4th May, 2012
There is always something buzzing around Floyd Mayweather Jnr and typically it has nothing to do with serenity. Outspoken, profane and provocative, Mayweather is a magnet for controversy.
So it was indeed a strange sight to see a subdued, soft spoken Mayweather at the final press conference for his match against Miguel Cotto, which took place at the Hollywood Theater at MGM Grand on Wednesday afternoon.
Cotto is putting his WBA 154-pound title on the line against Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) in a 12-round match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a pay-per-view showdown tomorrow night.
As if to highlight the tranquility of the setting, a Monarch butterfly fluttered around the room while the press conference was going on.
It was in stark contrast to raucous nature of some of Mayweather’s recent press conferences where he has lambasted and belittled opponents and has taken the opportunity to slam Manny Pacquiao, his arch nemesis.
Mayweather sounded like he had a cold, but he said it was because he had just awakened for the noontime gathering. And if he looked tired, well it was because he’s been to so many press conferences in the past that they’re all beginning to feel the same.
“It’s to the point that it’s just routine,’’ he said. “But the fighter is not the same fighter so you train differently. The opponent is different. Each time you’re going to push yourself as far as you can push yourself.”
Perhaps he had used all of his negative energy on Tuesday when he met with a group of reporters following a staged grand entrance for both fighters at the MGM Grand lobby. Mayweather again speculated that Pacquiao had used performance enhancing drugs to build his career.
“It took me years to get to here — years,” Mayweather said. ”I’m going up in weight but I’m not walking through no damn fighters…(Pacquiao) is 106 (pounds). Now he decides to walk through Cotto? Cotto can’t knock down Shane Mosley, but can he?”
Mayweather said he was not angry when he was talking about Pacquiao.
“Just speaking my mind,” he said. “When you have two fighters who get to this level there’s no losing. That’s the ultimate goal is for the top fighters to meet each other. Somebody got to win and somebody got to lose when you get to this level.”
—Bimbo Ajayi