"Floyd was ready to try something different. It's not that he was unhappy with what he was already doing, but I think that's just Floyd's approach to how he does everything. Whether it's business, whether it's his cars, or his property, he doesn't get complacent and he's not satisfied with being mediocre. He's always looking to make improvements and take things to the next level, no matter what it is. This is just one of those things. That's what a true, elite professional does. They're looking to get better and they're looking to make changes that are going to improve their game, make them evolve, and become better. I have a whole different respect for him for that," stated world-class Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Ariz, who gave an update on how training camp is looking for undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather as he continues to prepare for his May 2 showdown with Manny Pacquiao. Check out what else he had to say!
BT: Alex, about a week or so ago, Mayweather posted a video of him doing some swim training to prepare for May 2. Obviously that's something new that he's incorporated into this camp. Can you tell us how that decision came about?
AA: Well, I mean, this was something that we discussed way back for the second Maidana fight, but since I had only been there 3 or 4 weeks, I thought it was a little too late to start trying things that close to the fight. So we had already been talking from back then until now about some of the things that we were going to do. You know, adding a few extra things here and there and making some adjustments and changes for whatever fight it was. At that time, it still wasn't Manny Pacquiao, but whoever it was going to be, Floyd was ready to try something different. It's not that he was unhappy with what he was already doing, but I think that's just Floyd's approach to how he does everything. Whether it's business, whether it's his cars, or his property, he doesn't get complacent and he's not satisfied with being mediocre. He's always looking to make improvements and take things to the next level, no matter what it is. This is just one of those things. That's what a true, elite professional does. They're looking to get better and they're looking to make changes that are going to improve their game, make them evolve, and become better. I have a whole different respect for him for that.
BT: I think a lot of people were kind of surprised to find out that Floyd Mayweather knows how to swim (laughing).
AA: Well, when you have your own yacht, bro, I think you kind of automatically should know how to swim (laughing). I mean, I saw videos of him jumping into the ocean off of his yacht, so he knows how to swim. I think the thing for us was that when it comes to training, Floyd is so in control of everything, so to give up just that little bit, even if it's just a short amount of control, not being able to control the tempo, the pace, the rhythm, or whatever it is we're doing, to give up that just shows that even a person who's generally in control of everything and the boss of everything, that's how he approaches his training. He's willing to let me be in charge of a small part of it.
BT: So why swimming? I know swimming is something that you like to incorporate with all the fighters you've worked with. Can you explain the benefits of it?
AA: Listen, the water tells you the truth of who you are. It really does. It'll humble anyone. To get into a position where you can't really breath or you have to compose yourself and maintain a rhythm of breathing, it's very difficult. It's very difficult, bro, when you can't breathe when you want to breathe. It's not like jogging or running where you can just randomly take a deep breath whenever you want. You have to maintain discipline and form and rhythm. The intensity of how we do swimming is supposed to be indicative of what we expect in a fight. For Maidana, for instance, or guys like Amir Khan and Chavez Jr., who rely on volume and pressure and having that ability to just keep going and going and going and not be disrupted by breathing patterns or not getting enough air, to still be able to push yourself above and beyond until you get to where you need to get to, water can either make you or break you when it gets to that point. I use it like that. It's water confidence. Once I can establish you to get past the fact of you concentrating on breathing and you're just doing what you have to do to get to where you have to get, then that's where we're at mentally.
BT: Even though this is the second time you've been in camp with Floyd, this is really the first time you've done anything significant with him. Have you or other people noticed a difference in him given some of the things that you guys have worked on?
AA: You know, I'm not going to sensationalize anything. The thing is, the press is only seeing what he's allowing you to see. All the other things that we're doing, he'll choose to reveal that when he feels like he wants to release it. But again, I think anything that you do, I mean, you don't want to settle for just being average. If you're a true professional and you truly want to stay at the top of your game and be considered the best at whatever it is you do, you constantly want to learn and do things that are going to make you progress. Progression is how people become more and more successful. You have to sometimes be able to allow yourself to allow somebody else to give direction or take charge of a situation so you can better yourself because we're all trying to learn. That's how you become better and better and better. Some people stay mediocre and nothing changes and you look at them and all you see is them running off at the mouth, and every time they show up, you don't see shit. And then you see the other side where the people keep their mouth shut and actually do the work, and then you see the performance that they earned through hard work.
CHECK BACK SOON FOR MUCH MORE FROM WORLD-CLASS STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH ALEX ARIZA
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