Fighters stay civil, but trainers trade taunts
LAS VEGAS — The leadup to Saturday’s mega-bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao has been largely absent of the vitriol and braggadocio that often surrounds championship fights, with the two boxers thanking God and exchanging compliments rather than taunts.
But that civility has not carried over to the trainers, who continued their verbal sparring Thursday.
Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, and Mayweather’s father and coach, Floyd Mayweather Sr., held backto-back news conferences in the same room, in which each was asked to respond to comments made by the other.
At one point the two men stood just a couple of feet apart, yet neither acknowledged the other. Roach insisted it was nothing personal.
“I really don’t hate Floyd Mayweather Sr.,” he said. “He does get under my skin. He’s trying to do the best he can and I’m trying to do the best I can.
“There’s no hard feelings.”
Mayweather Sr. took to rhyme to express his mind.
“Freddie Roach is a joke with no hope,” he said. “That’s my answer.”
On other topics Mayweather Sr. was far less poetic. Asked about his boxer’s custom-made gloves, which weren’t available for inspection until Thursday, Mayweather Sr. began by mocking Pacquiao’s trainer, then ignoring the question.
“The gloves,” he said tersely when pressed, “are really not an issue.”
Roach also accused the Mayweathers of being afraid to fight Pacquiao, agreeing to the bout only after being pushed by Showtime.
“He’s a good fighter but he picked his own opponents the whole time,” Roach said of Mayweather Jr. “I have a feeling he didn’t pick this one. I don’t really think he wanted to fight this fight.”
Mayweather Sr. huffed, then answered that claim with his best I-know-what-I-am-but-what-are-you? taunt.
“We don’t care what they say,” he said. “We are not scared. I’m telling you that. They’re the ones who are scared.”
Mayweather then ended his rambling, often unintelligible media session by dismissing Roach — “I’m going to let Freddie Roach rest. I don’t have anything else to say about him” — before praising himself in prose.
“I’m the best, I must confess. All the rest? There’s no contest.” Gloves come off
Roach is the most attentive trainer in boxing when it comes to inspecting opponents’ hand wraps and gloves. So he’s complained all week Mayweather’s gloves weren’t available for review until Thursday, two days before the fight.
“I just want to make sure of the weight and that the gloves are fair,” he said. “I want to know what they’re made of.”
Francisco Aguilar, chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, took possession of the gloves Thursday, apparently short-circuiting any further controversy. Pacquiao’s eight-ounce gloves, machine-made by Cleto Reyes boxing gear in Mexico, were available earlier in the week.
Mayweather’s gloves, made by the Canadian company Grant Boxing, include extra padding around the knuckles, which have troubled the fighter in the past. Defending ‘the Greatest’
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson took exception to Mayweather’s claim he’s the greatest boxer in history, better even than Muhammad Ali.
“He’s very delusional,” Tyson told the Undisputed Champion Network website, adding Mayweather is a “small, scared man.”
Roach picked up on that Thursday morning.
“Mike knows a lot about boxing,” he said with a grin. “I like Mike. I’ll go with that one.”