Floyd Mayweather Jr.
While we still wait with bated breath for the announcement of a Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao bout, Mayweather Jr. is preparing to fight current WBC welterweight champ Victor Ortiz September 17, 2011 in Las Vegas.
The self-professed money maker hasn’t been in the ring in over a year, last defeating Shane Mosley in May 2010 to maintain his pristine record which now stands at 41-0.
In a recent Q&A with the Los Angeles Times, Mayweather Jr. makes it clear that his absence from boxing will not hurt him in the ring against Ortiz.
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Your layoffs have been long. How do they affect you?
The layoff won’t hurt me. It helps me. I get mentally stronger, enjoying seeing my children get stronger, knowing even more about the sport. Self-preservation is an important thing to me. I’m staying sharp without getting beat up in there.
You like it when doubters raise questions. You use that as fuel, right?
Everything people say I couldn’t do I’ve done. They said I’ll never be a big pay-per-view star. I’m the biggest out there. They said that Marquez was too small, that Shane Mosley was too old. Mosley wasn’t too old for Antonio Margarito, look who Marquez is fighting [Pacquiao in December]. I never get my just due, but I’m right where I want to be in this sport. To be in here almost 20 years as a pro and to be this sharp, that’s truly amazing. I just want to be the best. I haven’t been in an all-out war. That doesn’t mean I’m not the best.
When Floyd says, “I haven’t been in an all-out war” is it safe to assume that he knows that war will come if/when he fights Pacquiao? Will some deem his career incomplete if the two never compete?
HBO’s ever-intriguing 24/7 series featuring Mayweather and Ortiz premieres Saturday, August 27. Here is a sneak peek:
