Roger Mayweather (Photo: Paul Hernandez)
The atmosphere inside of Floyd Mayweather’s personal gym in Las Vegas has certainly changed. In the months of March and April the facility was practically locked down as the Grand Rapids native trained rigorously for his May 1st bout with Shane Mosley amongst family members, fellow fighters, and other supporters but a visit to the building today showed how much things have slowed down.
Mayweather would go on to defeat Mosley by way of dominant decision and has since been flying under the radar. The tone inside has obviously changed, as his bodyguards are now gone and the gym is more welcoming to the public. Earlier today Floyd’s uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather could be found and he had much to discuss, starting with the victory over ‘Sugar’ Shane.
“Mosley got his ass whipped,” Roger boasted. “He got whipped every round but one. That’s the only round he won was the round he hit my nephew. But it’s no big thing because you gotta understand my nephew can take it and dish it out. The whole thing of it is that he had been absent from the ring almost two years and it just showed what he could take. That’s what boxing is all about.”
For Roger the beat is always the same, whether or not Floyd has a big bout on the horizon. Boxing is what he has known best for nearly all of his life and the element of training extends far beyond coaching one of the world’s premier talents.
“It’s no problem,” Roger claimed. “My days are all the same whether Floyd is here or he isn’t here. I go to the gym, I come here, and I train kids who don’t even know anything about boxing. There doesn’t have to be a fighter in here for me to come and train. That’s just what I do. It doesn’t matter who comes. That’s just part of teaching.”
During Floyd’s last camp Roger could be found further building upon his bond with his 5-year old son Lehkei. After doing interviews and shortly before Floyd’s arrival during a mid-April training day Roger and Lehkei hit the mitts together and the youngster displayed some serious skill. When asked if boxing was something that he tried to guide his son into Roger simply shook his head.
“I don’t try to get him into boxing,” Roger stated. “He likes boxing. When he comes into the gym that’s what he likes to do. Since he likes boxing I am there to show him and that’s the best way to teach sometimes. He’s around the sport and knows all about it.”
As the conversation continued Roger opened up about his love for his family and all of the fighters he has worked with, including Laila Ali, Vernon Forrest, and Joan Guzman. Roger went on to state his beliefs that Team Mayweather will be focused no matter who the next opponent is but didn’t try to hide his belief of the one bout that everyone wants.
“I know the next fight that everybody wants it to be,” Roger said. “Of course the only fight that makes sense is him and [Manny] Pacquiao. Pacquiao is going to get his ass whipped just like Shane Mosley. It’s actually going to be much easier. Any time a guy doesn’t want to take a drug test it tells you a lot about a guy. If the fight doesn’t come off it’s because he doesn’t want to take that test. If the fight doesn’t come off it won’t be because Floyd turned the fight down.”
Following his victory over Mosley it appeared that Mayweather was open to the thought of moving up two divisions and tackling recently crowned Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, who defeated Kelly Pavlik in an inspirational performance last month. Outside of a Pacquiao clash that fight in particular seems to make the most sense yet Roger doesn’t appear to see the danger surrounding it that others might.
“Weight doesn’t win fights, skills do,” Roger pointed out. “If weight won fights James Toney wouldn’t have become the heavyweight champion of the world. Michael Spinks wouldn’t have become the heavyweight champion of the world. Skills pay the bills. Anytime a guy has weight, sure it makes things a little harder but fights are won by skills. Floyd is the most skilled fighter in the sport, period.”
Another fighter chomping at the bit to get in the mix is undefeated WBC Welterweight champion Andre Berto. The Haitian-American was in line to face Mosley earlier this year but withdrew from the contest due to the devastation that he suffered from the January 12th earthquake on his native land. Despite the 26-year old’s urges Roger seems to dismiss the notion of a Berto fight, noting that Floyd’s motives are on a different level.
“He was scared to fight Shane Mosley so what is he going to do with Floyd? Why didn’t he fight Shane Mosley? He had a fight with Shane Mosley but he didn’t even take it. Maybe he wants to fight Floyd because he’s after that money. Whatever makes money makes sense. Everybody wants a payday. Floyd isn’t fighting for a payday, he’s fighting to win.”
