By Allan Fox: Floyd Mayweather said in an interview on Sunday that he’s proud of Errol Spence Jr. for him believing that he’d have beaten him in his prime.
Rather than reacting with anger to IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence’s comments, Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) said he was pleased that he feels this way. He wants all the young fighters to believe that they would have beaten him.
Some of the comments that Mayweather made in the interview could be construed as sly digs at certain fighters, especially when he talked about how he never drank during his career.
In the same interview, Mayweather pointed out that he never used drugs, alcohol, and that he didn’t smoke. He added that fighters can’t just live boxing during training camp.
Errol’s habit of putting weight on in between fights is another thing that differentiates him from Floyd, who never let his weight get out of control during his career. Mayweather started his career out at super featherweight, and he’s fought as high as 154 in winning world titles in six divisions.
Floyd: I never drank or used drugs
“I’m proud of him, he’s supposed to believe in his skills, he’s supposed to believe in his talent. I want all these fighters to believe if they were facing Floyd Mayweather they would win.”
“You can’t just live boxing for eight weeks in training camp,” said Mayweather to Fighthype in what appears to be him taking a shot at Spence. “This is a lifestyle that you’ve got to live your whole career.
“I was discipline fall around the board as a fighter. No drugs, no smoking, and NO drinking. I lived a clean life and I worked extremely hard to be the best.
“And I respect the guys from the past. I take my hat off for the guys that paved the way for me to be where I’m at because I didn’t start boxing, but I mastered it. You got a lot of fighters that come along, but can they articulate like Floyd Mayweather?”
Whether Mayweather or disagrees about Spence’s comment about his belief that he would have beaten him in his prime, there’s a good chance that he would have.
We saw how badly Mayweather struggled in his two fights against pressure fighter Marcos Maidana, who arguably beat him in their first fight in 2014.
Likewise, Jose Luis Castillo appeared to beat Mayweather with pressure in their first fight in April 2002. Mayweather was given a win by the judges, but A lot of boxing fans felt that Castillo should have had his hand raised at the end.
Spence is arguably a better pressure fighter than Castillo and Maidana, which means he would have been a real nightmare for Mayweather to deal with. Mayweather probably would have lost to Spence if he fought in this era at 147 and was willing to mix it up with him.
Mayweather warns fighters that abuse substances
“Do they have the will to win like Floyd Mayweather?” continued Mayweather. “The charisma, the flash, the arrogance, the cockiness, the blood, sweat, and tears. So my thing is this: will there ever be another Floyd Mayweather? I don’t know.
“But if a fighter abuses certain things and gets up in their 30s and continues to fight these young lions, it’s not going to happen. It’ll catch up to you. A lot of these guys are a lot older. Remember, I was a superstar at a young age. Self-made. I earned my stripes,” said Mayweather.
The top fighters today live a clean lifestyle. It’s impossible for them to abuse themselves and stay on top. The guys that we’re seeing falling from the top like Keith Thurman are fighters that have suffered injures, and balloons up in weight in between fights. Thurman would probably still be one of the top fighters if he didn’t let his weight go in between fights. Adrien Broner is similar to Thurman with the way he’s gotten heavyweight in between matches.
