For as much bewilderment as he causes and for as many detractors as he has, Floyd Mayweather Sr. certainly received his share of sympathy and support when it was revealed that he was admitted to the hospital recently. As first reported by Brad Cooney at 8CountNews.com, the 57-year old Las Vegas-based trainer suffered from severe chest pests that went down to his ribs in what could be a possible heart-related issue.
Mayweather suffers from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that can affect nearly ever organ in a person?s body. It is a situation that has humbled Floyd Sr. in several ways but one that has never stopped him from working and it was of no surprise when he stopped by the nearby Pound 4 Pound gym on the West side of town yesterday. Mayweather was there to oversee the duties of welterweight Karim Mayfield, was sparring with former two division champion Celestino Caballero who is preparing for his November 27th date with Jason Litzau at the MGM Grand.
Before the two men went to work I talked to Floyd to get a feel for how he felt following his recent health scare. Opening up bluntly as is always the case with him, Senior made sure not to look for any sympathy.
?I?m feeling great right now,? Floyd said. ?I?m a lot better than I was. It didn?t scare me. I knew it was a problem when my sides starting hurting bad. The disease that I have, sarcoidosis, that particular disease can attack any organs in your body. Anywhere, anytime. I?ve been dealing with this for ten years now. I?m dealing with it the best I can. The lord put me here as a strong person and I believe in the lord man. Nobody will ever here me holler or argue or say anything about the situation that I am in. I?m not a complainer. I do what I can do take care of myself.?
Often during out talks the conversation extends far outside the realm of sports as Floyd has gotten deep on all facets in his life from his severed relationship with his superstar son, the joy he feels from remaining close to other members of his family and the various endeavors he has pursued in his life. Asked for some examples of the things in life that have touched him, Senior again opened up.
?There?s a lot of things that I can be proud of because I?ve done a lot of things in my life,? he continued. ?I?m proud that I was able to take my son where I brought him. My brother is with him now but I?m the person who made him a champion. I?m the person who set the goals for all of us. Everybody. Me, Roger, Jeff, all of us. And my son. More or less my son than anybody. That?s the person I worked the hardest with because he?s my son. I taught him everything he knows.?
In the news: Why Manny Pacquiao could be returning to Las Vegas
The relationship between father and son has taken its share of turns over the years but there is no denying that Floyd Sr. helped mold his boy into the fighter he was from an early age. Upon hearing of his Dad?s recent health struggles, Lil? Floyd showed a side of compassion and paid him a visit.
?Yeah I talked to him,? Floyd Sr. confirmed. ?Floyd came to my house. He came over about three in the morning. He wanted to talk to me. He was telling my lady about how he was sorry for coming over so late but my lady told him ?Hey, this is your father. You are welcome to come over here anytime you want to?. We had a nice conversation. We talked about a lot. We talked more about the old things we did and we talked about [Manny] Pacquiao a little bit.?
Pacquiao has been a hot topic amongst the Mayweather clan over the past year because of their speculation that he may be using performance enhancing drugs. But this time the subject was of a different kind as Junior told his father about the recently video that had been leaked of Antonio Margarito, who faces Pacquiao in mere hours at Cowboys Stadium, mocking trainer Freddie Roach?s Parkinson?s disease along with his stable mate Brandon Rios. In the past Floyd Sr. has taken his share of shots at Pacquiao and Roach for their skills in the sport but this was obviously something that he didn?t agree with.
?He was telling me how Pacquiao?s people were kind of upset about some stuff that Margarito?s camp was saying about Freddie Roach,? Floyd Sr. mentioned. ?Something about how he was shaking or something. I?m sick now but I still don?t have no shaking or nothing like that. And I?m still sick. Sickness is a sickness. One might show and one might not show. I would never take nothing like that and throw it out there like that to Freddie or Pac Man. That?s not a good thing, that?s real bad. I thought it was cruel and ugly.?
Mayweather mentioned that his son would likely be watching the Pacquiao-Margarito contest tonight, as would he. Asked for his take on the matchup, Floyd Sr. doesn?t seem to be completely thrilled, however.
?I?m pretty sure I will watch it,? Floyd Sr. muttered. ?I don?t think I?m going to see nothing different than we?ve been seeing. I?ve got my own reasons for saying what I gotta say. I?m going to say this right here. I believe that Pacquiao is going to dominate him and maybe stop him. Not because Pacquiao is so big and so tough and so strong. And that?s what I?m going to say. But my own personal reasons or belief is that a man of his size could not have the power to compete and to me I don?t think [Margarito] has no smarts. The only time I watched Margarito was when he got his ass whooped by Shane [Mosley].?
It can sometimes be hard to dissect everything that Papa Floyd says and when asked to elaborate he stated that he remembers seeing Pacquiao struggle and lose to and ?old? Erik Morales and that he simply couldn?t comprehend how the Filipino star could later rise in weight and destroy bigger men such as Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.
?I just haven?t seen it happen in the history of boxing or anything else,? an obviously confused Mayweather said. Seeing that Floyd was obviously suggesting that Pacquiao was up to something shady behind the scenes, I saw fit to end our conversation before it took an ugly turn for the worst, as the subject has been beaten to death by this point.
Before exiting I would throw one more salvo into the air when I asked if Floyd Sr. if he had ever found it in him to attend a live Pacquiao event in the Las Vegas area, as he has fought there countless times over the past six years.
?No I never went to his fights because he never did anything to excite me. I?ll watch him on TV and that?s it.?
Both Floyd Sr. and his son Floyd Jr. are charismatic characters in their own right. To read more about their odd relationship please check out ‘A father’s love and agony towards his superstar son’
Pacquiao and Margarito made weight yesterday for their clash tonight. Margarito came in at 150 pounds while Pacquiao was 144.6. To see pictures of the weigh in click HERE
