"I have been down to watch Floyd work. I've been there quite a few times actually. Floyd's looking good...Floyd don't have any wear and tear on his body. Floyd has hardly been hit throughout his whole career. I know that he's not gonna fight as long as Bernard Hopkins is, because the kind of money he makes, he doesn't have to fight that long, but with that being said, I think he will be fighting another couple of years. I think that's being realistic because I think the fight that's out there will take that long to materialize," stated world-class trainer Jeff Mayweather, who shared his thoughts on how his nephew, Floyd Mayweather, has been looking during training camp as he prepares for his September 17th return to the ring to face WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz. You don't want to miss what else he had to say about Floyd, Celestino Caballero, Bernard Hopkins and much more. Check it out!
PC: How is everything going Jeff?
JM: Everything is good.
PC: Celestino Caballero really got a raw deal in Argentina in July against Barros. The WBA reviewed the fight. Have you guys been updated on the situation?
JM: Yeah, they are forcing a rematch. It goes to a purse bid on the 16th. From there, we will know exactly where the fight is going to be.
PC: I'm sure Argentina is not an option for the rematch.
JM: No, definitely. That's one place that the fight's not going to be. Even Barros said himself that he don't even want the fight to be there and said if he is going to win, he wants to do it without the help of the judges in Argentina.
PC: Celestino was credited with a couple of knockdowns and everyone involved thought he clearly won the fight. What did you think of his performance?
JM: I thought that he did good and he won the fight. When you fight a guy in his backyard, I think you have to win decisively and he got two knockdowns, which actually should have been three, but they didn't count one of them. Half the fight is already over with when you dig yourself into that kind of hole, and then Celestino won 7 of the 12 rounds, and then you add two 10-8 rounds, which should have been three 10-8 rounds, and the fight was a whitewash really. It wasn't even close.
PC: Celestino was obviously hurt by the decision because he released a statement saying that if he wasn't granted an immediate rematch, he would retire. You guys had a long flight back to Panama. What was his mood?
JM: One thing that I have learned is that Celestino is a proud man and he feels like it's a crime to rob a fighter, especially when they work so hard. If it was me, I would probably feel the same way. He had a very long and hard camp and we worked on everything. Then it's time to perform and you deliver...and then another thing is, you deal with that tough loss and then you have to get on a plane and fly for another nine hours. It was a very long flight and it's an empty feeling.
PC: Your nephew, Floyd Mayweather Jr., makes his return in about a month. Have you been able to peep in on his camps at all or have you been on the go too much?
JM: No, no, I have been down to watch Floyd work. I've been there quite a few times actually. Floyd's looking good.
PC: Floyd has not only been fighting guys coming off of wins, but off of some of their best career performances as well, and Victor Ortiz is no different.
JM: Oh yeah! It's unfortunate that the media and these reporters won't even give him credit. Floyd has never ducked nobody and when it was time for him to step up, he delivered. He delivered in spectacular fashion, but it's one of those things because of the way Floyd carries himself, they gotta try to find a way to take away from his accomplishments. They want to rave about Pacquiao when he hasn't done anything but fight fighters that Floyd fought and beat before him, especially when it comes to Ricky Hatton. After he got knocked out by Floyd, that level of invincibility was gone. Before that, everyone thought that Ricky Hatton was a beast until he got knocked out by Floyd, so for Pacquiao to do what he did to Hatton, it was a matter of styles making fights with Hatton by then and that's why the fight ended the way it did, but at the same time, like I said, the invincibility that everyone thought he had was already gone.
PC: Floyd is getting older, but of course his work ethic and the lack of damage he takes in fights could prolong his career and he could fight for a very long time. Realistically, how much longer do you think we see Floyd in the ring?
JM: To be honest, I think that it all depends on Floyd because Bernard Hopkins is still going and he's 46 years old. Floyd don't have any wear and tear on his body. Floyd has hardly been hit throughout his whole career. I know that he's not gonna fight as long as Bernard Hopkins is, because the kind of money he makes, he doesn't have to fight that long, but with that being said, I think he will be fighting another couple of years. I think that's being realistic because I think the fight that's out there will take that long to materialize.
PC: You brought up Bernard Hopkins, so I gotta ask you, how do you see the fight with Chad Dawson going? Bernard said he wouldn't fight younger guys if he was going to continue to fight. Obviously that didn't hold up because he's fought Jean Pascal twice and now will be fighting Chad Dawson.
JM: You gotta realize, Bernard Hopkins has gone back on everything that he's ever said. You can go all the way back to when he said he was going to retire when his mom was on her death bed. Bernard is just like Bob Arum when it comes to things like that because Bob Arum has said, "I was lying yesterday, but today I'm telling the truth." Bernard is kind of that way when it comes to boxing. Right now, Bernard has put himself in a position to make money, and to make good money, so with that being said, he is taking the biggest money fights out there. It has nothing to do with him fighting a guy his age or anything like that. He already proved that he can beat a guy that's much younger than him in Pascal, and Pascal is the same guy who beat Chad Dawson. There is no reason for him to think that he can't beat Chad Dawson.
PC: The NFL seems to be taking a real hard look at HGH (Human Growth Hormone) testing. Do you think a big organization like that looking into better testing methods for their athletes could force a sport like boxing to embrace it as well?
JM: I hope so. I think that as great as Floyd is as a fighter, his biggest legacy will probably be changing the sport of boxing. Whether you hate Floyd, dislike him, or dislike his ways or whatever, one thing you gotta respect is that he took a stand against a situation in which he wants to play on the same level. He took a stand and said, "I'm not going to step in the ring with somebody that's doing this or doing that." He was willing to step up and let the world know that he wasn't using anything. It's one of those situations where if you don't have nothing to hide, why would you have to do this type of test and not this kind, or stop being tested after this day and all of this shit. If you don't have nothing to hide, you will take any test there is at any given time. At the end of the day, that's what it is about. Floyd don't think that he's better than anyone, but he feels he has a legacy to protect, just like anyone else in the sport. If somebody feels that you may be doing something, prove to me that you're not. That's it in a nutshell.
PC: When you look at Victor Ortiz as an opponent for Floyd, what do you think? How do you size him up?
JM: I think Victor Ortiz is a beast, but I think Victor Ortiz is going to be taken to school like he's never been taken to school before in his life. I mean, Floyd has already fought Victor Ortiz. He fought Victor Ortiz when he fought Ricky Hatton, and Ricky Hatton was a better version of Victor Ortiz. I think that Victor Ortiz is a guy who is caught up in the fact that he's coming off of his biggest win, and of course he's riding the wave, but the reality of it is this, Victor Ortiz has never faced anyone who is remotely close to having Floyd's ability. So with that being said, he's going to be taken to school, drowned in the deep water, and get himself knocked out. One thing that people fail to realize is this, they think Victor Ortiz is stronger than Floyd. He is not stronger than Floyd. Just like people thought Shane Mosley was stronger than Floyd and he was not stronger than Floyd, that's the exact same thing. Like Floyd said, "I ain't gotta run from him." He don't have to. He's too smart for him. He can stand right in front of Victor Ortiz and do whatever he wants to do to him.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]