Freddie Roach: Floyd Jr. is “selfish”
Roach was talking to media at his Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles on Tuesday in between training sessions with Pacquiao. His first criticisms of Mayweather came after hearing Floyd Jr. had arrived late to a Las Vegas training session to which the media had been invited; 200 reporters and camera-operators showed up and had to wait almost two hours for Mayweather to make his appearance.
“Mayweather is a different ‘A side’ now, and you can guess what the ‘A’ stands for,” the 7-time Trainer of the Year told ESPN. “He was late for his media workout, leaving major media outlets scheduled to go live with dead air. How selfish is that? It doesn’t take a lot to figure out why everyone is rooting for Manny.
“Just look at which fighter has the most endorsements going into this fight and why,” Roach added. “When Manny beats Mayweather, it won’t only be about unifying the welterweight titles, it will also be a public service to boxing.”
Aside from implying Mayweather is an “a-hole,” not so bad. But the reason he feels he can call Mayweather such names — and the reason he’s said in the past that Pacquiao doesn’t like Mayweather — is because Mayweather has had domestic abuse-related allegations, citations and a conviction.
Mayweather: history of domestic abuse
That might be fair game, after all Mayweather, who as a boy witnessed his mother’s brother shoot and wound his father, has spent time in jail over domestic abuse. But shouldn’t he have a chance to tell his story? He should and he did this week in an interview with Katie Couric.
“I’m black, I’m rich and I’m outspoken. Those are three strikes right there,” he told Couric, after letting her know the topic was okay to broach. He suggested because he’s a boxer the deck was stacked against him in every charge he’s face. “I got to fight the case because I’m already guilty,” he said. “They don’t know if I really did it or not. But since I’m a fighter, they’re gonna say, ‘You know what? He did it.’”
The big question came up. Did he commit domestic abuse? Is he guilty? In 2011 he pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to a 90-day jail term, serving two months. But he says no, he is not guilty — not for what he was charged with.
“Did I kick, stomp and beat someone? No, that didn’t happen,” he told Couric. “I look in your face and say, ‘No, that didn’t happen.’ Did I restrain a woman that was on drugs? Yes, I did. So if they say that’s domestic violence then you know what? I’m guilty of restraining a person.”
So whether Roach’s comments run afoul of fair play and are a hit below the belt is debatable. We’ll never know, not completely, though it seems certain Mayweather’s been violent to one or more women in his past. He has faced multiple charges and citations for domestic abuse, though all of which he denied, also insisting that the public does not know the truth.
Roach: Pacquiao “exposed” Mayweather
So Roach’s efforts to paint the superfight as a good vs. bad bout — naturally with his religious congressman and family man boxer as the good guy — are justified for many. And despite Mayweather, in the years since the conviction, speaking out against domestic violence, he will never be forgiven by some. Fair enough, given the gravity of it, people think and feel as they like.
But in his interview this week, Roach not only threw shots at Mayweather’s character, but his ability as a boxer — by claiming he was afraid to get into the ring with Manny Pacquiao, and agreed to the fight only because he “ran out of road,” a common theme among Pacquiao fans.
“I am so glad Mayweather is big on Shots (a social media network) because he is going to be taking a lot of them from Manny on May 2,” the trainer said. “That is why he has been avoiding Manny. He didn’t want this fight. He can pretend it was a strategy to build up the fight’s value but that’s not true. For once Mayweather wasn’t able to handpick his opponent.
“Mayweather may have been the ‘A side’ during the negotiations, but once he signed the contract, he became the ‘B side’ just like he did when he fought Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez. That is why he prolonged announcing the fight for as long as he did. He wanted all the attention.
“He was forced to take this fight — by Manny, the media and the fans. Mayweather ran out of road.”
Lack of the fear factor
All the above is hype and if Roach believes it then he should make certain to avoid ever meeting that guy who sells land on the Moon. Mayweather, who wears t-shirts with the letters ‘TBE’, standing for ‘The Best Ever’ is a 47-0 fighter who has won titles in five weight divisions and beaten up some of the hardest punchers in the game. He’s not the wealthiest athlete in the world without reason.
He’s afraid of no one.
It is a tactic from the Pacquiao camp that has likely driven some boxing fans, despite Mayweather’s past, over to supporting Money Mayweather. Suggesting he’s afraid of Pacquiao, or any fighter, is akin to suggesting heat is afraid of cold. Mayweather melts opponents and while Pacquiao may be the best he’s faced, in reality there is nothing to say he’s afraid of him.
What does he fear then if not Pacquiao? What is he concerned about heading into the May 2 Las Vegas fight, the biggest of his career and one of the biggest in boxing history? Couric asked Mayweather just that:
“Nothing at all. Nothing,” he said. “I know I’m great. Is not bragging I know I’m great. I got here somehow, someway. Doing the right things. Pushing myself. Believing. Nah, I’m not worried about nothing at all. I’m not worried about nothing at all. I’m a winner. I know how to win. Under any circumstances I know how to win.
“Me having my hand raised, that don’t define me as a man. So no matter what any one says about Floyd Mayweather, I am a winner. In life. Not just because I was able to make hundreds of millions of dollars. But because I gave 100 percent.”
You could argue there’s hype there, but you can’t argue there’s fear.
