FLASHY FLOYD SHOWS SIGNS OF MATURITY
THERE were no apologies from Floyd Mayweather for claiming to be greater than Muhammad Ali. But that didn’t mean his press conference was lacking in respect. There was an emotional remembrance of his surrogate grandfather and sympathy for Freddie Roach in his battle with Parkinson’s disease. There were even words of thanks for the 200 hacks in attendance for helping sell the richest fight of all time. Goodbye to the brash, flash, bombastic Floyd Jnr. Hello to the mature Mr Mayweather who weighs his words carefully and respects one and all. Well, mostly. He has been slammed for pronouncing himself superior to Ali so he said: ‘I respect all the great champions of the past. But I’ve done just as much as Ali did. He called himself The Greatest so I call myself The Best Ever. I knew there would be a backlash but I couldn’t care less.’ Roach has characterised the fight as ‘good against evil’ but the barbs have not rattled Mayweather, who said: ‘I’m not going to say anything negative against someone who’s not 100 per cent healthy. I wish Freddie well.’ The new, considerate Floyd choked up a little when asked about important influences who had inspired him to greatness. He took us back to Grand Rapids and a certain Mr Frank Brown, saying: ‘He was important to me from the age of three. Like a grandfather. ‘But he’s not doing well now. He’s losing his memory. It hurts. I love the guy so much.’ It went quiet for a moment, a good time to ask why he had changed from cocksure to contemplative almost to the point of silence. ‘I had to be loud to get where we are today,’ he said. ‘At 17 or 18 I was saying “look at me”. The big personality was part of that game plan. To get to this point we’re at now. Making seven figures in one night. Now I’m here. And as you get older you mature. ‘I respect Manny Pacquiao. To be here now he must be doing something right. He’s one of the last great fighters of our time left for me to defeat. I’m glad it’s happening.’ Mayweather gave us about half an hour of insights which, at the end, came down to six words of blinding simplicity: ‘My game plan is to win.’