Floyd Mayweather Senior – Head Trainer in his Son’s Corner Once Again
By Niall Doran
The biggest fight of the year in the sport is almost upon us, and potentially the biggest of the decade (in monetary terms at least). Floyd “Money” Mayweather will defend his pound for pound crown against the young hungry lion from Mexico, Canelo Alvarez.
Going into this Saturday’s contest Mayweather will once again have his father in his corner as the lead trainer on the night. This decision proved to be a fruitful one in his last bout in May just gone, when he brought back his dad into his team for the first time in years when he defeated Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero with ease on a unanimous points shut out.
Floyd senior is certainly a colourful character, either way you look at him. He has been known to come out with some outlandish statements from time to time and has a checkered history having been shot, imprisoned for drugs convictions and had a decent career as a pro himself.
However I think when you look beyond the surface, as with anyone, there is a bit more to him than what meets the eye. When you really delve deeper into his record, particularly as a trainer, it starts to become evident what a genius the guy actually is.
Perhaps his star pupil known to most fight fans for many years was the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya. Floyd Mayweather Senior was a huge part of the driving force in Oscar achieving what he did, and De La Hoya has acknowledged this and credits Floyd Mayweather Senior as one the leading trainers in the world today.
I know Floyd Jr did mention that his uncle Roger’s health has been not great in recent years before the Guerrero fight and that in essence is why his dad is back on board for extra help. Roger still does all the pad work with Money though if you look at any of the footage this year. Mayweather Senior is there to oversee things, points mistakes out and will be there in the corner on the night as head trainer. I’d imagine he is the guy who is constructing the game plan behind the scenes too.
I think one of the real reasons Flyd Money Mayweather brought his father back is that if you look at the fights he had with Victor Oritz and Miguel Cotto, he was starting to get hit a lot more and even bleed more on those two particular occasions (all be it from an illegal headbutt in the Ortiz fight).
He also was starting to stand a lot more in the pocket and was willing to exchange more, which I think goes against his natural style a bit which of course is of masterful defense, excellent counter punching and a boxing brain that is perhaps unrivaled in the history of the sport.
When you look at what Floyd Mayweather Senior brings to the table, defense is up there as his main attribute. Frankly the guy is a defensive wizard, and I think it is for this reason he is back in the picture and back in his son’s corner.
Father and son is a strong bond that ultimately is hard to break (despite these two having many run ins over the years). Floyd Mayweather’s career has almost come full circle now when you think about it. It was his father who started him out and showed him how to fight, and now with his career in the home stretch of a mega money contract with Showtime, it is his father that he is finishing up with.
Look for Floyd stylistically to employ more defensive tactics in this fight and for the remaining fights on his contract. I think with his father back in the corner, he will finish out like he once started out, a defensive genius with well timed, sharp, crisp counter punches, who will look to take his opponents into deep waters to drown.
Can’t wait for the fight on Saturday!
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