LAS VEGAS ? Perhaps nobody tested Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s new-found maturity more than Ruben Guerrero, whose son Robert will try to take Mayweather?s welterweight title at MGM Grand on Saturday night.
When given a chance to speak at the press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Ruben Guerrero distinguished himself by launching into an angry, profanity-laced tirade against Mayweather, calling him a woman beater who wouldn?t be man enough to defeat his son.
Guerrero was referring to the domestic battery charge brought two years ago against Mayweather by the mother of three of his children. Mayweather served 70 days at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on the charge.
When it was Mayweather?s turn to speak, he didn?t even acknowledge Ruben Guerrero or anything he said. Not too long ago, Mayweather would have launched into his own profanity-laced diatribe against Guerrero.
?I said a prayer for him,?? Mayweather said. ?I have to keep my composure.?
Mayweather also made the decision not to allow his own father, Floyd Sr., to be on the dais to keep tempers from boiling over.
?When I was young you saw the wild Floyd Mayweather,? Mayweather said. ?I?m a lot older now. My kids are teenagers. I can?t be conducting myself in a disorderly fashion. It?s OK to trash talk sometimes to give the people excitement. But there?s a time and a place for everything.?
Mayweather, 36, has been a pro for 17 years. He is the pound-for-pound best, the top money earner and brightest face of the sport. With his new, six-fight deal with Showtime worth more than $200 million, Mayweather also realizes that he is also the standard bearer. He knows that people are watching and he now cares about the image he projects.
Jail apparently had a profound effect on Mayweather. He said he spent the time, which was mostly served in isolation for his own protection, writing letters to his family and fans and thinking about his family.
Mayweather said he learned that freedom is precious.
