On a low key Wednesday afternoon Floyd Mayweather Jr. could be found in his personal gym signing gloves and taking care of his respective business at hand. Mayweather has been extremely silent over the past few months and true to form, he didn?t have much to share with this reporter as far as his recent whereabouts or anything else pertaining to his hall of fame career. Floyd was adamant about no up close pictures being taken of himself but was decent enough to still allow full access to his facility.
On this particular day there were plenty of fighters on their grind and much to talk about. Undefeated middleweight prospect Omar Henry was in the building as has been in Las Vegas ever since the July 31st Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch at the Mandalay Bay. Henry has spent time in Chicago, Illinois and Houston, Texas but seems to be relishing his learning experiences in his new city. The 23-year old is working with Roger Mayweather and he has an explosive attack, as evidenced whenever he spars or hits the mitts.
As for Roger, he was his typical self, if not more slightly subdued than usual. This year alone he has seen his name in the headlines on a constant basis because of his work with Floyd, criticism towards Filipino star Manny Pacquiao and an upcoming battle he will be facing in court stemming from accusations of assault. Roger?s criminal trial was originally scheduled for earlier this month but has since been pushed back to October 25th.
Mayweather prot?g? Jesse Vargas wasn?t training on this day but still swung through to check out the atmosphere anyways. Vargas is also trained by Roger and is coming off of a 6th round stoppage over veteran Ernesto Zavala at Club Nokia in Los Angeles in June that saw his record raise to 11-0 with 6 knockouts. Vargas is mild-mannered and humble by nature but vicious inside of the ropes. The Jr. Welterweight prospect is a definite talent and one to look out for.
Floyd?s Uncle Jeff came through the doors with his prized charge Celestino Caballero and went about another daily routine with his Panamanian fighter. The two men are disappointed that they weren?t able to land a September 11th shot against WBA Featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa after his initial opponent Elio Rojas pulled out but they still keep hope for the future. Seeing Caballero and Mayweather work the mitts together it?s easy to see how well they gel as a team.
Mayweather also works with Super Middleweight Brandon Gonzales as well as highly-touted amateur Kevin Newman, who were both also present. After warming up Gonzalez would engage in some heating sparring with Henry and the two men didn?t hold anything back. Floyd checked the action out from ringside and was hollering much of the time.
Trainer Don House was spotted with his heavyweight charge Bermane Stiverne. In his day House has trained the likes of Joan Guzman, Zahir Raheem, Almazbek ?Kid Diamond? Raiymkulov and others. Stiverne informed me that he is eyeing a return to the ring on the September 11th Gamboa-Orlando Salido card at the Palms Resort and Casino.
Former title challenge Kofi Jantuah strolled in later in the day. Jantuah just so happens to have lost a unanimous decision to Dmitry Pirog last year, the same man who iced Brookyln?s Danny Jacobs with a beautiful right hand on the Marquez-Diaz II undercard. Jantuah eyes lit up when Pirog?s name was mentioned and he talked in depth about how he knew the result beforehand, as Jacobs hadn?t been seasoned or tested enough for a fight of that magnitude.
Around 4 PM Mayweather and his advisor Leonard Ellerbe would exit the building. Floyd went around the gym and said his goodbyes to everyone after what could be considered a rather pedestrian day for him. Mayweather has been the talk of the town recently because of his sightings with infamous promoter Don King but didn?t have much to say on the topic. Floyd insisted that for the moment he is simply focusing on his kids at the gym and it?s uncertain how everything is going to play out for him.
For a picture by picture look at the cast of characters inside of Mayweather?s personal gym on this Wednesday please click on the image galleries below?
