21.06.07 – By John Martinez, BoxingRealm.com: Earlier today I spoke with famed trainer and former world champion Roger Mayweather about his nephew’s (Floyd Mayweather Jr.) prospects against current WBA welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto and former three divisional champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley should they meet in the squared circle in the near future. What was supposed to be questions for predictions quickly became a discussion of just how little he believes that boxing scribes know about boxing. Here is what he had to say about the match ups, boxing scribes, and even Mike Tyson.
JM: What are your thoughts on Mosley vs. Mayweather? I ask this because recently one writer wrote that Mosley “ has the speed, the power, and raw athleticism” to beat Floyd.
RM: You know what? He don’t know what the f*ck he’s talking about. The last fight that Mosley fought with Delahoya, he got his ass whooped. How’s Mosley gonna deal with Floyd when he really lost to DelaHoya the last time they fought? The fight with my nephew and Oscar wasn’t even close, but the second fight with Mosley and Oscar was close. I personally had Oscar winning in that one.
If Shane is so gifted in hand speed, then why was the second fight close and a loss for Shane against Oscar even though the judges gave it to Shane? You know, certain dudes write about boxing, but they don’t know sh*t about fighting. If you’ve never fought, then you don’t know what to look for. Oh everyone thinks they know boxing, but most of them have never been fighters.
I wanna talk about the rematch with Oscar real quick. Why is Oscar not wanting to fight Floyd again? I know. He knows he got his ass whooped that’s why. When he lost to Felix Trinidad he wanted a rematch for years, but you don’t see him saying he wants a rematch with Floyd now, do you? Now getting back to Shane and speed. People gonna write that Shane can match Floyd with speed. No way. Speed has nothing to do with it. Skill wins fights.
Those guys writing that sh*t don’t know nothing about boxing. It ain’t about how tough you are or how bad you are. It’s about skills. Skills will take the offense away from your opponent and allow you to counter them. You can be fast and swing all day, but you may not land sh*t so it don’t count in the end. Now for Mosley, all he has to do is come with the right money and you can get what you want. If Shane wants some, then OK. Money makes fights and that’s it.
JM: Who are some of your heroes in and out of the ring?
RM: Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson. Those two are the most skilled fighters in the world because they know boxing. George Gainford trained them. He knew how to get the best out of them. You see, a trainer is the eyes of the fighter because he’s looking at the whole program. He knows how to motivate his fighter and how to draw up a game plan for him. I know my brother is a great trainer and I think that Freddie Roach is a decent trainer. I know that. Look at DelaHoya. He knows my brother knows how to train but even though he made $50 million he didn’t want to pay my brother $2 million. He got greedy and look what happened.
JM: Alright, let’s talk about another possible match up for Lil’ Floyd. Some people think that a Cotto/Mayweather fight might resemble the Leonard/Hagler fight. What are your thoughts on this?
RM: Wait a minute. How the f*ck did Leonard run laps aroung the ring without hitting the mother f*cker and winning? You got to understand that here’s a guy thats crazy anyway because he took 5 ½ years off without a fight, had two detached retinas and took on the baddest motherf*cking middle weight out there at the time and beat him easy. That just goes to show you that whoever wrote are said that, they don’t know sh*t about boxing. You know what Leonard said after that fight right? He said that after the first few rounds he (Leonard) knew he had him because he was easy like a six round fighter. That’s what he said about Hagler.
JM: Well let’s get back to Cotto. If they were a fight between Floyd and Cotto, do you think that there would be some type of stipulation in regards to the size of the ring?
RM: What difference does it make if Floyd decides to dance, box, or fight? Floyd don’t got to fight him in an 18 foot ring. A ring size don’t win fights anyway. Floyd is the champion. You got to understand that some people are always gonna have something personal against someone that talks and talks about their ability to win.
Remember this, when Mike Tyson came on to the scene, he talked all that crazy sh*t, but when he got his ass whooped by Buster Douglas, he got his act right. OK, then he got a couple of wins again, and then he starts talking that sh*t again. Now all of a sudden, he faces Evander Holyfield and he gets his ass blazed again and the next time they fought, he quit like a f*cking coward? And what happens then? He quit talking that sh*t.
Now forget about those ass whoopings from Holyfield and Douglas, he comes back to fight those white dudes and oh he got the dog sh*t whipped out of him. I said oh know he got his ass beat by a club fighter. So, my point is he fell faster than he came up. He had all these knockouts and didn’t have a whole lot of miles on him, and he was washed up and beat by a damn club fighter after all that talking. But you know what? People didn’t mind him doing his talking.
JM: Well who do you think is a better fight, Cotto or Mosley?
RM: Cotto is easier. He ain’t nothing but a one handed fighter like Oscar DelaHoya anyhow. All he’s got is a left hook and that’s it and I’ll tell you that Shane would beat Cotto easy too.
JM: One last question, how do you see the Margarito/Williams fight unfolding?
RM: Well first of all who the hell is Paul Williams? He ain’t sh*t. I’ve seen him before and he throws a lot of wide hooks and no one knows who he is any damn way. I believe that Margarito will win and should win, but he too as problems in his skills that he needs to work on. So, it’ll be Margarito.
JM: Roger, thank you for your time and I look forward to talking to you soon.
RM: Thank you.