By Sean Hrabachko: Recently I was fortunate enough to catch former IBO super feather champ Jeff Mayweather during his busy schedule in Panama training the former Super Bantamweight undisputed king Celestino Caballero. Jeff is helping the Panamanian in his quest to become a 2 weight world champion on July 2nd against the Argentine WBA king Jonothan Victor Barros. Jeff also talks to us about his nephew Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
Hi there Jeff thanks for taking your time out to talk, So in the way of team Caballero’s title hopes stands Jonothan Barros how highly do you rank the champ?
Well I think Barros is a very solid fighter but we have had a great camp this time around and made sure his legs will be strong for this fight and if Celestino legs are strong I think he beats anyone in the division.
The bout will take place in Barros’s homeland of Argentina how has this affected preparations for the fight?
It hasn’t because this is nothing new to Celestino it has just raised his awareness he’s already won two World titles on foreign soil both by knockout so maybe this is the motivation he needs.
Last year we saw Barros lose for the first and so far last time to the excellent Yuriorkis Gamboa on a UD did you take anything from this fight?
I didn’t see the fight with Gamboa and him plus I don’t need to see that fight Celestino is almost 6ft tall Gamboa is maybe 5’5 so watching him has nothing to do with our game plan
Celestino fought at 130 pounds in his last outing choosing a tough fight against Jason Litzau losing a close decision, as its his first loss in 15 bouts has this affected him in anyway?
Well it’s affected him in a major way because he knows he should have beat Litzau with no problem but maybe that was the problem we under estimated him and even myself included and we came up short on that night.
Has everything gone according to plan during this training camp?
Yes everything is going great Celestino has been as low as 129 with two weeks away from the fight and my most important thing is to make sure on fight night that he has strong legs because without his legs he’s an above average fighter but with his legs in tack he’s an extraordinary fighter and thats what I’m expecting from him on fight night an extraordinary performance.
Your nephew Floyd takes on an in prime world champion in Victor Ortiz on September 17th for his old WBC belt do you think the lay off could be an issue for Floyd as Ortiz is on top of his game?
No I don’t think the layoff is that big a deal Ray Leonard was off 6 years and came back to beat one of the best Middleweights ever Marvin Hagler and Victor Ortiz certainly ain’t no Marvin Hagler and Floyd has less wear and tear on him even than Leonard did because he barely gets hit in most of his fights, so no I don’t think the layoff will be that big of a deal plus once he gets back in the gym the hunger the desire and intensity to perform make him work hard.
As Floyd hasn’t fought for a world title as the challenger for some years now coupled with Victor Ortiz and his relentless pressure will Floyd be likely to alter his tactics?
Yes he has his last fight against Mosley he wasn’t the champion Mosley was but he chose not to pay the sanctioning fee for the belt, plus a belt doesn’t really mean anything to his status he’s the biggest draw in boxing without a belt and plus fighting him is the prize for his opponents plus if you’ve never lost Im certain you go into the fight feeling like your the Champion anyway plus Floyd has already fought Victor Ortiz he just happened to have a different name with that style of fighting, he’s seen it time and time again the question should be for Ortiz because he certainly hasn’t seen anything close to Floyd in front of him.
What are your thoughts on articles claiming Floyd will be knocked out?
The article written by the guy who talked to a Physic that’s a joke but it’s boxing anything can happen in this sport but the chances of that happening are extremely slim plus that’s what boxing is about if anyone is an Ortiz fan they are certainly going to root for him and hope that he wins by knockout but at the same time those same people that want that shouldn’t go put a ton of money on it because no matter how big a fan they are they know that Floyd Mayweather Jr is the safest bet in boxing if your looking for a return on your money.
Okay so I wont ask you who wins Floyd or Pacquiao but in your opinion do you see this match up ever happening in the future?
There is a chance of the fight happening but of course there are some issues that have to be worked out for the fight to happen you know them and everyone else does and that’s Manny’s choice because at the end of the day they both can go on to have great careers and make incredible money if they never fight so neither one really needs the other but if both parties can come to an agreement it will probably happen.