Undefeated pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather moves when he wants to moves, so it's not uncommon for him to hit the gym at the drop of a dime on any given hour of the day. Less than 3 days before his highly-anticipated Cinco de Mayo showdown with WBA jr. middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, one of those hours came approximately at midnight, when Mayweather and the Money Team arrived at the Mayweather Boxing Club for a late night/early morning training session.
Shortly before then, I received a text message that simply read, "Late night workout. Head over to the gym!" Naturally, I quickly jumped into my car and made the short 10-minute drive from my hotel. When I arrived, the parking lot was already full and Big Kip was already on guard at the front door. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe arrived immediately after me, decked out in a money-green sweatsuit signifying it was time to go to work. He looked a little tired as he made his way past the crowd gathered in the front, no doubt from the hectic schedule that fight week brings for someone responsible for so many events going on. Nevertheless, he quickly shook it off.
No time to sleep! Hard work! Dedication!
As I made my way inside, the gym was already packed with both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Seated on the side of the ring was the man himself, Floyd Mayweather, surrounded by those that take care of whatever he needs. Cutman Rafael Garcia applied the wraps to protect his moneymakers, while Tommy Smalls paced quietly in anticipation of the "light" workout to come. Miguel, better known as 53, was already manning the sound system, preparing the night's playlist. Pistol Pete and Rome, armed with their cameras, were also already in position, recording every intricate detail for the Champs personal collection. Their HBO 24/7 counterparts were also on hand, their dinner interrupted when they received news of the workout.
No time to eat! Hard work! Dedication!
What came next can hardly be put into words. Unfortunately, unless you were one of the lucky 50+ individuals to be given access inside the gym, there's no way to truly understand the talent and skill that was put on display in the early hours of the morning on Thursday, May 3. It was said to be a "light" workout, but you could hardly tell from the intensity of all those involved. For this particular session, there was no loud music being played; just the sounds of mitts to gloves, mitts to shoulders and mitts to arms. As the chants and cheers began to grow from those closely studying from ringside, the man in the center of the ring simply replied, "Let me work," and once again, silence from the onlookers while he did just that: work! As usual The Doghouse was hot, my back sweating as if I was the one working out, but the heat had no impact on the non-stop session, as the punches kept coming and kept landing.
No time to rest! Hard work! Dedication!
When the workout ended and I finally left the Mayweather Boxing Club, it was approximately 3 AM on Thursday. Later that day, Mayweather hosted a charity event that started at 7 PM, and to the surprise of many, he stayed for over 3 hours, not leaving until it ended and roughly 11 PM. It was at that time when I received another text message that read, "Please join Floyd to see Avengers." Say what? Sure enough, Mayweather had invited his team for a late night private screening of the newly released Avengers movie. When I arrived, again I noticed multiple familiar faces, including P-Reala, Ricki Brazil, David Levi, Jackie Long, Joe Judah, Hasim Rahman, Big Kip, Big Phonz, Pat, Calloway, Pistol Pete, Rome, and 53, just to name a few. Everyone in attendance laughed and joked as they waited for the movie to start. Midway through, there were a few who dozed off due to the late showing, nevertheless, everyone was having a good time, and you truly got the sense that, although they were not related by blood, it was one big, happy family. On Friday night following the weigh-in, all was quiet; the calm before the storm perhaps, as many members of the Money Team were seen in a different locations. Some were at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for the fights at The Joint; others were still spotted back at MGM Grand. Either way, it was a sign that all the hard work was done; the only thing left to do now is perform under the bright lights inside the ring on Saturday night.
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