"Well, Floyd's always been private when it comes to that manner, but as he grows older, he's become a lot more fan friendly. Floyd did that for the fans. I was shocked myself, but he told me when I was in the gym that he had done it. Plus he said it doesn't matter anyway because come fight time, you won't be able to go off what you saw in sparring, but you can send a subliminal message to your opponent," stated world-class trainer Jeff Mayweather, who gave us his thoughts on Floyd Mayweather's decision to broadcast one of his recent sparring sessions. Plus, check out what he had to say about his work with Roy Nelson, a potential clash between Celestino Caballero and Mikey Garcia, and much more.
PC: Jeff, I know you were happy to make it back to Las Vegas. Although Dewey Cooper got the win out there in North Dakota, I understand it wasn't the most pleasant trip for you, from the food to delayed flights. Tell us about it my man?
JM: Yeah, getting the win was great, especially since Dewey has been away from boxing for two years, so this was a good way to return to the sport. Well, after that, everything went downhill; the food was horrible, not really much to do there, and one store within walking distance. I thought it couldn't get any worse, but it did. We ended up being stuck on our return flight back to Vegas for seven hours, two on the runway before the plane took off, then after 40 minutes in the air, the flight did a U-turn and took us right back to where we had just departed from. The crew insisted we get off and let them work on the plane, but was overruled by the pilot. He said over the loud speaker, "No one get off the plane. Let's give them a chance to fix it because I'm still fresh and if everyone gets off the plane, I might get a little tired and won't be able to fly." So we were stuck on the runway for another 5 hours until they finally gave in and decided to accommodate everyone on the plane with a room. The rooms were great though. The next day, our departure was supposed to be at 3:30 PM; it ended up departing at 7:00 PM, so there was another 3 hours wasted in the airport. It was one of the most draining experiences I had since my trip to Argentina, but we were aware of the fact that we would have an 8-hour layover.
PC: Wow! When dealing with a fighter like Dewey, who took a few years off, what are some of the things you look for when preparation begins?
JM: Well, Dewey is one of the hardest working fighters I have ever worked with. He's one of the guys that I have to tell to cut back because he don't believe in having an easy day of training. He punishes his body like no other, so with Dewey, it's more about getting his timing and rhythm back on track. He's almost never out of shape because he's always competing in MMA, formerly K-1, so conditioning is never part of our process in getting ready .
PC: What did you think of his performance and how did he look in your opinion?
JM: Well, he did exactly what I asked of him and delivered a knockout, just like I told him he would if he did what I said, so the whole scenario was surreal because I said do this and this would happen and he did it, and I told him to step on the gas and turn it up and the fight will be over and he did it. So this fight was a trainer's dream come true when you tell a fighter something, he tries it, and it delivers the results you thought they would; brilliant performance.
PC: I recently interviewed Mikey Garcia and he's Celestino Caballero's mandatory right now. Is that a fight that's in the works or the preliminary discussions haven't begun yet?
JM: I think, at this point, it's preliminary discussions, but also very real and tangible because Garcia is the mandatory, meaning he has earned the right to fight Celestino. I think that it will happen near the end of the year and I also think that negotiations for a site and location will have to be confirmed within 30 days.
PC: What are your thoughts on Mikey as a fighter?
JM: Very solid fighter, good power, and he's young and strong, but at the same time, untested. I like this fight for Celestino because I know we will have to be at our best and I also think that this will bring the best out of Celestino; Garcia will keep us honest. If Celestino boxes like a tall fighter is supposed to, he won't lose to anyone that weighs 126 pounds.
PC: King Mo told me Roy Nelson looked really fluid and you guys looked good working together. Are you comfortable with the progress so far?
JM: I'm extremely happy with his progress. We have a very good working relationship. I bounce a lot of things off Roy to find where the fire lurks within him because he's such a nice and humble guy; I have to reach in there and bring the killer out of him. He will be in great shape when fight time arrives. He's a very hard worker and the pace in which I train him at, no heavyweight will be able to maintain the endurance that Roy has. His punch count is well above 300 punches a round and it burns him, but he's a competitor; he sticks with it and never complains.
PC: When we spoke a day into training Roy, you really stressed that you wanted him to get in shape. How is his conditioning at this point?
JM: He will be in great shape because I'm forcing him to keep pace with me. No matter what he appears to look like on the outside, mentally and physically, he will be ready for war.
PC: One thing that kind of shocked a lot of people in the industry was Floyd putting out some footage of him sparring Omar Henry. What did you think of him putting that out there and do you think that's a sign of how confident he is?
JM: Well, Floyd's always been private when it comes to that manner, but as he grows older, he's become a lot more fan friendly. Floyd did that for the fans. I was shocked myself, but he told me when I was in the gym that he had done it. Plus he said it doesn't matter anyway because come fight time, you won't be able to go off what you saw in sparring, but you can send a subliminal message to your opponent.
PC: Are you on edge when you are watching Floyd fight, relaxed...how are you during his fights?
JM: To be honest, I have never been nervous watching Floyd fight, not even when I saw him get hurt by Shane, but that was more because I really didn't see how hurt he really was until I watched the replay at home. Floyd is the best defensive fighter on the planet and because I was a good defensive fighter, I know that if you don't want to be hit, you won't almost 95% of the time... but it only takes one. Plus, in most fights, I have already played the fight out in my head based on the fighter that he is facing. After three rounds, he usually has his opponents figured out and takes over mentally and physically.
PC: The co-main event of that card has Shane Mosley facing Canelo Alvarez. Do you think Shane can turn back the clock one more time or will Alvarez be too much for him in your opinion?
JM: I think that will be a decent fight. I lean towards Alvarez because I haven't seen any real fire in Shane since the Margarito fight and when he caught Floyd with a good shot, but that was it. Pacquiao, no fire at all. The Mora fight was horrible for the both of them. I really like Shane and hope he can reach back in time, if only for one night. If he can, maybe he will pull off the upset, but the Shane that has been showing up lately won't win, but he will survive.
PC: Do you have any fighters you want to plug or anyone with an upcoming fight that we haven't mentioned yet, or anything you want to say before I let you go?
JM: I have DeAndre Latimore fighting on Floyd's undercard against former World Champion Carlos Quintana. I also have Chase Corbin, 6-0 with 5 knockouts, possibly in Philly the following week, and I have been lately branching deeper into the world of MMA. I have picked up Danny Castillo and T.J. Dillashaw. They both fight on Urijah Faber's team, Alpha Male. And as always, I like to let everyone know about my site, www.proboxinginsider.com.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]