De La Hoya, Floyd Sr. Break Down Mayweather vs Marquez

Richard Schaefer: We have a tremendous showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez, a little more than a week to go. The fight is at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It will be shown on HBO Pay-Per-View, as we all know. Today's call is very special because I know while Oscar was down in Mexico, he was giving me a report on how he felt Marquez's training was going. We, of course, have also seen that on 24/7 where we witnessed some rather unusual training techniques, which reminds me of those secret potions. And then of course I was in Las Vegas where I saw Mayweather. He is as always in great shape. He is very committed to the sport and there is one man who has been around Mayweather from the entire camp and during the off times. That is none other than Leonard Ellerbe, his friend, advisor, and CEO of Mayweather Promotions. I'd like to turn it over to Leonard now who will be introducing Floyd and Oscar.

Leonard Ellerbe: We're truly excited, we're about one week away. Camp has been tremendous. Floyd is ready to go. We've had great work during the camp. And it's truly going to be a great fight for the fans next Saturday. The Mayweathers have the biggest name in the sport; it rings everywhere. Obviously, there is one person who put that name on the map. He is one of the most sought after trainers in the game today, a truly, truly great teacher in my eyes and a great student of the game. All the great skills that you've seen from his son, whether it be the skill level, his ability to think, the work ethic or his great boxing ability, it all came from one person. It is with great pleasure that I introduce, none other than that man himself, Floyd Mayweather Senior, aka Big Floyd.

Floyd Mayweather Sr: This is Floyd Mayweather Sr, the world's greatest, the one that's truly second to none. And like I said before, come next Saturday, you better be ready. That's all I got to say.

Richard Schaefer: Well one man who has beaten Marquez, has seen his preparation, and who knows a great deal about the sport of boxing, is the ten time world champion in six different weight classes and president of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya.

Oscar De La Hoya: I just have this feeling that Marquez is going to pull this one off. I went down to Mexico and saw him train with my own eyes. I saw how much he bulked up; I saw how much strength he has gained. I saw how seriously he's taking this fight, and I'm convinced he will win this fight. He's looking sharp, he's looking fast, he's looking strong. Floyd Mayweather is the best fighter on the planet, and Juan knows that. He knows he's up for a big challenge, but he's ready and he knows that he has to put his life on the line and he's willing to do that. So it's going to be one tremendous fighter against another tremendous fighter. And so I think - I just have this feeling after watching Marquez, he's going to pull it off.

Q: Hey guys, this question is for Oscar. I'm glad to hear your voice, it sounds like Shaq didn't hurt you too bad. I understand what you're saying about Marquez, I'm sure he's in the shape of his life as they always are. But you know, easier said than done, fighting somebody like Floyd Mayweather. You fought him, you know how difficult it is. How is Marquez - you say your convinced he's going to do it, but how? How is he going to catch up to him? That's the main question, you weren't able to do it, so how will Marquez do it?

Oscar De La Hoya: When you said how difficult it was for me, I mean that's exactly my point. It wasn't difficult. The first half of the fight wasn't difficult, but I'm the one that stopped fighting. I'm the one that didn't keep using that jab. I'm the one whose screws were coming loose on my shoulders and my back and I was falling apart. I mean yes, Floyd Mayweather is an excellent boxer and he's the best fighter on the planet, no doubt about it. But Marquez, I mean styles make fights and I'm sure Marquez is - has- dissected Mayweather's style and it's not going to be an easy task but I'm just giving you my personal opinion that I have a feeling, being in there with Floyd and watching Marquez train, I just have this feeling he's going to win.

Q: Well one other question here Oscar, what - how difficult is it to come back from a layoff like Floyd has had? It might refresh him but yet, you know you're going to be rusty. What is the main trouble he's going to run into with the lay off that long?

Oscar De La Hoya: Well it depends on how active you've stayed if you've been away doing nothing, than you're going to be rusty. But if you've been in the gym doing something, than you're going to maybe have trouble adjusting at first, or maybe you'll need a few rounds to adjust. But you know being the professional that Mayweather Junior is, I'm sure it's going to be no problem for him to adjust. But, at the same time, you know that Marquez is coming at you right from the get go, right from the start - I just feel that Mayweather's going to have to be playing catch up in the fight.

Floyd Mayweather Sr: Little Floyd, his timing is on. Not only is his timing on, I'm back now and he's not only with his timing, he's got his jab working now which is something he hasn't been working with before. Now he has his jab working over time. So I'm pretty sure that Marquez is going to get more than he's looking for. Marquez is going to come in there to put up a good fight, a great fight, but if Marquez can get past the jab, which is going to be hard to do, if he can get past that, then he can make the fight hard or he can make the fight easy. Little Floyd's the one that's jabbing.

Q: Hi, Oscar, you alluded to when you fought Floyd about how you did well early in the fight and then you kind of fell apart. Can you speak to the idea that Floyd's incredibly fast, yet there are plenty of examples in boxing history where guys who are much faster were neutralized simply by a jab. Do you think Marquez can do that?

Oscar De La Hoya: Yes. Obviously when I fought Floyd my jab was the key. You know I have a great jab and when I used it, I was unstoppable. That was my key to victory.

When I stopped using it that's when Floyd was able to win the fight.

Marquez has an excellent jab. Marquez is going to use the triple, the quadruple jabs. This is the fight of his life. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and he knows it. And he has to go extra times to win this fight. He's a smart counter puncher; he's a smart fighter, and it's a matter of throwing those jabs and feigning those jabs, and not only throwing the jab but putting three, four, five punches right behind that jab. That's going to be the key.

Q: Yes, and when you took a lay off, you had a long lay off before you fought Vargas, I think it was almost two years, and you came back and put on a pretty good performance, and you knocked him out in the tenth or eleventh round. Do you see a parallel with that, perhaps if you're still in your physical prime than maybe the lay off doesn't mean as much as opposed to being an older guy?

Oscar De La Hoya: Well yes, if you're staying active, like I said, and doing something in between fights then these lay offs really doesn't go against you.

I have to say that Floyd has an excellent work ethic and he knows how to train. He knows how to stay active, he knows how to take care of his body.

Q: Oscar obviously you set your own - made your own history in this game. Where do you think Floyd Mayweather should lie among the great fighters of the past 35-40 years? If you want, to go back to Roberto Duran, when he was a great lightweight forward, because I hate to talk about the guys I never saw fight, so let's just say going back to the 70's with the Durans, the Leonards, the Hearns and guys like that. Where do you think Floyd should be placed?

Oscar De La Hoya: Let me put it this way, the only way Floyd is going to be talked about among the best, he has to keep fighting the best, and he has to knock out some of the best, starting with Juan Manuel Marquez. He has to make a statement. He has to do something that no one has ever done, ever in Marquez's career, and that's knock him out. The you can say, "Oh boy, here we go. We're watching a great fighter in the making and there's no doubt about it." But he has to knock out Marquez. He has to make a statement because Marquez fought Pacquiao twice and Marquez, in my mind, beat him. But Pacquiao couldn't knock him out. If Mayweather can make that statement knock out Marquez and go after him, that's - you know, "Hello world, here I am. I'm the greatest!"

Q. Big Floyd, what do you think about what Oscar just said, and where would place your son among the greats?

Floyd Mayweather Sr: Well I would have to disagree with Oscar. I think Little Floyd can go in there and give Marquez a good whooping, I mean a real good whooping. I think it has nothing to do with the legacy because if it had something to do with legacy, a lot of guys wouldn't get in the record book. So I think it ain't so much that Little Floyd needs to come out and do a good job and make a statement and let the people know that he's here and he has to be dealt with. I don't think he has to knock him out. I think what you're saying about how Little Floyd got to make a statement, whether Little Floyd knocks him out or not, that would be a statement. If Little Floyd beat him, I mean unmercifully, that would be a statement. A statement is a statement.

Q: There's been, conflicting stories about the sparring session that Little Floyd had with Lamont Peterson. Were you at that sparring session and if so can you talk about what happened?

Floyd Mayweather Sr: Yes, Peterson, he worked good with him. But the whole thing is Peterson is useful, but Little Floyd got the best of it. Little Floyd is hitting with the big shot stuff and he buckled a few times, but Peterson, he's not a bad fighter at all. And he fought hard, he did what he can do, and that's that. But I can't take nothing away from Peterson, he's a good fighter.

Q: Leonard, I spent some time talking to Floyd about his image and how he just seems to have such a negative image in the media and among some sports fans as being someone who is not as dedicated to his craft as other boxers. Or as someone who's all flash and no substance, and who seems to generate a lot of negative publicity. In your mind why is that? What can he do to change his image?

Leonard Ellerbe: Obviously, that's been a challenge within the media. There's certain members of the media who have said a lot of negative things about him in the past, but Floyd's goal is just to continue to go out there and do the things that he does best, and that's be the best fighter in the world, continue to be a family man, to be the best role model he can for his kids, and to continue to give back to his community like he's been doing. And those are just the positive things that he's focused on. All the negative criticism out there, that hasn't been a focus at all because people - they talked badly about Jesus Christ. So when you're on top, those are the kind of things that happen, that people talk about you, they want to see you fail. And like I said, all we are about is just trying to be positive and do the right things.

Q: This question is for Floyd Senior, we've talked several times about training your son and training other fighters. Do you think that having this family unity back is going to help your son in the ring? He's going to have you in his corner, he's going to have his uncle in his corner, it seems like a lot of the distraction from the past is gone. How much will the family unity help this?

Floyd Mayweather Sr: Family unity is - anytime any family gets together it's going to be stronger. So I think that's a positive.

Q: Floyd, why do you think your son is such a magnet for negative publicity?

Floyd Mayweather Sr: Well you know these days, you ain't got to do much to make the public mad at you, you ain't got to do much. Little Floyd, he's flamboyant in his own way, that's his life, that's the way he choose to do it. My son's flamboyant in his own way, he likes to drive his Mercedes and Maybachs and Ferraris; that's the kind of stuff he likes to do. That's my son, that's the way he is, and a lot of people don't like it. I mean that's one of the things right there, understand that people don't like it. I mean that's just the way the world is, that's the way America is. You can't change the whole world. People have their own opinion. But understand people are going to people - people are going to be who they are. You've got people that are going to be bad, people who are going to be good and people who are going to be all right, you know?

Q: I talked to Floyd recently about his status as pound for pound best, and how he doesn't believe that he's getting credit. He believes that when he fights somebody it's not a big deal, but when somebody else fights him it is a big deal, and the person he was speaking of, specifically was Pacquiao. And I couldn't ask for two better people to address this than Floyd Senior and Oscar. Floyd Senior, you were in the corner both times that he fought Oscar and he also fought Hatton. He believes that he beat the better Oscar, he also believes he beat the better Hatton. Can you address those two issues?

Floyd Mayweather Sr: My son fought 'em both and beat them both before Pacquiao had the chance. I'm going to say that Pacquiao, he probably did beat the best Hatton. I'm just saying Hatton - he's a good fighter, he's a good fighter but he was limited. And when Pacquiao fought Oscar...Oscar - I truly believe that you know as a fighter I don't want to need to tell Oscar and I'm working with my son right now so I don't want to even answer that question. I think Oscar worked a great fight and I think my son was also very good.

Q: Okay Oscar, same question, Floyd believes that when he fought you were at a more comfortable weight. You were at 154 pounds, you were fresher.He also believes that you were more drained physically against Pacquiao and also a little bit exposed. Can you address the two Oscars that fought those two different fighters and is he right or wrong?

Oscar De La Hoya: Well yes, just to set the record straight, when I fought Floyd I was in my weight class. I felt strong. Obviously that fight was a good fight for me, I'm fighting the best pound for pound fighter in the world in Floyd. And I was doing great, I was in the fight. Obviously because of physical pains and aches here and there, I couldn't do what I wanted to do. But I was still in the fight and when I faced Pacquiao I lost the fight before I got into the ring. I made the mistake of coming in below the weight limit. I made 141 pounds a month before the fight which was a huge mistake on my part. There's nobody to blame. But even when I fought Floyd, we did 2.4 million homes. When I fought Pacquiao we did 1.2 million homes, so it's a whole different ball game with Floyd. When Floyd's involved in a fight, you're going to get a big event and this is what you have now, a mega world event. And then, you have Floyd along with the best fighter in Mexico, when you have all the Mexican fans supporting their hero, just the way they did with Chavez back in the 80s, you're going to get a tremendous fight, a tremendous event.

Q: Does Floyd have a legitimate argument in that he feels that he should have retired when he did retire as the pound for pound best? Or does Pacquiao, because he beat you and Hatton in more convincing fashion, have an argument?

Oscar De La Hoya: Well Floyd Junior does have an argument saying that he hung up the gloves because he felt that he had accomplished everything he wanted to accomplish.

He felt that he left the sport as the best and now he wants to come back and fight again and still, nobody's beaten him, he's still undefeated. He's still Floyd Mayweather Junior. It's just like reading a book and you're on the tenth chapter, and you close the book to take a nap. Then you open it once again when you wake up. And you start where you left off. It's a continuation here and I think, come September 19, you're going to see the best Floyd and you're going to see the best Marquez.

Floyd Mayweather Sr: Yes I believe Little Floyd is the pound for pound best. To date, somebody like Manuel Pacquiao and them kind of guys, I definitely think Little Floyd is the pound for pound best right now, even with the two year layoff, I still think that it's a good call. I think Little Floyd took his little layoff, I think the guy has a better chance. To me Pacquiao is - I wouldn't call Pacquiao a good fighter at all. I wouldn't, I mean that's my opinion because I see too many things he does, speed means nothing if you don't know where to put speed. If you don't know exactly where to put the punches, they don't mean anything. So you know he's got speed, he's fast, but he's got no skills with it, so it don't mean nothing. He's not an Oscar De La Hoya; he's not a Floyd Mayweather or any fighter like that.

Q: Richard, about this fight going to be shown in the theaters, how would we go about finding out in which theaters the fight is playing?

Richard Schaefer: The information is available if you look on NCM Fathom. They have a list online which lists the movie theaters that are participating in this, for the first time in over 20 years, movie distribution.

Q: For the fight will they be using Grant or Reyes gloves, and does it even matter?

Oscar De La Hoya: Well I know Marquez would prefer Reyes. As far as I know, both fighters will be using Reyes gloves.

Leonard Ellerbe: Correction on that Oscar, Floyd will be wearing Grant, but it will come down to who the best fighter is on particular night. Both fighters will be in great shape and the gloves won't make a difference.

Mayweather vs. Marquez: "Number One/Numero Uno," is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions in association with Marquez Boxing Promotions and is sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, AT&T, Quaker State, Dewalt Tools, Affliction Clothing and Southwest Airlines. The explosive evening of boxing will take place Saturday, Sept. 19 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.

Tickets priced at $1,000, $750, $600, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now and limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets previously purchased for the July 18 date will be honored.


Source: boxingscene.com