Floyd Mayweather Talks Legacy, Drug Testing, Next Fight, in NYC

Floyd Mayweather Talks Legacy, Drug Testing, Next Fight, in NYC

Written by Michael Woods

Wednesday, 25 September 2013 17:07

Floyd Mayweather is soaking up the adulation as the face of the fight game, the undisputed heavyweight champion of relevancy, on a tour of New York media stops. On Tuesday, Floyd took questions from select media at the Vanderbilt Suites in Manhattan, and told the assembled that he is as happy as he is as ever been.

The 36-year-old boxer, who succumbed to a Howard Stern grilling in the AM, and was off to talk money with Bloomberg crew after the luncheon, came off as a contented person, but still showed the pride which hints that he isn't fully serene in regards to how he is seen in the grand scheme of the sport. I asked Floyd about where he stands all time, noting that his legacy seems to be in a re-assessment period to some, though many more fans seem to think that the fighter can't rise to the level of the Sugar Rays or other golden age greats because he isn't as active, and has cherry-picked foes. Floyd pointed out that when he was 36, Muhammad Ali lost to a man who'd had seven pro bouts. Who else has been on top for a 17 year span, who else connects like I do, who else makes the revenue I do? His implication was clear, even if he didn't want to draw the heat by outright stating that he's the best of the best.

Mayweather pointed out that other fighters get clapped on the back when they sign up for year-round drug testing, but he drew scorn when he made an issue of it a few years back...and now all sports are consumed with the issue. He didn't offer much in the way of hints as to who he might fight next, and neither did advisor Leonard Ellerbe. Both men said that Danny Garcia is a solid boxer, but both also warned naysayers who think the next Floyd date, May 3, 2014 can't come close to the Canelo clash in terms of buzz or revenue that a year or two ago, nobody was predicting that Canelo could be the B side to a promotion which will go over 2.2 million PPV buys and $150 million in revenue when final tallies come in.

"Everyone is gunning for me, from heavyweight down to 105," Mayweather told the media, which included writers from Forbes and the Wall St Journal.

We did perhaps get a hint of what Mayweather won't do, as Floyd noted that he's a welter, and in fact had to gobble extra food to hold weight on fight night. So no, people looking for him to go to 168 or a sub 68 catchweight against Andre Ward, won't be in luck.

He and Ellerbe left the door open for a fight in NY, with Ellerbe saying, "We're always open to listening to different things, you just never know," after Mayweather professed his love for Vegas, titling the possibility of indulging in delicious excess there "Mayweather Mania."

With that the lunch came to a close, with the visit to Bloomberg, and an appearance on "The Colbert Report" still to come. No boxer has replicated the same manner of buzz Mayweather enjoys, getting traction on everything from TMZ to Forbes, and popping up on both left wing outlets, like MSNBC, and pillars of capitalistic supremacy, like Bloomberg. That he does so without being a mad bomber, a la Mike Tyson, and revels in the fact that he doesn't engage in risky trading which could be detrimental to his long term well being, is rather fascinating. His style is best appreciated by purists, and I admit to being slightly suprised that his public preoccupation with the size of his paychecks hasn't resulted in pointed pushback from citizens who don't enjoy the same level of monetary comfort. Sum it all up, Mayweather is a supremely skilled athlete with some personal complexities which keep folks interested in his actions. I confess, I thought to myself that it might be nice to see him glove up before next summer, considering that his activity gives the sport a double-shot of adrenaline. No, Mayweather said, he calls the shots, and he's going to fight in May and September in 2014 and 2015. We can keep ourselves occupied by who is the next lucky soul/poor bastard who will get the opportunity to be rendered a sub-optimal version of their best selves.

http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles-frontpage/17288-floyd-mayweather-talks-about-his-legacy-next-fight-in-ny
♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 All photos other than those specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Impress Photo-Studios♔ and KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Blog-Online Publication all rights reserved.

IT'S ONE FOR THE MONEY - FLOYD MAYWEATHER DOESN'T SKIP A BEAT IN RETURN TO THE RING WITH DOMINATING WIN OVER ROBERT GUERRERO

Boxing's Pound-For-Pound Champ Extends His Undefeated Record To 44-0

In Front Of 15,880 At MGM Grand Garden Arena In Las Vegas on SHOWTIME PPVShowing no ill effects from a one-year layoff, boxing superstar Floyd "Money" Mayweather didn't skip a beat in his return to the ring, retaining his WBC Welterweight World Championship and capturing the vacant Ring Magazine Welterweight World Championshp with a dominant 12-round unanimous decision win over Six-Time and Four-Division World Championship Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

At age 36, the universally regarded No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world employed his superb defensive skills and a powerful right hand to effectively dominate the 30-year-old Guerrero.  In his first fight since a May 5, 2012 triumph over Miguel Cotto, Mayweather scored the unanimous decision by the score of 117-111 three times.

Mayweather (44-0, 26 KO's), of Grand Rapids, Mich., landed 60 percent of his power shots to Guerrero's 28 percent and used his signature lateral movement in a 12-round master performance during which the challenger only managed to land 19 percent of his total punches thrown.

"The less you get hit in this sport, the longer you last," Mayweather said.  "I needed my father (trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr.) this night and we were victorious.  The less you get hit, the longer you last.  Continue to box.  If the knockout came, I was going to take it.

"Everyone was saying that at the age of 36, I didn't have it no more.  My defense wasn't sharp after the Cotto fight, but I have proved myself.  Cotto is a future Hall of Famer.  I've been in with some of the best.  All I want to do is give the fans exciting fights."

Mayweather leaned mostly on his speedy right hand throughout the fight, a weapon that the southpaw Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 KO's), of Gilroy, Calif., couldn't seem to see or react to.  After the fight, Mayweather, who opened up a cut over his opponent's eye in the 8th round, claimed that he hurt his most effective weapon midway through the fight.

"He was barely slipping by the punches," Guerrero lamented.  "I landed some good punches.  He's a great fighter.  He's slick, he's quick.  He came out and did his thing.  He was a little better than I thought.  I thought I was going to catch him.  He was on his game tonight."

Also on the SHOWTIME PPV telecast, Abner Mares dethroned defending WBC Featherweight World Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon to win a world title in a third division.  Mares (26-0-1, 14 KO's) knocked down Ponce De Leon (44-5, 35 KO's) twice en route to a ninth round (2:20) technical knockout victory.

Undefeated Leo Santa Cruz (24-0-1, 14 KO's) put on a dominating performance in his first fight at 122-pounds, knocking down Alexander Munoz (36-5, 28 KO's) three times en route to a fifth-round technical knockout win (1:05).  The former IBF Bantamweight World Champion picked apart Munoz, a former world title challenger, in a scheduled 10-round bout that was never in doubt.

In the opening bout of the SHOWTIME PPV telecast, J'Leon Love (16-0, 8 KO's) overcame the bout's lone knockdown to score a 10-round split decision over the game Gabriel Rosado (21-7, 13 KO's) by the scores of 97-92, 95-94 and 94-95.

Brian Kenny served as host of the SHOWTIME PPV telecast with Mauro Ranallo calling the action, Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi serving as expert analysts with Jim Gray and Heidi Androl reporting.  The telecast was produced by David Dinkins, Jr., with Bob Dunphy directing.♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time. EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 All photos other than those specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Impress Photo-Studios♔ and KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Blog-Online Publication all rights reserved.

MAYWEATHER CBS Primetime Special. Lil Wayne - CBS Special

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time. EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 All photos other than those specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Impress Photo-Studios♔ and KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Blog-Online Publication all rights reserved.