Distractions are like family to Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose uncle and trainer, Roger, almost sounds as if he would like to fight Floyd’s father before the May 5 showdown with Oscar De La Hoya on an undercard that lacks real star power. The feuding Mayweathers – they feud with just about everybody – were evident last week in a conference call with Roger Mayweather.
Floyd Sr., De La Hoya’s former trainer, has been hanging around his son’s Las Vegas gym during a training camp that has not exactly been a family picnic.
“He can be there, he can be at home in a rocking chair,” Roger said of Floyd Sr. “I don’t give a (expletive). The bottom line is this: We’re going to win the fight, regardless. I don’t give a (expletive) about who we have in the gym. I don’t train him for his daddy. “I don’t train him based on who’s there or who ain’t there. And if he’s in the corner, I wouldn’t give a (expletive), either. The bottom line is this: Skill wins fights. I know enough about boxing. . . . “So I don’t need to ask his opinion on how to win. Number 1, Floyd got there based on what I’ve done, not what the (expletive) he’s done. He may have set the ground plans for Floyd, but Floyd’s on pay-per-view because of me, not because of his daddy.” Roger also said a lot more expletives about daddy, almost everything but dearest. Roach goes right Fair or not, Oscar De La Hoya’s chance against Floyd Mayweather Jr. is said to begin and end with the powerful left that has defined his career. But Freddie Roach, who succeeded Floyd Mayweather Sr. as De La Hoya’s trainer, is trying to add balance with a complementary right. “He has an excellent right hand,” Roach said from De La Hoya’s camp in Puerto Rico. “But again, he just doesn’t really have the confidence in the right hand that he does in the left. “We’re working on that, and he’s getting better every day. I think it will be a factor.” Roach has done this before. He added a right to Manny Pacquiao’s arsenal for a balance of power in the Filipino’s ascent to the top of the pound-for-pound debate.
Morrison to fight again Former heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison (47-3-1), who trains in the Valley, is scheduled to fight Friday night in Houston against Dale Ortiz (3-1) in his second U.S. bout since a positive HIV test. First, however, Morrison must get a Texas license, which means a physical and a blood test this week in Houston. A third comeback fight is possible next month, perhaps May 25 in Albuquerque, his trainer, former Phoenix welterweight Jerry Cheatham, said.
Hot ticket Ticket prices for the May 5 Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight indicate that there still is a public appetite for boxing if promoters offer a legitimate bout instead of mismatches between unknown fighters. According to online broker TicketsNow, fans were paying an average of $1,358 per ticket for the May 5 bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That average is expected to escalate.
A look at the past year’s most expensive tickets, according to TicketsNow: No. Event Avg. 1. ’07 Super Bowl $3,280 2. De La Hoya-Mayweather $1,358 3. ’07 Kentucky Derby $832 4. ’06 World Series $612 5. ’06 NBA Finals $513 6. ’06 Barbra Streisand tour $503 7. ’06 Stanley Cup finals $484 Casamayor next? Unbeaten Houston lightweight Juan Diaz will fight Acelino Freitas on Saturday night on HBO in his first bout since he retained his title in November at Chase Field. Joel Casamayor, who has been training in the Valley, wants to fight the winner, although he is not impressed with either. Both, he says, lack courage. Trainer Oscar Suarez said that Freitas decided to come out of retirement against Diaz because, “He’s better than Casamayor.” Casamayor, who is never at a loss for words, is bound to counter with many more.
