Mayweather To Young Fighters: To Say You Got Locked Up Is Not Cool

Published

12 years ago

April 8, 2013

The Sweet Science

EIGHT-TIME AND FIVE DIVISION WORLD CHAMPION

FLOYD “MONEY” MAYWEATHER MEDIA ROUNDTABLE QUOTES

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Photo Credit: John Filo/SHOWTIME

Atlanta (April 8) – Eight-Time and Five-Division World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather broke from his Las Vegas training camp over the weekend to attend the semifinals of the men’s college basketball tournament at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. While there, he also sat down with media members covering the tournament to discuss his upcoming WBC and Ring Magazine Welterweight World Championship mega-fight against Six-Time and Four Division World Champion Robert Guerrero taking place Saturday, May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas which will be produced and distributed by SHOWTIME PPV^®.

Below please find quotes on an array of topics in “Money” Mayweather’s own words.

On the NCAA Tournament and Enjoyment of Basketball

“I love basketball. I honestly feel if you are not sweating and it is not blood, sweat and tears, it is not a sport. No disrespect to anyone who’s involved and they think it is a sport, but to me it’s just an activity if you don’t have blood, sweat and tears, then I think it is just an activity.

“This year I really thought it was going to be Indiana. One of my teams is still in it too, but unfortunately for me, I did not have them advancing to the Finals. I will watch the game and am probably going to watch the first half before I decide to make a bet. I have watched both teams [Lousiville and Michigan] and see how they play.”

“No one had Wichita State and I guess that is why they are called the ‘Shockers.’ Obviously that program is doing something right.

“I was telling Charles Barclay before my interview, during the Big East tournament, when Syracuse took the lead over Louisville, they started to play comfortably and Louisville came back and won the game. Same thing happened Saturday against Wichita State, but I think if Michigan takes the lead on Louisville, it is going to be harder for them to come back. Both teams are stacked with talent.

“These guys just poured their hearts out for the love of the game. I just saw that situation at Rutgers where the coach was throwing balls and choking those players and those players didn’t go over the edge. They knew they couldn’t because they weren’t in the position to pull their family out of a rough situation so they were in a tough spot. In that case you have to take the bumps and bruises that comes with those situations. but I don’t think it was right what was going on and treating those young college kids playing basketball.”

On His May 4 Championship Fight Against Robert Guerrero

“I have been off for a year now, so I am looking forward to getting back in the ring. Less than a month away, so I am excited.

“Robert Guerrero is a tough fighter, a solid, busy fighter. He only has one loss, a champion in multiple weight classes. Let’s see what he can do in there. I am sure he is going to be able to make adjustments in that squared circle just like I can, so we will have to see what happens on May 4^th. We will have to see how the fight plays out. I just want the fans to tune in. It’s going to be an action-packed fight on May 4^th. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get the victory. If I have to mix it up or box. I am going to bring it.

“He [Guerrero] did something right to get here. I am sure he is going to be on his ‘A’ game, but I am not really worried about what he can do. He needs to worry about what I can do because I have already proven what I can do in the ring.

“I am very appreciative of what boxing has done for me and I am glad to have given back so much to the sport too. I always wanted to be the best and I think I have proven that over the course of my career.

“I have been pushing myself in training camp. I think my body is going to look tremendous for this fight. I can’t say how my performance is going to be, but of course I am going to go out there and perform. I always am at my best.

“On May 4^th I am going to go out there, be ready and hopefully he is ready too. This is the longest I have trained for any fight, so it should be a great night.

“I am going to dish it out against Robert Guerrero on this one. I am going to be the Mayweather that is active. I have young guys who are really pushing me in the gym for this fight. Sure I have bad days in the gym, but I don’t have bad fight nights, bad paydays.

“Everything is going in camp like it should go. My Dad and me have an understanding that we all work as a team so that is going well because I need my whole team. My uncle Roger is coming along as far as his health, but one thing is for sure, that is my family and I love them. We can’t choose our family and as my mother said in the documentary [30 DAYS IN MAY], they gave me a hand and I am just playing the hand they gave me.

“I really wouldn’t be here without my team. My career is not just about the money like some people want to believe. My career is about my legacy. It’s also about living, loving and laughing and enjoying life.

“I go through ups and downs. It’s a roller coaster ride. I just keep on going and do the best I can, but I am strong and am going to continue to survive. Continue to go strong not just for the sport of boxing, but to entertain the people too.

“I am happy to be with SHOWTIME and CBS. This is the beginning of our relationship and for the next 30 months I plan to give you action-packed fights.

“I flew to Atlanta for the Final Four, flew to Miami to check my property, I am heading back to Las Vegas to train, then have to make a stop in Los Angeles.

“Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion about me and my career. I honestly don’t really care what you say. I love my fans, but I don’t live for anybody except myself and my family. I am comfortable with myself. If people are out there saying ‘I don’t like Floyd Mayweather and he is only about the money,’ I am pretty sure I have some of their pay-per-view money too.”

On Heroes and Young Fighters

“I looked up to a lot of people coming up. I looked up to different people: my father, my uncle Roger, a lot of other fighters who have come before me too like Muhammad Ali and even Mike Tyson. I looked up to a lot of people. I always wanted to be the first to do something, so I was always listening and learning the best I could.

“The person you meet now is the same person you are going to meet down the road. I don’t care what car I am driving or jewelry I am wearing. I stay who I am regardless of what you think I might be or who you think I am.

“People always say, ‘If I had this much money, I would do this or I would do that.’ Well those people don’t actually have the money or are not in my position. As Stephen Espinoza just said, you don’t stay at the top for as long as I have just because. I obviously have been doing something right.

“My mindset has always been to be the best. I would rather be known as a smart fighter. If you go back and look at my interviews from when I was young, I always said the less you get hit, the longer you are going to be able to stay in the game. Going to toe-to-toe just because you can say you did it is not cool to me.

“Sure I have done it in some of my fights, like the Miguel Cotto fight, but there is also a limit. I couldn’t have done that in all of my 43 fights. There is a limit.

“I say to the young fighters that some things just aren’t cool. They think taking a lot of punishment and going toe-to-toe in every fight is cool? That’s not cool. Or to be able to say they got locked up. That’s not cool either. I know I have made mistakes but I can wake up every morning and say I have been honest admitting that.

“Also for the young fighters they should make sure they have a good team around them. People that are going to keep it real with you and can help you make the right decision. There are limits to everything you do. Even though I might seem edgier at times, I have limits too. I am older now and I understand it better. Things can come to a young good fighter so fast they can get caught up in a bad situation. I am going to continue to mentor the young, up-and-coming fighters. I will try to be the best mentor I can for some of these young fighters.

“For young people I say, work hard and dedicate yourself to your life. Be respectful to your parents, go to school because education is important and never compromise to be the best that you can be.

“I want to be able to get around and be sharp when my career is over. I want to be like Rafael Garcia who is here with me today. He’s almost 90 years old, hanging with us, still jogging, driving, and wearing sunglasses. I want to be like that when I am older. I want to be able to hang out with my grandkids and be the patriarch of my family.”

On Training and Music

“If I was to identify with a rapper I would probably have to say Tupac. Just with everything that has happened in my career and what he rapped about and his own life struggles, I would have to say.

“As far as listening to music, I am older now and I am an R&B man. I got a lot of nice cars and when I am driving around in a nice Rolls Royce taking Ms. Jackson out to eat, I’m not trying to be bumpin’ some wild music. Even in the gym or when I run with cars following me with the music, I tell them to give me some old school music, all old school.”

# # #

“MAY DAY: Mayweather vs. Guerrero,” a 12-round fight for Mayweather’s WBC Welterweight World Championship and the vacant Ring Magazine Welterweight World Championship, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Star Trek Into Darkness and Valvoline. The mega-event will take place Saturday, May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). Also featured will be Daniel Ponce de Leon vs. Abner Mares, a 12-round fight for Ponce de Leon’s WBC Featherweight World Championship, former IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz facing veteran Alexander Munoz in a 10-round junior featherweight bout and rising star J’Leon Love squaring off against recent world title challenger Gabriel Rosado in a 10-round middleweight battle for the vacant NABF Middleweight Championship.

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The Sweet Science

WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool

Published

39 mins ago

October 5, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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In his first fight in his native Liverpool since February of 2020, Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA title with a 10^th-round stoppage of SoCal veteran Ronny Rios. The five-foot-two “Wrecking Ball” was making the first defense of a world featherweight strap he won in his second stab at it, taking the belt from Raymond Ford on a split decision after previously fighting Rey Vargas to a draw in a match that many thought Ball had won.

This fight looked like it was going to be over early. Ball strafed Rios with an assortment of punches in the first two rounds, and likely came within a punch or two of ending the match in the third when he put Rios on the canvas with a short left hook and then tore after him relentlessly. But Rios, a glutton for punishment, weathered the storm and actually had some good moments in round four and five.

The brother of welterweight contender Alexis Rocha and a two-time world title challenger at 122 pounds, Rios was making his second start since returning to the ring in April on a ProBox card in Florida after being out of the ring for 28 months. He would be on the canvas twice more before the bout was halted. The punch that knocked him off his pins in round seven wasn’t a clean shot, but he would be in dire straits three rounds later when he was hammered onto the ring apron with a barrage of punches. He managed to maneuver his way back into the ring, but his corner sensibly threw in the towel when it seemed as if referee Bob Williams would let the match continue.

The official time was 2:06 of round ten. Ball improved to 21-0-1 (12 KOs). Rios, 34, declined to 34-5.

Semi-wind-up

A bout contested for a multiplicity of regional 140-pound titles produced a mild upset when Jack Rafferty wore down and eventually stopped Henry Turner whose corner pulled him out after the ninth frame.

Both fighters were undefeated coming in. Turner, now 13-1, was the better boxer and had the best of the early rounds. However, he used up a lot of energy moving side-to-side as he fought off his back foot, and Rafferty, who improved to 24-0 (15 KOs), never wavered as he continued to press forward.

The tide turned dramatically in round eight. One could see Turner’s legs getting loggy and the confidence draining from his face. The ninth round was all Rafferty. Turner was a cooked goose when Rafferty collapsed him with four unanswered body punches, but he made it to the final bell before his corner wisely pulled him out. Through the completed rounds, two of the judges had it even and the third had the vanquished Turner up by 4 points.

Other Bouts of Note

In a lightweight affair, Jadier Herrera, a highly-touted 22-year-old Cuban who had been campaigning in Dubai, advanced to 16-0 (14 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Oliver Flores (31-6-2) a Nicaraguan southpaw making his UK debut. After two even rounds, Herrera put Flores on the deck with a left to the solar plexus. Flores spit out his mouthpiece as he lay there in obvious distress and referee Steve Gray waived the fight off as he was attempting to rise. The end came 30 seconds into round three.

In a bantamweight contest slated for 10, Liverpool’s Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) dismissed Colombia’s Lazaro Casseres at the 1:48 mark of the second round.

A stablemate and sparring partner of Nick Ball, Cain knocked Casseres to the canvas in the second round with a short uppercut and forced the stoppage later in the round when he knocked the Colombian into the ropes with a double left hook. Casseres. 27, brought an 11-1 record but had defeated only two opponents with winning records.

In a contest between super welterweights, Walter Fury pitched a 4-round shutout over Dale Arrowsmith. This was the second pro fight for the 27-year-old Fury who had his famous cousin Tyson Fury rooting him on from ringside. Stylistically, Walter resembles Tyson, but his defense is hardly as tight; he was clipped a few times.

Arrowsmith is a weekend warrior and a professional loser, a species indigenous to the British Isles. This was his twenty-fourth fight this year and his 186^th pro fight overall! His record is “illuminated” by nine wins and 10 draws.

A Queensberry Promotion, the Ball vs Rios card aired in the UK on TNT Sports and in the US on ESPN+.

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Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs O’Connell in Sydney

Published

1 day ago

October 4, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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IBF/WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, generally regarded as the best of the current crop of middleweights, retained his IBF title today in Sydney, Australia, with a ninth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Andrei Mikhailovich. The end came at the 2:45 mark of round nine.

Favored in the 8/1 range although he was in a hostile environment, Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) beat Mikhailovich to a pulp in the second round and knocked him down with one second remaining in the frame, but Mikhailovich survived the onslaught and had several good moments in the ensuing rounds as he pressed the action. However, Alimkhanuly’s punches were cleaner and one could sense that it was only a matter of time before the referee would rescue Mikhailovich from further punishment. When a short left deposited Mikhailovich on the seat of his pants on the lower strand of rope, the ref had seen enough.

Alimkhanuly, a 2016 Olympian for Kazakhstan, was making his first start since October of last year. He and Mikhailovich were slated to fight in Las Vegas in July, but the bout fell apart after the weigh-in when the Kazakh fainted from dehydration.

Owing to a technicality, Alimkhanuly’s WBO belt wasn’t at stake today. Although he has expressed an interest in unifying the title –Eislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos Adames (WBC) are the other middleweight belt-holders — Alimkhanuly is big for the weight class and it’s a fair assumption that this was his final fight at 160.

The brave Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia but grew up in New Zealand after he and his twin brother were adopted, suffered his first pro loss, declining to 21-1.

Semi-wind-up

Topping the flimsy undercard was a scheduled 8-rounder between Mikhailovich’s stablemate Mea Motu, a 34-year-old Maori, and veteran Australian campaigner Shannon O’Connell, 41. The ladies share eight children between them (Motu, trained by her mother in her amateur days, has five).

A clash of heads in the opening round left O’Connell with a bad gash on her forehead. She had a big lump developing over her right eye when her corner threw in the towel at the 1:06 mark of round four.

Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) was set to challenge IBF/WBO world featherweight champion Ellie Scotney later this month in Manchester, England, underneath Catterall-Prograis, but that match was postponed when Scotney suffered an injury in training. Motu took this fight, which was contested at the catchweight of 125 pounds, to stay busy. O’Connell, 29-8-1, previously had a cup of coffee as a WBA world champion (haven’t we all).

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

Published

2 days ago

October 3, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

A small brigade of Mexican and Latino-American fighters gathered at the beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Their mission: to export Mexican style fighting to the Saudi Arabia desert.

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez defends the WBA cruiserweight title against WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith and they will be joined by several other top Golden Boy Promotion fighters on Nov. 16 at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy and BOXXER promotions card called “The Venue Riyadh Season.”

Mexican fighters are known worldwide for their ferocity and durability. Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, surprised many with his convincing win over former champion Arsen Goulamirian last March.

Now Ramirez seeks to unify the cruiserweight titles against United Kingdom’s Smith who has never fought outside of his native country.

“I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16,” said Ramirez.

Smith has a similar goal.

“This opportunity for me is huge,” said Smith. “I’ve been written off many times before.”

The cruiserweights will be joined by two top super lightweight warriors who’ve been itching to face each other like a pair of fighting roosters.

Arnold Barboza, an undefeated super lightweight contender from Los Angeles, has been chasing top contenders and world champions for the past six years. Former super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez simply wants action and a return to elite status.

“I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened,” said Barboza. “I want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight.”

“It’s honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on,” said Ramirez.

Others on the Riyadh fight card include Puerto Rico’s WBO minimumweight world titlist Oscar Collazo defending against Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong, along with Oscar Duarte and lightweight contenders William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer.

One fighter missing from the card is Charles Conwell, the super welterweight contender they recently signed earlier in the year. He last performed on the Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk clash in Las Vegas.

Conwell has similar talent to those two.

And what about the women fighters”

Yokasta Valle recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions. What is her next scheduled fight? She was spotted facing up against Australia’s Lulu “Bang, Bang” Hawton at a fight card. Is that on the horizon?

West Coast venues

Speaking of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, its just a few buildings north of the Belasco Theater where Golden Boy was staging its club shows for several years.

A majority of the boxing media favored that location for its cozy atmosphere and proximity to LA Live. A number of prospects that developed into contenders and world champions fought there including Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, Joshua Franco, and Oscar Duarte.

On any given fight night celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Lopez and others would show up in the small venue that held several hundred fans in its ornate theater setting.

The Mayan Theater and Belasco Theater are still open for business. According to one source, LA Laker owner Jeannie Buss stages a pro wrestling show at one of those theaters.

World title fight

England’s Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 5, at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Starting time for the Queensberry and Top Rank promotion card is 11 a.m. PT.

Ball was last seen nearly toppling WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas but lost last March. He then defeated Ray Ford for the WBA title

Fights to Watch

Fri. ESPN+ 2 a.m. PT Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) vs Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0)

Sat. ESPN+ 11 a.m. PT Nick Ball (20-0-1) vs Ronny Rios (34-4)

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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