The Maybach was stretched across three parking spots in front of the gym door, because, well, that’s how the boss rolls.
Inside the sweltering gym, the group of several dozen people certainly understood Floyd Mayweather Jr. was in charge. If anyone needed a reminder, Mayweather kept an eye on the door as he got his hands wrapped to make sure the crowd was to his liking.
That meant admittance for a few late hangers-on. It also meant some had overstayed their welcome.
“No, no, you gotta go,” he told a photographer for a Filipino news service as two hulking security types moved in to make sure his wishes were met.
The photographer was a reminder of a fighter Mayweather tries not to think about. Not now, anyway, as he prepares for a welterweight title fight Sept. 17 against Victor Ortiz.
Manny Pacquiao will have to wait. And, unfortunately for boxing fans, it could be a long wait.
“When it’s all said and done, all roads lead to Floyd Mayweather,” Mayweather said.
It’s a road that hasn’t been traveled much lately. Mayweather hasn’t fought since beating Shane Mosley 16 months ago and has only fought three times since beating Oscar De La Hoya four years ago to become a pay-per-view attraction.
He says he’s returning to the ring because he got excited watching Ortiz beat Andre Berto in his last fight. But he wasn’t going to fight Ortiz unless he agreed to take blood tests to make sure he wasn’t doping.
That’s a rule Mayweather says he now lives by. And, unless Pacquiao agrees to the testing, he says there will be no megafight between the two.
“I’m not ducking or dodging or hiding from no opponent,” Mayweather said. “All I’m saying is if you’re the best, take the test. That’s all I ask and we can make the fight happen.”
