"Let me tell you something man, first of all, he's a 23-year-old kid, man. He ain't about nothing. He was in the gym hitting the bag. I told him, I said, 'Hey man, you hitting that bag with some good power, but you don't have any skills behind it. You gotta mix in some skills and not just throw power shots at it.' He got pissed off and said he would knock me out, so we got in there...I hit him with damn near every counter right hand that I threw...He was just a 23-year-old punk, man. I'm all good my man," staed world-class trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., who gave details about a recent video that surfaced showing him and a much younger man going to toe-to-toe in what appears to be a sparring session, albeit without headgear, that turned ugly. Check out what he had to say.
PC: Big Floyd, do I need to send the goon squad out to Vegas?
FM: (Laughing) Nah man, everything is good.
PC: Well, you are in one of the most watched videos on YouTube right now, sparring some kid that tried to sneak you on two different occasions.
FM: Man, it's crazy how fast shit can get out nowadays, man.
PC: All you need is a camera phone, and it looks like they had about 50 of them there (laughing).
FM: You right, man. Everybody pulled out their phones and was videotaping it.
PC: How did it get to the point where you were in the ring with gloves on with this kid?
FM: Let me tell you something man, first of all, he's a 23-year-old kid, man. He ain't about nothing. He was in the gym hitting the bag. I told him, I said, "Hey man, you hitting that bag with some good power, but you don't have any skills behind it. You gotta mix in some skills and not just throw power shots at it." He got pissed off and said he would knock me out, so we got in there.
PC: He tried to sneak you as soon as you got in there with him.
FM: Yeah, he tried to get a shot in and I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I was blocking all of that shit he was throwing. I just couldn't catch him like I wanted to. My illness is getting a lot better, but it's still not all the way better. If I was healthy, I would have knocked his ass out cold, man. I hit him with damn near every counter right hand that I threw, but I couldn't catch him right and I don't know why.
PC: Well Big Floyd, you haven't fought in years. You're, what, 56 years old and you have Sarcoidosis. I think that's enough reason for your timing to be off. I thought you did well when the actual sparring was going on, but to see a 23-year-old kid trying to sneak you was not right at all. When he climbed back through the ropes and threw that wild left hook, the camera didn't capture it. Did he hit you?
FM: I really don't think he landed nothing, man. They say he threw 2 or 3 punches. I just remember leaning against the ropes for them to take my gloves off and turning around and my fighter was all over his ass. But if he would have hit me in the back of my head, I would have turned around and went to war with him. I don't think he landed anything.
PC: Yeah, I was glad to see your man jump in there and do his thing.
FM: Everybody in the gym was trying to get his ass. The main guy at that gym told him if he came back, he was gonna whoop his ass. They had a dude kicking him and everything, man. He knows he better stay the fuck away from me and he better stay the fuck away from that gym.
PC: Looks like to me he better stay away from boxing. He put out the video with the blueprint of how to beat himself. You just gotta have a good counter right hand. On top of that, if he couldn't handle constructive criticism on hitting a heavy bag, then he's in the wrong sport.
FM: Exactly. You right about that. But nah man, I'm just fine, man (laughing). Believe me on that. Everything is good my man.
PC: I'm glad to hear you are good my man. Let me know if you need anything.
FM: Alright Percy, I sure will. He was just a 23-year-old punk, man. I'm all good my man.
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO OF THE "SPARRING SESSION" BELOW:
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]