really know about his power. But if he got power or he don’t got power, you cannot tell Pacquiao he aint got power.”
For years, Mayweather Sr. couldn’t help but to notice Pacquiao, as the public had clamored for a matchup between him and Floyd. Although a Mayweather-Pacquiao dream fight was discussed heavily by fans and media members alike, the details never could be ironed out at the negotiating table and the time seems to have passed by for the bout to be any kind of reality.
“Sometimes I felt the fight was going to take place, sometimes I felt like it wasn’t,” Mayweather Sr. said, sharing his thoughts. “At the end I pretty much knew it wasn’t going to be taking place, because there were too many in and out type of deals. ‘It is going to happen. It aint going to happen.’ I knew it wasn’t going to happen.”
And while a win over Pacquiao would have been a fine feather in Mayweather’s cap, his father is confident that his son’s resume will stand the test of time despite not having such a victory.
“Believe me, trust me, it aint going to make a difference at all,” said Mayweather Sr. “Floyd, wherever he’s going to stand, he’s going to stand. And they can’t dispute what he’s done.”
Please visit the exclusive slideshow below for an all-access look at the recent highs and lows and Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao
PLEASE CHECK OUT the full interview with Floyd Mayweather Sr. below and check out more exclusives from Chris Robinson
‘Who’s Pacquiao?’ – Mayweather Sr. rips Manny, claims he’s irrelevant after knockout loss to Marquez
Shawn Porter (21-0-1, 14 KO’s) sparring Lanell Bellows (4-0-1, 4 KO’s) in Las Vegas [July 2013]
Brandon Rios in early training for November clash with Manny Pacquiao [Exclusive]
Breaking down Mayweather vs. Canelo with Nate Jones, Zach Cooper, Chase Corbin and Ashley Theophane
Floyd Mayweather opens up camp for Canelo: Lydell Rhodes and Daquan Mays give their thoughts
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com