November 25, 12:18 PMLas
Vegas Boxing Examiner
Chris Robinson
At the moment there isn’t a hotter topic in the sport of boxing than a potential Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight. It has been reportedly heavily that both sides are now in the negotiating stages of making the contest happen and fans and media alike are dying to see what steps take place next.
One man who has been keeping tabs with everything surrounding both men, whether he likes it or not, is Floyd’s Uncle Jeff. Despite staying busy on a daily basis training his core group of fighters out in Las Vegas, word spreads fast amongst family and the keen Uncle has a pretty good sense of what is going on behind the scenes. One thing Uncle Mayweather feels needs to happen on both sides to make the fight happen is for each man to swallow their pride a bit.
“First of all it’s a situation where both guys are going to have to put their egos in check,” Jeff says reflecting on both men. “The fight isn’t going to happen unless there is a 50/50 split. No matter what Floyd says or what Manny Pacquiao says. If somebody is talking 60/40 it isn’t going to happen. The only way it happens if it’s straight down the middle or it isn’t going to happen.”
A Pacquiao-Mayweather clash would be a huge event in the sport and the money involved would be monumental. There isn’t a bigger fight out there that people are eyeing but Jeff insists that the time for the bout to happen is now, and that it can’t wait a second later.
“You have to strike when the iron is hot,” Mayweather insists. “If the fight doesn’t happen soon enough the boxing public isn’t going to care as much. To be honest, if this fights get pushed back to 2011 it isn’t going to have the same luster. It’s not even going to be mean as much. After a while people may turn their back on it because they’ll say it should have happened earlier. The only that can happen beyond that is that maybe both could challenge other fighters they should beat to keep interst. But if it doesn’t happen next year the same interest isn’t going to be there.”
Uncle Jeff definitely took notice this past November 14th when Pacquiao displayed his best abilities in dissecting and dominating Cotto. It was a performance that was explosive and impressive, but still Mayweather sees some weaknesses in Pacquiao’s overall attack.
“Don’t get me wrong it was a great win but there were three things that I saw in that fight,” Mayweather points out. “The first I noticed is that Margarito basically killed Cotto’s career. Cotto is not the same fighter and he showed the same vulnerability he showed when he fought Clottey. The only difference is that Clottey didn’t have the same mentality to go finish him like Pacquiao. Clottey was content to hurt him but when he was busted up and ready to quit but he didn’t make him quit.”
While Pacquiao was able to adapt to Cotto and eventually control their fight Mayweather feels that a bout with Floyd would look much different. It doesn’t have as much to do with Pacquiao’s abilities as much as it has to do with what Floyd brings to the table, Jeff insists.
“One thing that Cotto did show during the short time where he was doing well was just how easy it was to outbox Manny Pacquiao,” Jeff recalls. “With that being said, to be honest, Pacquiao has nothing more than a puncher’s chance against Floyd. I think we’ll see a replay of Mayweather-Marquez. If Pacquiao doesn’t catch Floyd with a big shot I don’t see him doing anything. The only punch he can land against him is the hook and it is very powerful. The other punches he throws are just too wide. Basically Floyd can stay on the outside and basically pick him apart.”
At that point the conversation took a drastic turn when Uncle Jeff was asked exactly how he is able to keep an objective mind when assessing his own nephew’s abilities. Elaborating further Jeff notes that while blood runs deep, he is able to take the Mayweather persona out of the equation and assess Floyd Jr. alone by his talents in the ring.
“Even before Floyd was boxing I was a big Roy Jones fan,” Mayweather reflects. “I thought what Roy Jones did was phenomenal when he was at his peak. I fought in the nationals with Roy Jones and I talked to my coach at the time and I told him that Roy was special and different from anybody else in the tournament. I noticed that he was on a whole different level than anybody out there. To me, if you take the name away from Floyd it’s the same thing and I am watching the same thing as to when Roy was at the top of his game.”
When pinned with the reality that because of his name value Jeff will always have some sort of tag associated with him, all he does is shrug. While others may point towards possible favoritism, all Jeff can do is call a spade a spade.
“Everyone is going to say I’m biased but I just take things for how I see them,” Jeff claims. “I’m not ashamed to say that Pacquiao is a great fighter as well. I also know that styles make fights and anybody who tries to fight Pacquiao is going to be in trouble. But somebody who can outbox him and outthink him has a great chance of beating him.”
Whether people in the sport like it or not, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is back and his role in making a Pacquiao fight has been questioned by some. Many claim that the undefeated fighter is unsure of his abilities and reluctant to face the current pound for pound king but Uncle Jeff simply sees it as a case where his nephew is biding his time until the moment is right.
“I think it’s a situation where Floyd isn’t worried too much about anything. He knows eventually that he is going to have to step up to the plate and make things happen. For the most part he has the intention of having a fight in England. I think he is focusing on that more than Manny Pacquiao. I think he is going to try to make that happen then move on to the Manny Pacquiao fight. I’m not sure who he is fighting but I know that Roger is training him know.”
Vegas Boxing Examiner
Chris Robinson
At the moment there isn’t a hotter topic in the sport of boxing than a potential Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight. It has been reportedly heavily that both sides are now in the negotiating stages of making the contest happen and fans and media alike are dying to see what steps take place next.
One man who has been keeping tabs with everything surrounding both men, whether he likes it or not, is Floyd’s Uncle Jeff. Despite staying busy on a daily basis training his core group of fighters out in Las Vegas, word spreads fast amongst family and the keen Uncle has a pretty good sense of what is going on behind the scenes. One thing Uncle Mayweather feels needs to happen on both sides to make the fight happen is for each man to swallow their pride a bit.
“First of all it’s a situation where both guys are going to have to put their egos in check,” Jeff says reflecting on both men. “The fight isn’t going to happen unless there is a 50/50 split. No matter what Floyd says or what Manny Pacquiao says. If somebody is talking 60/40 it isn’t going to happen. The only way it happens if it’s straight down the middle or it isn’t going to happen.”
A Pacquiao-Mayweather clash would be a huge event in the sport and the money involved would be monumental. There isn’t a bigger fight out there that people are eyeing but Jeff insists that the time for the bout to happen is now, and that it can’t wait a second later.
“You have to strike when the iron is hot,” Mayweather insists. “If the fight doesn’t happen soon enough the boxing public isn’t going to care as much. To be honest, if this fights get pushed back to 2011 it isn’t going to have the same luster. It’s not even going to be mean as much. After a while people may turn their back on it because they’ll say it should have happened earlier. The only that can happen beyond that is that maybe both could challenge other fighters they should beat to keep interst. But if it doesn’t happen next year the same interest isn’t going to be there.”
Uncle Jeff definitely took notice this past November 14th when Pacquiao displayed his best abilities in dissecting and dominating Cotto. It was a performance that was explosive and impressive, but still Mayweather sees some weaknesses in Pacquiao’s overall attack.
“Don’t get me wrong it was a great win but there were three things that I saw in that fight,” Mayweather points out. “The first I noticed is that Margarito basically killed Cotto’s career. Cotto is not the same fighter and he showed the same vulnerability he showed when he fought Clottey. The only difference is that Clottey didn’t have the same mentality to go finish him like Pacquiao. Clottey was content to hurt him but when he was busted up and ready to quit but he didn’t make him quit.”
While Pacquiao was able to adapt to Cotto and eventually control their fight Mayweather feels that a bout with Floyd would look much different. It doesn’t have as much to do with Pacquiao’s abilities as much as it has to do with what Floyd brings to the table, Jeff insists.
“One thing that Cotto did show during the short time where he was doing well was just how easy it was to outbox Manny Pacquiao,” Jeff recalls. “With that being said, to be honest, Pacquiao has nothing more than a puncher’s chance against Floyd. I think we’ll see a replay of Mayweather-Marquez. If Pacquiao doesn’t catch Floyd with a big shot I don’t see him doing anything. The only punch he can land against him is the hook and it is very powerful. The other punches he throws are just too wide. Basically Floyd can stay on the outside and basically pick him apart.”
At that point the conversation took a drastic turn when Uncle Jeff was asked exactly how he is able to keep an objective mind when assessing his own nephew’s abilities. Elaborating further Jeff notes that while blood runs deep, he is able to take the Mayweather persona out of the equation and assess Floyd Jr. alone by his talents in the ring.
“Even before Floyd was boxing I was a big Roy Jones fan,” Mayweather reflects. “I thought what Roy Jones did was phenomenal when he was at his peak. I fought in the nationals with Roy Jones and I talked to my coach at the time and I told him that Roy was special and different from anybody else in the tournament. I noticed that he was on a whole different level than anybody out there. To me, if you take the name away from Floyd it’s the same thing and I am watching the same thing as to when Roy was at the top of his game.”
When pinned with the reality that because of his name value Jeff will always have some sort of tag associated with him, all he does is shrug. While others may point towards possible favoritism, all Jeff can do is call a spade a spade.
“Everyone is going to say I’m biased but I just take things for how I see them,” Jeff claims. “I’m not ashamed to say that Pacquiao is a great fighter as well. I also know that styles make fights and anybody who tries to fight Pacquiao is going to be in trouble. But somebody who can outbox him and outthink him has a great chance of beating him.”
Whether people in the sport like it or not, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is back and his role in making a Pacquiao fight has been questioned by some. Many claim that the undefeated fighter is unsure of his abilities and reluctant to face the current pound for pound king but Uncle Jeff simply sees it as a case where his nephew is biding his time until the moment is right.
“I think it’s a situation where Floyd isn’t worried too much about anything. He knows eventually that he is going to have to step up to the plate and make things happen. For the most part he has the intention of having a fight in England. I think he is focusing on that more than Manny Pacquiao. I think he is going to try to make that happen then move on to the Manny Pacquiao fight. I’m not sure who he is fighting but I know that Roger is training him know.”
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