Flying under the radar this week in the Twitterverse is a rumor that undefeated pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather "battered" up-and-coming prospect Omar Henry during a recent sparring session at the Mayweather Boxing Club. Middleweight Ishe Smith, who resides in Las Vegas, recently took to Twitter to vent about an "argument in the gym" that he had with some "dude" that he's known since he was "about 16 years old". Apparently, the "dude", or someone affiliated with him, suggested that Smith took a "whooping" from him in sparring. Offended by the suggestion, Smith quickly took to Twitter to vent his frustrations through a series of posts. At first glance, one might not immediately realize what he's talking about, but it's not difficult to put 2 and 2 together to realize that the "dude" he's referring to his Floyd Mayweather.
"Argument in the gym today, known dude since I was about 16 years old, I have never taken an ass whooping from him, I don't give a shit what you heard," Smith would first post on Monday. Although it's not clear as to exactly who he's referring to, the following series of posts that came after that quickly cleared up any confusion:
"I have never taken a pure ass whooping in sparring, my last name is not Henry, I don't care what you heard."
Again, with just one name (Henry) mentioned in the post, it's still difficult to know exactly what we're talking about, however, the picture is starting to get more clear.
"Cotto still very much a possibility, waiting to see if we land this fight first, if we do it wouldn't be ideal leaving Eddie"
Now we have 2 more clue, the names "Cotto" and "Eddie", and the plot has begun to thickin. It sounds like Smith is contemplating working with this Cotto character, as he alludes to having to leave a guy by the name of Eddie in order to do it. At this point, I don't think it's a stretch to assume that the name "Cotto" is referring to WBA jr. middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and the name "Eddie" is referring to Smith's trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.
"While he batters sparring partners, people ask me why I'm not in camp with him being I was good work for Mosley, was told by Boza my services weren't needed"
Yet another clue. The uniqueness of the name "Boza" might lead one to assume that Smith is referring to former world champion Cornelius Boza Edwards, who helps run the Mayweather Boxing Club. Furthermore, the mention of being in camp for Mosley is no doubt a reference to the time that Smith spent with Mayweather during training camp in 2010, sparring with him in preparation fo the Shane Mosley bout.
"I just took it maybe it's bc I don't fight like cotto, moved on. But some myth he has whooped my ass is not true, he's had some good days but so have I"
By now, it should be crystal clear that Smith is referring to Floyd Mayweather, especially considering that Mayweather is the only person in the world right now who is preparing for a fight with Cotto.
Although Smith's comments may not sound that important in the grand scheme of things, it certainly is interesting to hear that Mayweather is "battering" Omar Henry in sparring sessions, especially considering that Henry has been dubbed the "Cotto Clone" because his fighting style might be the closest resemblance to that of Miguel Cotto. It's also interesting to hear that Smith is thinking about helping Cotto prepare for his bout with Mayweather, as Smith himself was at one point trained by Roger Mayweather. Perhaps Smith might be the x-factor that Cotto needs for May 5th.