LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather works in the solitude of his own gym, which by his standards does not mean privacy. The fight with Miguel Cotto is six weeks away. But HBO's "24/7" programming begins in three weeks, and for boxing's last rock star, the show and fight remain indistinguishable, professionally and personally.
We know Mayweather is boxing's last big rock star, because no less an authority than Rolling Stone ****zine is about to declare him as such, in what is planned as an 8,000-word Mayweather Manifesto before fight week, complete with a cover shot under the working headline, "The Last Rock Star."
No shortage of other authorities would point to the sport's history ?boxing and ****roaches are the first two survivors of nuclear winter ?and say every boxing-is-dead declaration serves as its own distinctive cautionary tale. Yet, the next Mayweather is not visible on the fight game's horizon. And regardless how it's framed, the cover of Rolling Stone is pretty heady stuff.
The thought of Dr. Hook's celebratory song gives way to sing-song left hooks as Mayweather sizzled his workout paces last week. He is 35 now, says he probably will fight through 37, maybe a half-dozen more times. Chronology says he has to be almost finished. But through 42 professional opponents, Father Time has yet to work the opposite corner.
"I don't really look at the age as a factor," Mayweather said. "I feel that I'm still looking strong, I'm sparring with a lot of young guys ?tough, strong, big guys; guys that are pressing me and pushing me, things that I need to prepare for a fight of this magnitude. Do I think age is going to play a factor? At this particular time, I can't say. Once I go out there and that bell rings, then we'll have to see."
Training camp appears visibly indistinguishable from any previous one.
Sparring began with an announcement that no cameras, other than those already in the room ?HBO's and Rolling Stone's ?are allowed.
And no Twitter.
Miguel Cotto, who faces Floyd Mayweather on May 5, was mentioned several years ago as a potential Mayweather opponent when both fought for promoter Top Rank. Now, as promotional free agents, the fight is happening.
Omar Henry is a game, undefeated young fighter. In the first round, he knocked Mayweather's headgear completely out of the ring, sans the head. "New headgear," Mayweather ordered. In the second round, a short hook-uppercut, and Henry buckled, his right foot turning onto the instep. Mayweather stepped back and mimicked the boxing break-dance.
That's the difference between fighting and sparring. In a real fight, the next thing Henry would have seen is a referee counting. As to any thought of mercy at the moment of truth, check out how Mayweather whacked out huggy-bear Victor Ortiz last September. All Henry had to endure was the laughter of 60-or-so onlookers.
The blood-soaked left shoulder of Mayweather's t-shirt, where Henry laid his head to rest on the inside, told the story. There were only four rounds, but the first three were seven minutes each, with 30-second round breaks. When Mayweather wanted to go a 15-minute fourth round ?equivalent to five professional rounds, consecutively ?his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, ordered Henry out of the ring, and a new sparring partner in. Henry refused.
"He asked to stay in there?" a woman asked, incredulously.
"I smell that blood, I taste it," Mayweather chided. "I crave that blood. I'm a vampire."
A bit more than 14 minutes into the final round, Roger Mayweather dove in and pushed Henry to the corner, saving him from his own courage. Respectful applause and bellows broke out for both fighters. That's sparring, too. They fight, they talk trash, and they celebrate each other. And when a different sparring partner mouthed off to Mayweather about what might happen when his chance came the next day, the Grand Rapids native quickly reminded how good he is at that part of the fight game, too.
"My check looks like your Social Security number," Mayweather said.
The only real change this time, assuming Mayweather wins, is how brief the post-fight vacation will be.
He goes to jail 26 days after fighting Cotto.
Mayweather mugged for HBO's camera, said he needs his father to visit training camp so they can generate some controversy, because controversy boosts ratings. You'll see it on TV, or something similar. The show and the fight, indistinguishable.
HBO doesn't need family controversy this time. Mayweather pleaded guilty in December to reduced charges in a 2010 domestic incident involving Josie Harris, the mother of three of his four children, and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 90 days suspended, and credit for three days served. He also could get 30 days knocked off for good behavior and performance of any assigned work duties. Best case, he does 57 days in Clark County (Nev.) Detention Center, beginning June 1, out in late July. He said he wants to fight twice this year.
"You just don't know what can happen in life," Mayweather said. "I don't really worry about that. Whatever's put in my way, the only thing you do is pray about it. All you've got to do is pray about it."
He has undergone court-ordered counseling, "like I'm supposed to, like the judge required for me to do, the counseling has been going great, I haven't missed one day of counseling ?and I just can't wait for May 5, so I can go out and entertain."
The jail sentence was delayed from a January reporting date to allow Mayweather to fulfill the May 5 commitment against Cotto at MGM Grand. The last rock star holds enough cachet in Nevada, where there is no state income tax and casinos are gold standard, that when the biggest name in boxing has an in-town fight and a jail date overlapping, justice can remain blind, as long as it's malleable.
The date can't be delayed again, however. The Nevada State Athletic Commission held a hearing after Mayweather's conviction and unanimously voted to grant him a one-fight boxing license, with future fights in the state contingent on serving the remainder of his sentence as scheduled.
Mayweather said he restrained, but did not strike or kick, Harris. He now is in a relationship with a model, Shantel Jackson, whom he has known for several years.
"The only thing I've got to say is my better half is Shantel," he said. "I have three beautiful children with Josie Harris and the only thing I can do is wish her nothing but the best. I don't wish her no harm in life. I wish her nothing but the best. A beautiful person. But sometimes, you go through certain situations, and sometimes people can get in your ear and tell you certain things, to do certain things. But all in all, things happen. I'm a man. You've got certain obstacles that get in your way in life, and you just work past those obstacles."
Roger Mayweather said he sees no evidence of distraction. "I don't think he thinks about it at all," he said. "If he's fighting, he can have problems, but I guess since he's been boxing so damn long, he knows how to focus on that boxing. That's what I see Floyd doing. He's focused. He's staying focused on what he needs to do."
The fight is viewed as something of a booby prize, as every fight involving Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has been for the last few years, while the world waits on them to fight each other. Mayweather said he might have a half-dozen fights left, including Cotto. Middleweight Sergio Martinez spouted off last week about taking 20-80 and slashing weight to fight Mayweather, though he can stand in a long line of champions who would love one-fifth of a Mayweather haul, without the marketability to warrant it. Mayweather said no to Pacquiao's 50-50 demand. Clear premise, biggest seller, biggest check. The five fights after Cotto might include Martinez. Whether they include Pacquiao will determine how boxing history is written, rock-star status notwithstanding.
Last week's workout was exhaustive, pushing well beyond two hours of sparring, heavy bag, speed bag, hand pads, sit-ups, pull-ups, rope-skipping and shadowboxing with hand weights. That doesn't include the miles of roadwork in the wee hours. Boxing training is internal, not eternal, yet Mayweather looks 35 going on 25.
"I'm pushing myself a lot harder now," he said. "I'm pushing myself to the limit, and there's no limit. So we're going to keep pushing, keep working, keep dedicating ourselves to the sport of boxing. I'm going to keep dedicating myself to my craft. Boxing is something that I love. I'm not saying I don't love it. You see how hard I work. I don't think anybody outworks me or wants it as bad as I want it. I have to love boxing because this is what paved the way for me, this is what opened all the doors for me. So, of course, if I say I don't love boxing, that's (B.S.). I love the sport of boxing."
He shows the signs of an older fighter. The 20-something dancer who tip-toed to 12-round victories has long been abandoned for an in-the-pocket fighter who remains equally difficult to hit. He used to be criticized for too much defense. Now, as a stand-down fighter working from an offensive stance, the depth of his defensive ability has evolved into legend, almost 16 years and zero losses after that 1996 Olympic bronze-medal debacle.
"If I wasn't a defensive fighter, I wouldn't have lasted this long," he said. "I outlasted everybody from the '96 team. I outlasted everybody from the 2000 team. And I don't even know who was on the 2004 team. When it's all said and done, Mayweather's still here, still going strong."
We know Mayweather is boxing's last big rock star, because no less an authority than Rolling Stone ****zine is about to declare him as such, in what is planned as an 8,000-word Mayweather Manifesto before fight week, complete with a cover shot under the working headline, "The Last Rock Star."
No shortage of other authorities would point to the sport's history ?boxing and ****roaches are the first two survivors of nuclear winter ?and say every boxing-is-dead declaration serves as its own distinctive cautionary tale. Yet, the next Mayweather is not visible on the fight game's horizon. And regardless how it's framed, the cover of Rolling Stone is pretty heady stuff.
The thought of Dr. Hook's celebratory song gives way to sing-song left hooks as Mayweather sizzled his workout paces last week. He is 35 now, says he probably will fight through 37, maybe a half-dozen more times. Chronology says he has to be almost finished. But through 42 professional opponents, Father Time has yet to work the opposite corner.
"I don't really look at the age as a factor," Mayweather said. "I feel that I'm still looking strong, I'm sparring with a lot of young guys ?tough, strong, big guys; guys that are pressing me and pushing me, things that I need to prepare for a fight of this magnitude. Do I think age is going to play a factor? At this particular time, I can't say. Once I go out there and that bell rings, then we'll have to see."
Training camp appears visibly indistinguishable from any previous one.
Sparring began with an announcement that no cameras, other than those already in the room ?HBO's and Rolling Stone's ?are allowed.
And no Twitter.
Miguel Cotto, who faces Floyd Mayweather on May 5, was mentioned several years ago as a potential Mayweather opponent when both fought for promoter Top Rank. Now, as promotional free agents, the fight is happening.
Omar Henry is a game, undefeated young fighter. In the first round, he knocked Mayweather's headgear completely out of the ring, sans the head. "New headgear," Mayweather ordered. In the second round, a short hook-uppercut, and Henry buckled, his right foot turning onto the instep. Mayweather stepped back and mimicked the boxing break-dance.
That's the difference between fighting and sparring. In a real fight, the next thing Henry would have seen is a referee counting. As to any thought of mercy at the moment of truth, check out how Mayweather whacked out huggy-bear Victor Ortiz last September. All Henry had to endure was the laughter of 60-or-so onlookers.
The blood-soaked left shoulder of Mayweather's t-shirt, where Henry laid his head to rest on the inside, told the story. There were only four rounds, but the first three were seven minutes each, with 30-second round breaks. When Mayweather wanted to go a 15-minute fourth round ?equivalent to five professional rounds, consecutively ?his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, ordered Henry out of the ring, and a new sparring partner in. Henry refused.
"He asked to stay in there?" a woman asked, incredulously.
"I smell that blood, I taste it," Mayweather chided. "I crave that blood. I'm a vampire."
A bit more than 14 minutes into the final round, Roger Mayweather dove in and pushed Henry to the corner, saving him from his own courage. Respectful applause and bellows broke out for both fighters. That's sparring, too. They fight, they talk trash, and they celebrate each other. And when a different sparring partner mouthed off to Mayweather about what might happen when his chance came the next day, the Grand Rapids native quickly reminded how good he is at that part of the fight game, too.
"My check looks like your Social Security number," Mayweather said.
The only real change this time, assuming Mayweather wins, is how brief the post-fight vacation will be.
He goes to jail 26 days after fighting Cotto.
Mayweather mugged for HBO's camera, said he needs his father to visit training camp so they can generate some controversy, because controversy boosts ratings. You'll see it on TV, or something similar. The show and the fight, indistinguishable.
HBO doesn't need family controversy this time. Mayweather pleaded guilty in December to reduced charges in a 2010 domestic incident involving Josie Harris, the mother of three of his four children, and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 90 days suspended, and credit for three days served. He also could get 30 days knocked off for good behavior and performance of any assigned work duties. Best case, he does 57 days in Clark County (Nev.) Detention Center, beginning June 1, out in late July. He said he wants to fight twice this year.
"You just don't know what can happen in life," Mayweather said. "I don't really worry about that. Whatever's put in my way, the only thing you do is pray about it. All you've got to do is pray about it."
He has undergone court-ordered counseling, "like I'm supposed to, like the judge required for me to do, the counseling has been going great, I haven't missed one day of counseling ?and I just can't wait for May 5, so I can go out and entertain."
The jail sentence was delayed from a January reporting date to allow Mayweather to fulfill the May 5 commitment against Cotto at MGM Grand. The last rock star holds enough cachet in Nevada, where there is no state income tax and casinos are gold standard, that when the biggest name in boxing has an in-town fight and a jail date overlapping, justice can remain blind, as long as it's malleable.
The date can't be delayed again, however. The Nevada State Athletic Commission held a hearing after Mayweather's conviction and unanimously voted to grant him a one-fight boxing license, with future fights in the state contingent on serving the remainder of his sentence as scheduled.
Mayweather said he restrained, but did not strike or kick, Harris. He now is in a relationship with a model, Shantel Jackson, whom he has known for several years.
"The only thing I've got to say is my better half is Shantel," he said. "I have three beautiful children with Josie Harris and the only thing I can do is wish her nothing but the best. I don't wish her no harm in life. I wish her nothing but the best. A beautiful person. But sometimes, you go through certain situations, and sometimes people can get in your ear and tell you certain things, to do certain things. But all in all, things happen. I'm a man. You've got certain obstacles that get in your way in life, and you just work past those obstacles."
Roger Mayweather said he sees no evidence of distraction. "I don't think he thinks about it at all," he said. "If he's fighting, he can have problems, but I guess since he's been boxing so damn long, he knows how to focus on that boxing. That's what I see Floyd doing. He's focused. He's staying focused on what he needs to do."
The fight is viewed as something of a booby prize, as every fight involving Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has been for the last few years, while the world waits on them to fight each other. Mayweather said he might have a half-dozen fights left, including Cotto. Middleweight Sergio Martinez spouted off last week about taking 20-80 and slashing weight to fight Mayweather, though he can stand in a long line of champions who would love one-fifth of a Mayweather haul, without the marketability to warrant it. Mayweather said no to Pacquiao's 50-50 demand. Clear premise, biggest seller, biggest check. The five fights after Cotto might include Martinez. Whether they include Pacquiao will determine how boxing history is written, rock-star status notwithstanding.
Last week's workout was exhaustive, pushing well beyond two hours of sparring, heavy bag, speed bag, hand pads, sit-ups, pull-ups, rope-skipping and shadowboxing with hand weights. That doesn't include the miles of roadwork in the wee hours. Boxing training is internal, not eternal, yet Mayweather looks 35 going on 25.
"I'm pushing myself a lot harder now," he said. "I'm pushing myself to the limit, and there's no limit. So we're going to keep pushing, keep working, keep dedicating ourselves to the sport of boxing. I'm going to keep dedicating myself to my craft. Boxing is something that I love. I'm not saying I don't love it. You see how hard I work. I don't think anybody outworks me or wants it as bad as I want it. I have to love boxing because this is what paved the way for me, this is what opened all the doors for me. So, of course, if I say I don't love boxing, that's (B.S.). I love the sport of boxing."
He shows the signs of an older fighter. The 20-something dancer who tip-toed to 12-round victories has long been abandoned for an in-the-pocket fighter who remains equally difficult to hit. He used to be criticized for too much defense. Now, as a stand-down fighter working from an offensive stance, the depth of his defensive ability has evolved into legend, almost 16 years and zero losses after that 1996 Olympic bronze-medal debacle.
"If I wasn't a defensive fighter, I wouldn't have lasted this long," he said. "I outlasted everybody from the '96 team. I outlasted everybody from the 2000 team. And I don't even know who was on the 2004 team. When it's all said and done, Mayweather's still here, still going strong."
Comment