LAS VEGAS – Ten observations from Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s training camp in preparation for his May 2 fight against Manny Pacquiao.
1. Mayweather loves to FaceTime. It’s his preferred method of communication. He FaceTimed with Stephen Espinoza from Pacquiao’s hotel suite in the middle of negotiations. He also FaceTimed with four-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, with an assist from the Showtime broadcaster Jim Gray, who does a radio show with Brady during the NFL season. This happened, oddly, twice.
“Brady, my guy!” Mayweather shouted during one commercial shoot, the one where he walks toward Pacquiao that has been playing on endless loop. (Quick aside: the boxers filmed that commercial separately, much to Mayweather’s chagrin. He had wanted, well, a little face time with his opponent. They saw each other at the initial press conference and that was it.)
“Defense wins championships!” Mayweather said to small-screen Brady, who, of course, is an offensive player.
Another aside: Brady is expected to attend the fight. We’re told he appealed directly to Leslie Moonves, president of CBS.
2. Mayweather can read, contrary to reports that surfaced before his rematch last September against Marcos Maidana. (He won, by unanimous decision.)
At the commercial shoot, Mayweather read a series of promos. “Hi Puerto Rico, I’m Floyd Mayweather,” and stuff like that. Granted, it wasn’t Hemingway, but it was reading nonetheless.
This was not lost on Mayweather. “Come on now!” he shouted to no one in particular. “You know I can’t read!”
3. Pacquiao’s dog is named Pacman. That’s one of the boxer’s nicknames, too.
There’s now a Ms. Pac-Man video game in the lobby of the Mayweather Boxing Club.
Speaking of, Mayweather renovated the gym before he started training for Pacquiao. He added a clubhouse in the back, near the locker room, complete with two black leather couches, two refrigerators and a flat-screen television. He had the walls repainted. And he added signage, TMT, or The Money Team, splashed everywhere in sight.
See the Top 10 Boxing Matches of All Time
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, Oct. 1, 1975 As close to death as he'd ever been. And that's how the winner described it. Little wonder that the "Thrilla in Manila" (aka Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III), tops TIME's list of greatest ever fights. The pair entered the decisive third heavyweight fight at 1-1 and the searing Philippine heat made conditions as close to hell as was possible. From the start there was nothing humane about the way the pair went at each other. You feel that had it not been for the 15-round limit and, ultimately, Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch throwing in the towel at the end of the 14th, they would still be boxing today. "I want him, boss," screamed Frazier. Futch simply replied, "It's all over. No one will forget what you did here today." As for Ali, in typically modest fashion, he described his opponent as, "the greatest fighter of all time, next to me."Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty ImagesJack Dempsey vs. Luis Angel Firpo, Sept. 14, 1923 Short and sweet. That's how you'd have to describe heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey's defense of his title against Luis Angel Firpo, the "Wild Bull" of the Pampas, before 80,000 people at the Polo Grounds in New York. Dempsey floored Firpo seven times, with Firpo knocking Dempsey clean out of the ring — and that was just the first round (there was no three knockdown rules back then. Indeed, Dempsey was allowed to stand over the fallen fighter and immediately knock Firpo down again, as there wasn't a rule about going to a neutral corner either). Conspiracy theorists believe that Firpo was denied a valid victory in the first round as Dempsey was helped back into the ring by the writers at ringside and the referee was accused of counting incredibly slowly. Nevertheless, after 11 total knockdowns between the pair, Dempsey won by KO in the second. The fight was also important from a historical perspective because it was the first time that a Latin American boxer would fight for the world heavyweight title.APSugar Ray Leonard, Sept. 16, 1981 This early 80s showdown at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas — billed as "The Showdown" — between WBC welterweight champ "Sugar" Ray Leonard and the hitherto undefeated Thomas "Hitman" Hearns, owner of the WBA crown, was a fight of beauty, full of an ebb and flow throughout. They were fighting to unify the World Welterweight Championship and the stakes couldn't have been higher. First Hearns, then Leonard and then Hearns again held the lead. Between rounds 12 and 13, Leonard's trainer, the legendary Angelo Dundee, exclaimed "You're blowing it, son! You're blowing it!" Leonard simply exploded in the 13th, knocking Hearns through the ropes. He didn't relent and finished him off in the 14th with a furious flurry of punches that forced referee Davey Pearl to call a halt to proceedings. Even worse for Hearns was that he was actually leading on all the judges' scorecards up to that point.Dirck Halstead—Getty ImagesMicky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti, May 18, 2002 This pair put fans through the ringer three times, but their first fight will be seen as their fiercest. Both withstood almost non-stop punishment through 10 rounds of grueling action. Ward, who dropped Gatti in the ninth round with a savage left hook to the body, won the fight by majority decision. That ninth round was called "The Round of the Century" by Emanuel Steward, who co-hosted the fight on HBO. Ring Magazine named the fight the best of the year with boxing fans and writers going one (hyperbolic) step further, hailing it as the fight of the century. Wherever you stood on this, you undeniably wanted more. And fans got it, with Gatti winning two subsequent rematches. Ward announced his retirement before their third fight and will be portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the film 'The Fighter'. Gatti tragically died in 2009.Steve Miller—APJoe Louis vs. Billy Conn, June 18, 1941 Legendary heavyweight champion Louis took on the Pittsburgh Kid Conn at the Polo Grounds. Giving away at least 25 pounds, Conn was the heavy (or should that be light?) underdog but proceeded to outbox Louis. Boxing historian Bert Sugar wrote that, "Conn could block punches with his arms, elbows and gloves, and further nullify his opponents' punches by 'rolling' with them." By the eighth round, dehydration had set in on Louis and by the 12th he was completely exhausted with Conn ahead on two of the scorecards (Louis later admitted in his autobiography that he rested up toward the end of his training schedule because "I didn't want them to say in the papers that I beat up on some little guy"). Conn got cocky in the 13th and tried to finish Louis off; but by going for the KO, he exposed his impressive defense, was caught by his opponent and was counted out with two seconds left in the round. Let that serve as a lesson to underdogs everywhere.Joseph Costa—New York Daily News Archive/Getty ImagesDiego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo, May 7, 2005 They may not have been household names but with the WBC lightweight title at stake, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo wowed every house which watched this classic. The pace was simply unrelenting with both fighters landing and receiving repeated blows over nine nasty rounds. The fight ended in memorable fashion in the 10th when Corrales, after being floored twice, rose and landed a devastating series of shots that left Castillo draped helpless on the ropes. But this devastating denouement would not be without controversy: upon getting up for the second time, Corrales spat out his gumshield, thus benefitting from an unofficial 30 second timeout, whereby he literally regained his senses. The pair fought against each other again with Castillo easily gaining revenge. But the decisive final fight, inevitably dubbed "The War to Settle the Score", was canceled due to Castillo weighing too much.Eric Jamison—APMarvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, April 15, 1985 Arguably the greatest opening round in boxing history, the savage pace set by "Marvellous" Marvin and the "Hitman" at Caesars Palace is still discussed to this day. At the time, sportscaster Barry Tompkins, calling the fight for HBO, yelled out "This is still only the first round!" Of course they couldn't keep it up and the aptly named "War" came to a swift end after, in the words of Ring Magazine, the "most electrifying eight minutes ever" as Hagler scored a third-round KO. The enduring image of a blood soaked Hagler being carried around the ring in victory with Hearns being taken back to his corner in a state of semi-consciousness serves to remind us what a brutal sport this can be.APErik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera I, Feb. 19, 2000 Mexicans beam with pride when recalling their countrymen's epic effort back at the turn of the century. Ring Magazine's fight of 2000 was fully justified as the slender boxers belied their small stature to deliver a heavyweight performance which didn't relent (the fifth round has to be seen to be believed) and resulted in Morales winning by a split decision. But considering that Barrera had the only knockdown of the fight, many complained at the outcome which — quelle surprise — led to a rematch (won by Barrera via a unanimous outcome). Cue the third fight (this time at Super Featherweight) where Barrera was declared the winner by a majority decision.Jed Jacobsohn—Getty ImagesJulio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor, March 17, 1990 Endings don't get much more dramatic than this. Expectations were high for the bout nicknamed "Thunder Meets Lightning", referring to Chavez's punching power and Taylor's speed. And while the fight definitely delivered, it enters folklore for the nature of the sudden, dramatic, and controversial ending that continues to be debated to this day. Taylor steadily built a commanding lead on points thanks to easily evading his opponent and outpunching him by a margin of 5-1. But when Chavez did manage to connect, his punches did considerable damage as a result of being the heavier man.
Going into the 12th, Taylor was ahead on all three scorecards (and by a big margin on two of them) but for some reason, Taylor's trainer Lou Duva told his man that he needed to win the final round. Bad move: Taylor was so tired that he fell to the canvas just by failing to land a wild left hand. The final minute was all Chavez and he dropped Taylor with seconds remaining. Taylor got to his feet and was asked by referee Richard Steel if he was able to continue. By not answering (though some say Taylor gave a slight nod), Steele concluded he was unfit to carry on and stopped the fight, scoring a TKO victory for Chavez with only two seconds to go. No wonder his 2009 autobiography was called Two Seconds From Glory.Ken Levine—Getty ImagesChris Eubank vs. Nigel Benn I, Nov. 18, 1990 These two British boxers reached the peak of their careers around the same time. Naturally, fight fans demanded a match-up. The drama kicked in before a single punch had even been thrown: As Eubank walked out to the sound of Tina Turner's "Simply the Best", the song suddenly stopped. It's alleged that Benn's entourage sabotaged the music (to his credit, Eubank was nonplussed and still managed to perform his trademark cocky vault into the ring). Benn, ominously known as the Dark Destroyer, looked furious.
As for the fight itself, it went back and forth as both men gave their all (commentator Jim McDonald screamed at one point, "Jesus, look at that right hand!"). But it was Eubank who took the World Middleweight title when the fight was stopped in the ninth after Benn was subjected to a barrage of blows in the corner despite the fact that he'd floored Eubank earlier that same round. The two fought out a draw a few years later. Despite the build-up, that match couldn't live up to their first meeting which was, indeed, simply the best.Chris Smith—Popperfoto/Getty Images
There’s also a painting in the locker room of Mayweather smashing Pacquiao’s face into pieces. That was a birthday gift from Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics guard and one of Mayweather’s best friends. He had the Art Mobb, a company based in Los Angeles, put the painting together. “It was tough to come up with something,” Thomas said. “What do you get someone who has everything?”
4. Mayweather’s friends and associates all have very specific jobs. Some of the jobs are normal, or normal for someone like Mayweather. Like: his personal assistant carries a backpack filled with cell phone chargers, lip balm and whatever cash Mayweather needs to place bets on NBA basketball games. Some of the jobs are stranger. Like: there’s a guy who picks up Mayweather’s underwear when he finishes a workout. And then there is Nate Jones, a former Olympic heavyweight, whose sole job as it relates to Mayweather is to wear a chest protector and be punched repeatedly in the stomach.
During one workout, as the Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino looked on, Jones grimaced through a series of heavy blows. He says that sometimes he pees blood, which he chalks up to an occupational hazard. “Thatta boy, Nate!” someone shouted from the crowd.
“What the hell is Duke doing with all them black players?” Mayweather asked Pitino between sit-ups, as the coach stifled a smile.
“Is that why they win they won the championship?” Mayweather asked.
“There are a million motherf–king Plumlee brothers,” he said later.
5. On one recent training day, some 18 Ferraris rallied from Los Angeles to the gym to show support for Mayweather. Obi Okeke, one of two Mayweather car guys, organized the rally. Okeke runs Fusion Luxury Motors, and he has sold Floyd 39 cars, including a red Ferrari Enzo that Okeke procured in Abu Dhabi and shipped to the United States. He said there are only 400 of those cars made in the world, and only 111 in the United States, and those numbers don’t count the cars that have been crashed (see this video of the comedian Eddie Griffin on YouTube.)
Okeke has sold cars to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jessica Simpson and Brittney Spears, among others. But no one quite like Mayweather.
“He calls me in the middle of the night, whenever,” Okeke said. “He called me once at 3 a.m. and said, I need a Bugatti in 12 hours in my driveway. I found a way to get it done.”
“This is the real Fast and Furious,” said someone in the crowd.
6. Mayweather’s uncle, Roger, remains in camp. But he’s struggling with diabetes, and his eyesight is deteriorating. He still does mitt work with his nephew most training days, and he’s in the gym most every day, also doing mitt work.
Speaking of Roger, a former world champion boxer in his own right, and of the familiarity in both camps, he once sparred with Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. Roach noticed the 5-year-old that accompanied his uncle to the gym – Floyd Jr. He already flashed the talent that would make him an unbeaten world champion. “I mean, he was born to fight,” Roach says.
As for their sparring session, “I chased him for four rounds,” Roach says. “He never hit me once. So the next day, he says, you want to spar again? I said, no, I already ran this morning.”
“I don’t like Roger too much,” Roach said. “But Floyd always called me Mr. Roach.”
7. Maybe true. Maybe not. But someone in Mayweather’s camp tells us that Macy Gray’s assistant called five times in a single day to lobby for Gray to sing the national anthem at the fight.
8. Floyd Mayweather Sr., the boxer’s rhyme-spewing dad, now has his own publicist. Not that he needs one. He considers all microphones friends.
Someone asked him recently to describe Pacquiao’s biggest flaw. “Getting into the ring with Floyd,” he answered.
9. For this camp, Mayweather still allows around one hundred to two hundred guests to watch him train. But they are not allowed to take pictures or video with their cell phones, which is a new development. This rule is strictly enforced.
There’s a sign on the door.
“No cell phones
While Floyd Mayweather is training leave your phone in your car
No videos
No pictures
No texting
No phone calls
Violators will be asked to leave the premises and will not be allowed to return”
For emphasis, there is also a picture of a cell phone with an X through it.
10. It’s too early to tell how much this means, but those close to Mayweather insist that he will fight Pacquiao once and only once. “No way they do a rematch,” one person close to Mayweather told us. “No. Way.”
Mayweather, of course, has about $150 million reasons to fight Pacquiao again.
