On September 19th, 2009, Floyd Mayweather made his return to boxing after a 21 month hiatus with a dominant unanimous decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez. With the victory Mayweather showed the same skills, fundamentals, and outstanding talents that had defined him as one of the premier fighters of this past decade. The only problem seems to be that as of late Mayweather is getting a lion’s share of attention for the person he is outside of the ropes as well.
There’s a reason that people know the Grand Rapids, Michigan native as ‘Money’ Mayweather as he has seemed to get caught up not only in an extravagant lifestyle but also himself as well. While controversy and varying opinions have become the norm regarding Lil’ Floyd these days, there was a time when it was nothing but boxing for the confident young man.
From a youth, the sport was something that was a part of Floyd and it has seemed to be the one constant that he has carried with him over the years. Wanting to get a deeper perspective of the early life of Floyd Mayweather, I touched base with a man who knows him in a way only a few others can, his uncle Jeff Mayweather. In this first edition of the Mayweather Chronicles we take a look back to the early days of Floyd and what his life was like. His uncle explains why the sport became so sacred to Floyd and talks of how that carried over into the rest of his life. In his own words, this is what Jeff had to say about Floyd’s first taste of boxing, their relationship with one another, and the steps that followed. This is The Mayweather Chronicles: The early steps of Floyd…
From the Beginning… “Basically when Floyd was just a little bitty kid he was already into boxing. I remember him having gloves on almost right after he was born it seemed. I remember the gloves were actually bigger than him. It was almost like his father raised him as if he had no choice other than boxing. He really looked up to his Dad and his father started him at such a young age that he really didn’t know anything else. He really didn’t see much action in other sports and it was all boxing for him.”
At a Young Age… “Floyd was like any other normal kid for the most part. There was nothing different about him other than the fact that he was always boxing. He was doing things that normal kids simply didn’t do because he was so wrapped up in it. I remember at such a young age he was doing roadwork constantly. It was kind of bizarre seeing him running by himself as a little kid. Of course his dad was behind him driving in the car but on the street Floyd was by himself doing 3 or 4 mile runs in the city. This was when he was maybe eight years old.”
Love and Respect… “There was always a sense of love and respect between us. I have a tendency of being close to my nieces and nephews. I always seemed to be the favorite uncle because I am always joking and I can kind of relate to them even though they are younger than me. As opposed to being cruel and telling them what to do I was acting like them and joking around with them. So of course Floyd and I were always close. A good portion of Floyd’s life I was actually in college and there were periods of time when he wasn’t in Michigan and he was actually living in New Jersey but we always kept in touch and were always happy to see one another.”
Effortlessly… “I definitely believed that Floyd was going to be great and I would tell anybody who would listen the exact same thing. Even well before the Olympics I remember telling people about my nephew. It doesn’t take a genius or a rock scientist to figure out that there was something about him that was special because he just picked up on things so effortlessly. The things that people are just starting to appreciate with him are things I have been seeing for a long time.”
A Different Kind of Instinct… “People like to say that certain things you pick up on in life are because of instinct but another thing is that instinct can also be developed and tendencies can be created. That’s the thing with Floyd is that he always had everything instilled in him at such a young age. The training, fundamentals, and work ethic were something that was always a part of him and it just became his nature and a big reason why he was able to succeed. You can’t teach speed and of course that was his own unique talent but everything else, from his reflexes and defense, was taught to him at a very young age.”
Amateur Days… “A good portion of his amateur career I as actually in college but I still remember going to as many of his amateur fights as possible. I missed a lot of it but there were also some fights of his that I remember traveling abroad just to see. Basically I know that I was probably the only one that was there when he actually lost in the Pan Am games to Carlos Navarro. To be honest that is the only fight that he has honestly lost in his entire career, both pro and amateur. It was a close fight but there was still no doubt as to who was the winner. That’s the only time I remember seeing him lose. I remember people bringing up his fights with Augie Sanchez but he beat Augie Sanchez every time. Even in the Olympics I feel that he was robbed. Every loss he has on his record, besides Carlos Navarro, really didn’t happen in my opinion.”
Life Goes On… “Floyd Sr. was locked up in 1993 and it was something that was hard for Floyd to deal with. His father was the driving force behind everything he did and it was drastic blow to him. His father was the voice that was always there for him. Everything that he knew in life pretty much came from his dad. Floyd Sr. pretty much made boxing a lifestyle for him and he didn’t know anything else. I’m sure he was devastated but he still had the motto where life goes on. He just learned to take advantage of what he knew best, which was boxing. He may have been down but he found a way to move on.”
Stay tuned in the coming months as the Examiner will be bringing you future editions of the Mayweather Chronicles, focusing on the past and present lives of Floyd Jr., Floyd Sr., Roger, and Jeff.
Chris Robinson is a Freelance writer based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He tries to bring readers a different perspective on his articles by staying away from personal opinions and agendas and instead focusing on interacting with various people form the boxing world. If you liked the article feel free to add Chris as a favorite Examiner, subscribe to his mailing list, or reach him personally at [email protected] and www.FaceBook.com/CRHarmony
Jeff Mayweather is the former IBO Jr. Lightweight champion of the world and a respected trainer based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He appreciates any and all feedback and can be reached at [email protected]
