Floyd Mayweather, Jr. did not show any love to rival Oscar De La Hoya when speaking with UK media outlet ITV .
The two fighters meet on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada for De La Hoya’s WBC junior middleweight title.
On top of calling De La Hoya a “fake-assed” fighter, he also said the Golden Boy was a one-handed fighter, his stamina was shot and played down the ring record of his foe.
“Oscar has a straight-up-and-down style. He’s extremely stiff. I can do whatever it takes to win – inside or out. Oscar has one style, like Corrales. Straight ahead and stiff. He’s a one-handed fighter. Oscar’s been in fights where it’s been a coin toss. There are two things we know – he will get tired and he will lay down. Oscar’s last four fights he’s 2-2. I’m 4-0. There’s no style that can beat Floyd Mayweather – does he have it, we’ll find out on May 5,” Mayweather said.
Mayweather admits that he is stronger in the second-half of the fight, while De La Hoya is stronger in the first half of the contest, but he predicts that stamina issues will catch up to De La Hoya as they have in the past.
“It doesn’t matter to me if he takes it easy the first six rounds. I’m not worried about stamina. I’m not strongest in the first half, I’m strongest in the second. I showed when I fought Judah I can adapt to any style. Judah is a lot faster than De La Hoya and he came out fast. I kept my composure and stuck to my gameplan, and you saw the end result. Same with Castillo, same result. It hasn’t happened in 20 years and it won’t happen on May 5,” Mayweather said.
For the last few weeks, Mayweather has said that De La Hoya would be his last bout, unless Oscar is willing to have a rematch with him. He told ITV , that dealing with De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions has been such a grueling experience that he is not willing to go through it again.
“He’s a fake-assed fighter. He says I don’t deserve to be in the sport of boxing. We all know he’s greedy, he’s ungrateful and he’s a brat. HBO will tell you that. I needed a dance partner and he needed a dance partner. Is this my best payday? Yes. Is this his best payday? Yes. That’s because it takes two,” Mayweather said. “First we had a problem negotiating the money. Then we had a problem on the gloves. Then it was the weight. I don’t ever want to do business with Golden Boy Promotions again. I cannot say what the future holds but you just seen how the company is. They’re no different to Don King and Bob Arum.”
Mayweather revealed that his father, Floyd Mayweather, Sr., may end up working his corner come fight time. Floyd, his dad and uncle Roger are all working together in the gym.
“I’m back in the gym, working with my uncle and my dad. The Mayweather family is together. It’s a tremendous combination. The Mayweather name in the sport of boxing has been great. My uncle has been a great trainer for many years and he doesn’t get the credit he deserves,” Mayweather said. “He (Floyd Sr.) may be (in the corner), we don’t know yet. He’s been in the gym and it’s been nothing but love. I feel tremendous and my body looks better than it’s ever looked. I run seven or eight miles with my eyes closed.”
The fight is a little over a month away, but Mayweather is not getting any pre-fight jitters as the days move closer to the biggest fight of his career.
“Why would I be nervous – I’ve been in 18 championship fights. I’m not being cocky – I believe in myself. I’ve been in there with every style – he hasn’t been in there with a style like mine. I never fought one fight the same.”
