On May 5th the multi-million dollar mega-fight between Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas.
But over the past couple of weeks, during the press tour, most of the talk has been about their respective trainers.
De la Hoya and Mayweather Jr recently ended an eight-day, 11-city tour to promote their upcoming fight. Each time they met in a new city, they went face to face at the press conference.
Things didn’t go too well as Mayweather Jr made some outlandish allegations about Golden Boy Promotions stating they accused him of stealing food and boxing gloves.
He said: “I don’t need to do that. I’m a millionaire. They have treated me like s**t this entire tour.”
The press tour ended in California but one day earlier in Las Vegas, Mayweather Jr made a big announcement that his previously estranged father was indeed going to be working with him, along with his uncle Roger.
They had worked together when Mayweather Jr was an amateur but while his father was in prison his uncle Roger took over.
After 14 fights his father returned to the corner before there was a falling out that left bad blood in the family and a separation of father and son. But now they are back together as a team.
Mayweather Sr, who had trained De la Hoya since his fight with Arturo Gatti in March 2001, had asked for $2million to engage his training services for the fight.
Of course, De la Hoya refused, offering $500,000 as a trainer’s fee and a $500,000 bonus if he won the fight. Mayweather Sr didn’t take that deal so De la Hoya selected Freddie Roach as his trainer instead.
Roach had prior commitments with his many other fighters including Manny Pacquiao and Peter Manfredo – who is scheduled to face Joe Calzaghe in April.
But Roach decided to withdraw from training them for their upcoming fights so he could travel to Puerto Rico for training camp with De la Hoya.
Later on, De la Hoya said it wasn’t the money but the fact that he didn’t want to come between a feuding father and son.
Mayweather Sr should know De la Hoya inside and out, his strengths and weaknesses, but will this be a winning combination for Mayweather Jr or is it just a PR stunt to generate even more hype for the fight?
The Pretty Boy is a four-weight champion who is moving up in weight once more to junior-middle. De la Hoya is a five-weight champion. Both guys know how to fight so will their current trainers play an important role in their success?
In his most recent fight, Mayweather Jr fought Carlos Baldomir but his uncle Roger was behind bars. A trainer is important if he is giving his fighter the right advice.
He also needs to prepare his fighter in the gym, watch tapes of the opponent and have a plan A, B, C etc. if things don’t go as planned in the ring.
I think the focus should be more on the fighters than the trainers.
Thousands of fans have bought tickets and millions more will watch the fight live on TV around the world.
The fighters are the ones taking the shots. Yes, a trainer is important but when it comes down to it, the fighter is on his own when the bell rings and has to do whatever he can to win the fight.
I hope the trainers don’t affect the boxers when they meet in May.
