HBO's 24/7 lets the Mayweather family do what it does best - chat aimlessly Saturday night

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. says he's better than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson. At what though? And at this point who really cares?

I caught the 24/7 episode over the weekend and thought episode Two was as bad as episode One was good. I had to chime in on it here.

Back in the day of the original Sugar Ray, boxing was the No. 2 sport on the planet behind only baseball. Today it fails to make a top 10 list. So what exactly if Mayweather "more" of or "better than" other than being ignorant and full of it?

Isn't Mayweather just a fluke of luck and good timing?

Regarding Muhammad Ali, what is Mayweather more of than Ali?

Ali had more fights, bigger fights. More dangerous fights. Both Ali and Robinson suffered most of their defeats when well past their physical primes of 33 and one-half-years-old which Mayweather is right on top of today at 33 years-and-four-months on May 1st.

Ali was and is still much more more famous and beloved than Mayweather (certainly at the end of his career) will ever be.

I rest the only case that could be made.

Author: Matt Stolow

Source: examiner.com

Inside camp Mayweather: Floyd Sr. calls Mosley into question and speaks of the danger that awaits

Over the years the father-son tandem of Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Jr. has seen its share of ups and downs. Having trained his son since he was just a toddler, the elder Mayweather was able to see his child flourish in the sport and while he saw championship potential he would soon discover that things weren’t going to play out nearly as he expected.

While Mayweather Sr. took a great deal of pride in guiding his son to his first world title in late 1998, a feat that helped garner him Manager of the Year honors by the Boxing Writer's Association of America, underneath the surface their was tension between the dynamic duo. Within a few years' time the pot would boil over and bitter falling out would ensue, leaving Floyd Sr. on the outside looking in.

Still one thing you can say about the two men is that they have often found a way to put aside their differences and settle their issues. And just as Little Floyd prepares tirelessly for his May 1st clash with ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, so too does his father put out his share of effort and emotions as he watches his son intently on a day to day basis as he trains at his own personal gym. With the Mosley clash less than two weeks away Floyd Sr. recently opened up on the speculated history that has surrounded the two fighters.

“What happened is Little Floyd won the title against Genero Hernandez and then we challenged Shane,” Floyd Sr. states. “He was pound for pound back then and the lightweight champion. Little Floyd was jr. lightweight champion and we challenged them but they didn’t want to take the fight. I know for a fact that Little Floyd challenged Shane three times and he never took the fight. At that time I don’t know whether Shane did it or their daddy did it but they asked for ten million dollars at that time. At that time they weren’t passing that kind of money out. Now he’s probably fighting for less. He has an opportunity right now to take care of his business. We don’t want to hear any s*** after he gets his ass whipped that he wasn’t training right.”

When asked whether or not Mosley was a more formidable challenge years back as opposed to today, Mayweather began to critique and evaluate the situation. Trying to remain objective, it is obvious that Floyd Sr. has a certain lack of respect for the accomplishments of the Pomona fighter, who is widely regarded as one of this generation’s finest pugilists.

“Anytime somebody is younger they are more dangerous,” Mayweather states. “They have more speed, they have more power, and you got good legs. Everything is always better when you are younger. I really don’t know whether Shane could have whooped Little Floyd at any time. We’ll find out on the first. I’ve heard people say that Shane is as fast as Little Floyd and that’s bull****. It might look like it but it’s not. He does have power. But his punches are wide and he leaves himself opened up. Whenever he opens up like that you are open. All Shane has to is what he is asked to do and what he is supposed to do and the fight is on.”

Mayweather Sr. went on to speak about not paying any mind to the rematch clause in his son’s fight with Mosley and said that the team is prepared for anything. With that Floyd Sr. turned his attention to his checkered relationship with his son over the years, pointing out that even from a distance he always found a way to show his child support.

“You know what? I do remember telling my son ‘Look, listen to me. You know I aint gonna tell you nothing wrong’”, he said. “The last fight you saw with Marquez? I instructed that. Another fight would be Diego Corrales. That was around the time that I had my separation from Little Floyd. I called my son up because I had my doubts about that fight. I told him the things he need to do with Corrales. I thought it was a rangy guy plus he had a hell of punch. That was my concern. The whole thing was that he didn’t really have to worry about that. I know that guys who have to load up on punches are usually in trouble.”

Over the years the elder Mayweather has never been shy about proclaiming his son’s greatness. He has seen his son rise in weight while succeeding in multiple divisions and offered up more insight when asked what Little Floyd’s best weight class was and how he would have fared against legends of the past.

“I can’t really say,” Sr. states. “To be honest he has fought well in every weight class. I can’t say because every weight class he has fought at he has looked superb. Against Leonard when I fought him I already had an injured hand, otherwise I felt I could have beat him. I really think that [Thomas] Hearns would have been a much more difficult fight because of his range and his power. He didn’t have a great chin but he really could punch.”

Mayweather’s brief rap session closed out with his thoughts on whether or not Floyd Jr. would be able to possibly stop Shane. When informed that Floyd has 25 knockouts in 40 fights, Mayweather delves into the danger that Mosley faces on the 1st and also points that his mindset might not be in the right place.

“That’s a good knockout ratio. To be hitting like that and knocking guys out, Shane has a good chance of being knocked out too. If you attack the body you have a better chance of breaking him down. Everybody you know who has hit him to the body has caused him problems. [Floyd] pours a lot of energy into his fights and the whole thing is he is going to be up to the fight. Shane has finally stepped up because he has no choice but to step up. He has borrowed money from Golden Boy and that tells you something isn’t right.”

Author: Chris Robinson

Source: Examiner.com

Floyd on injecting painkillers in his fists: Hypocrisy or rumor? Ask HBO

After much trash talking from Floyd Mayweather Jr. against his fighter Shane Mosley on his history with steroids, Mosley's trainer Nazeem Richardson finally struck back.

He's had enough of the senseless blabber coming from the Mayweather camp. So when the steroids issue was again brought up against Mosley in their media conference call as seen on HBO's 24/7 series, Richardson answered back saying,

"Shane has never tested positive for anything. He agreed to the test but now every time they bring his name up, you still got to hear about steroids this and steroids that. Okay the man already agreed to your test, what do you want him to do for you now? During this drug testing, I was told that there were no needles involved. I mean needles of any sort. Because people were telling me something about that there was a Lidocaine or something being used to one of the athletes' hands and it's only legal in Las Vegas and it's not legal anywhere else. And like I said, I come from the hood. The only cane I want to hear is Big Daddy Kane. Because we keep talking about guys using this and all natural... If you're taking needles in your hand, it's not all natural."

Floyd's adviser Leonard Ellerbe then interjects and tells Richardson that what he heard isn't true. "For the record, Floyd Mayweather doesn't shoot anything in his hands. That's for the record. That was a nasty rumor that was spread out there just because people like to do those kind of things," Ellerbe said.

Richardson, who is clearly the most clairvoyant individual among those closest to either camp, finished off the topic by saying,

"but this is the problem when people just want to keep running their mouth about the things that actually have nothing to do with boxing. When you bring up stuff about the boxer, talk about the boxer. But if every time you crack your mouth open, you're running your mouth about nonsense from before, then everybody's gonna start asking nonsense about everything."

I couldn't have said it any better.

First thing's first: That alleged nasty rumor Ellerbe was referring to was actually started by HBO and narrated by Jim Lampley himself a couple of years ago prior to a Mayweather fight. Nobody said anything about it then, so I guess it was no big deal. Point being, Richardson makes perfect sense because if Mayweather truly wants to claim that he is cleaning up the sport, then why did he use a drug that was banned in some states? And the fact that if he truly injected needles in his fists as told by HBO, then how can you consider that being natural? Pain killers numb one's fist thus allowing the fighter to punch harder. That's an unnatural advantage.

And on the subject of Mayweather running his mouth about anything and everything outside the sport of boxing, perhaps 'Money' still has his hang-ups from his WWE wrestling stint. Floyd's rants and antics remind me of The Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels' trash talk before a big fight. Yes it's entertaining to some degree, but this is real life son. Maybe Floyd wants to be boxing's version of Ted DiBiase (The Million Dollar Man - google it), but his act has quickly worn thin on many. Don't expect to defile a person's reputation repeatedly as he has done with Mosley and think people will just take it.

And what about Manny Pacquiao? Pacquiao did not do anything to instigate the hellish wrath of Mayweather's mouth. The only thing Pacquiao did was become the best fighter in the business and supplanted Floyd after he went on his temporary retirement. Next thing you know, Mayweather is trashing Pacquiao, his country and even digging up things that happened a decade ago in Pacquiao's career to discredit him. Money, may have a lot of green, but the greenest thing about him is his envy.

If Floyd has a lot of haters, that's simply because he advocates it. As he himself said it towards the end of episode 2 of their 24/7 series, 'if you're gonna tell me FU, Imma tell you FU too," well, you get what you give Floyd.

Author: Dennis "dSource" Guillermo

Source: examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather declares himself better than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson

On the latest episode of 24/7, the focus turned away from the fighters themselves slightly and towards their families and trainers.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his often dysfunctional family was shown in a different light than we are used to seeing them.

Roger Mayweather in particular is shown to be a loving father one minute, before ranting incoherently on a conference call the next. He also comments on his upcoming court case in which he is accused of assaulting a female boxer.

Shortly before this Floyd declares that he believes himself to be better than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson.

"Yep, I'm better than Muhammed Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson? Yep, I'm better than Sugar Ray Robinson, I would never say there's another fighter better than me" -Floyd Mayweather Jr.

This might just be part of his winning attitude and self confidence, but even so it's a big statement to make.

It begs the question as to how much of what we see of the Mayweather's is really them and how much they put on for the cameras.

Mosley, unlike Mayweather has no persona or use for character acting, and seems entirely focused on the task at hand. Whether this will benefit him when it comes time to fight is a different matter.

Playing the straight man makes Mosley seem more genuine, but part of the reason Floyd sells so many pay per views despite an often boring fighting style is because of his trash talking.

He does point out though that Mayweather seems to talk more smack when facing an opponent who might be more of a risk to him and his unbeaten record. Or someone the public perceives as a risk anyway. He seems to take this as a good sign that Mayweather is taking him seriously although in all likelihood most of it is being done to drive up the pay per view sales.

"I can generate the most, not Oscar de La Hoya, not sh**** Shane, with the nose job, me, classy, clean cut"

While Mosley has never been a big seller, Mayweather still has a long way to go to match the $696 million generated by De La Hoya over the course of his career. Classy is a bit of a stretch however you slice it though. Not many fighters would claim to be classy while making fun of another's alleged nose job in the same sentence. Theres only one Floyd Mayweather.

Peter, Pittsburgh: "He already compared himself with Martin Luther king and Malcolm X, why not Sugar Ray and Ali? He's living in a world of his own."

Ted, Altoona: "Someone better tell Floyd that beating someone who took his name isn't the same as beating the man himself. If Sugar Ray was fighting today Floyd would duck him and them claim he was better anyway, same as he's doing with Pacquiao"

Harrison, Pittsburgh: "Floyd is just self confident, he probably doesn't believe all this stuff he says. Its all an act for the cameras"

Author: Scott Heritage

Source: examiner.com