Kobe Bryant wants to be the next Floyd Mayweather.
Before the Los Angeles Lakers embarked on their recent trip to China, Bryant, still recovering from a torn Achilles injury, spent time outside the Lakers locker room conversing with the 36-year-old welterweight champ and boxing legend.
One year his junior, Bryant let "Money" know he wants to be exactly like him, punishing younger competitors because he works harder and fights smarter. It's been the model of Kobe's career and the myth that has grown up around him. .
"I have self-doubt," Bryant old Sports Illustrated. "I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.' We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it. You rise above it."
Bryant later reflected on his return. "Maybe I won't have as much explosion. Maybe I'll be slower. Maybe I'll lose quickness. But I have other options. It's like Floyd Mayweather in the ring. There's a reason he's still at the top after all these years. He's the most fundamentally sound boxer of all time. He can fight a myriad of styles at a myriad of tempos. He can throw fast punches or off-speed punches, and he can throw them from all angles. I don't know how I'm going to come back from this injury... then again my belief is that I'm going to figure it out."
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