In the buildup to Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao on May 2, animosity has given way to respect with both fighters saying very little of note. Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach has stirred the pot from time to time, specifically targeting Floyd Mayweather Sr. for his barbs, but the latter hasn't bitten.
"He's not going to get under my skin now," Mayweather Sr. said of Roach. "I've got the right thing to do now. I don't have anything to say. All I can say is that after this fight, he ain't going to be getting no more accolades or awards or whatever else they're giving out. He won't be a part of none of that."
Roach had strong comments in March about Mayweather Sr.'s ability to prepare his son for perhaps the biggest challenge of his career. Roach said that Mayweather Jr. was "training himself," and that his uncle Roger was the superior man to have in the corner.
"Floyd got 90 percent of his wins with Roger working with him. Roger is way better. I think Floyd Sr. is a terrible cornerman, I really do. That's going to work to our advantage on fight night because in the corner, I'm not going to be nervous and I'll be able to calmly talk to Manny and make whatever adjustments we have to make.
"Floyd Sr. can't get his message out in that minute [rest] period. He gets so excited and worked up and he starts to stutter so he can't give his fighter any useful [information]."
Roach commented more recently about rumors that Mayweather Jr. was struggling vs. southpaws during sparring. A longstanding rumor about Mayweather, perpetuated by Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, was that he had been ducking Pacquiao for years because left-handers have had more success against him than conventional fighters.
"People can say anything they want," Mayweather Sr. said. "They can talk every day, but the truth is, ain't nobody doing [expletive] to Floyd. They can say whatever they want, man. They're trying to talk to win the fight. They're not going to win the fight by talking. You can't do that. You've got to put your mitts up, get on your toes and do what you know."
[Yahoo]
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