Inside the newly renovated Hit Factory Gym on the East side of Las Vegas you can find trainer Jeff Mayweather working diligently with his stable of fighters on a day to day basis. Mild mannered by nature, Jeff is the least vocal of the infamous Mayweather clan but still has a way with words about him once you get him to open up.
Mayweather?s most promising charge is interim WBA Featherweight champion Celestino Caballero, a rangy and gifted boxer-brawler. The Panamanian was rumored to be in line for a July 24th bout with Yuriorkis Gamboa at the Palms Casino but the bout was never materialized as the Cuban now looks to be eyeing WBC champion Elio Rojas instead. When assessing Gamboa?s strengths and weaknesses you can sense that Mayweather feels left out from a great opportunity.
?I think Gamboa is a hell of a fighter,? Mayweather admits. ?Very talented, extremely fast hands, good puncher, but he just doesn?t have a chin. With that being part of his arsenal we have a great chance of knocking him out.?
A very likely scenario but one that may never come about as Top Rank boss Bob Arum claimed that Caballero priced himself out of the showdown while turning his sights to Rojas. Asked for his take on the situation Jeff seems stupefied.
?How can you price yourself out of a fight when one guy wants a million dollars and the other guy is a champion, not only a champion but top ten pound for pound fighter in the world, and you are talking about giving him $200,000?,? Mayweather elaborates. ?I mean you give one guy 80% and the other guy 20%? I mean it?s ridiculous. That?s the only thing I can say.?
Caballero sports a 34-2 record with 23 knockouts and has notable victories over Steve Molitor and Daniel Ponce De Leon. The biggest mark against Caballero seems to be the fact that he hasn?t found himself in the ring with elite level fighters in recent years but it hasn?t been from his own accord as he has been clamoring for the best for quite some time now.
?It?s disappointing,? Mayweather continues. ?It?s even more disappointing for Celestino. He is chasing these guys and it?s like they always find a way to avoid him. We have to look at other options and we may even have to move to 130. That?s something that we discussed. He?s not afraid of that.?
During Floyd Mayweather?s comeback victory over Juan Manuel Marquez last September, Mayweather came face to face with Caballero?s ?brother? and advisor, Miguel Callist at ringside. The former title challenger pointed to Jeff and claimed ?You are the one?, referencing to his abilities as a trainer while noting he would be the perfect fit for Caballero. The two sides continued talks over the following months and Mayweather and Caballero officially began working together around the start of this year.
The tandem?s first outing was an April bout against previously undefeated Daud Yordan from Indonesia. Caballero completely dominated the action from the get go and overwhelmed his younger foe with a bevy of punches on his way to a unanimous decision at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. The victory was a feather in Mayweather?s cap because of the intense verbal warfare that came from the opponent?s camp prior to the bout.
?I thought he had a brilliant performance,? Jeff notes of Caballero. ?I liked the fact that he didn?t knock him out early. I like the fact that he punished him because even before the fight Yordan was talking too much trash. He was saying he was going to do this and going to do that. Every single round he shut him out and made him look that he didn?t? even belong in the ring with him.?
One fighter who Jeff will always have a keen eye for his ultra-talented nephew Floyd. The 33-year old is coming off of an impressive drubbing over Shane Mosley last month but has made headlines this week for his recent claims that he is reportedly eyeing a one to two year break from the sport. It?s confusing given the fact that Floyd has a multi-million dollar date with Manny Pacquiao on the horizon and Jeff concedes that he is pessimistic about Floyd?s claims.
“I don?t think he?s going to walk away,” Jeff claims. “I think it?s just talk but you never know. I?m not in his shoes at all and with a fight of this magnitude and just getting back from a big victory it may not be the smartest thing to do but I?m not in his shoes.?
Mayweather noted that he feels the negotiating battles outside of the ring for a potential Pacquiao fight may be eating away at the fighter more than he admitting. The two fighters bumped heads earlier this year on a proposed Olympic style drug testing scenario presented by Mayweather and the fight never materialized. In closing Jeff reveals that he has been talking to his brother Roger and that the two men seem to feel that Floyd could simply be playing a baiting game with the public yet again.
?I think that right now [Floyd] is trying to get a feel for the media. That?s part of marketing as well. It?s just like if you are a successful artist. You take a step back from the wall and you see what the demand is. If the people really miss you or they are going to say ?go ahead? and ?peace?. Once again he?s stayed in the public?s eye without doing anything.?
