Floyd Mayweather Sr., left, with Mickey Bey prior to his bout with John Molina (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)
By Chris Robinson
The night of Friday, July 19 will likely be stuck in Mickey Bey’s head for quite a while.
Facing off with the always-rugged John Molina Jr. inside of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Bey had boxed an excellent fight over the course of nine and a half rounds before a barrage of punches from Molina had him in trouble.
Despite still standing on his feet, referee Vic Drakulich would jump in to stop the fight with a little over a minute remaining, granting Molina with the improbable comeback victory while Bey was dealt his first defeat.
In the post-fight aftermath, a frustrated Bey expressed his displeasure with both Drakulich’s officiating throughout the contest as well as his opinion of what he felt was a premature stoppage.
Speaking with Bey’s trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. after the match, he too expressed his frustration but was unsure whether or not Drakulich reacted too fast in granting Molina with the TKO victory.
“I can’t really say because I’m not really a ref and I can’t make a judgment like that,” Mayweather Sr. revealed. “Because I’m a trainer and the only thing I can say is what I feel. You see, he had got hit some good times. But I don’t know what would have happened at the end. I don’t know whether the guy would have hit him and he would have gone to a knee or what. I don’t know what would have ended up.”
Asked what he thought of Bey’s performance prior to the stoppage, Mayweather Sr. seemed beyond pleased.
“His whole performance was great,” he stated. “From round one to the end.”
Asked how Bey can bounce back from this setback, Mayweather Sr. reflected on a similar situation he went through as a professional.
“I don’t think he should just give up,” Mayweather Sr. stated. “I got caught in a fight like that once and the guy gave me a real good licking, man. The guy couldn’t whoop me; I was playing with him and doing the rope-a-dope and stuff I never did. I was just doing it because I saw Ali was doing it and Ali was my idol.
“I think, looking back it was a bad thing for me to do but I did end up fighting the guy again and I ended up beating the guy,” Mayweather Sr. added, likely referring to his 5th and 6th professional bouts with Tyrone Phelps.
As far as any adjustments he might try to make in the gym with Bey, a better focus on defense will likely be in store.
“My thing is, I was telling him the other day about rolling his shoulders,” Mayweather Sr. noted. “You have to make sure your shoulders is up there. I told him that before the fight even started. You’ve got to make sure to close up everything.”
PLEASE CHECK OUT the full interview with Floyd Mayweather Sr. below as well as other exclusives from Chris Robinson
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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com