Dominick Cruz Learning from Floyd Mayweather What It Means to Be a Champion

During a recent episode of the Showtime series All Access: Mayweather vs. Canelo previewing this weekend's boxing showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez, there was an interesting onlooker in the background of one of the scenes.

As Mayweather doled out thousands of dollars to his family, UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz just happened to be in the background watching the champion flash his cash.

It turns out that Cruz spent some time in Mayweather's camp recently, but not actually sparring or training with the universally recognized pound-for-pound best in boxing. Cruz was there to watch how Mayweather trains. Then he spent a half hour in a private conversation just picking his brain on what it means to be a champion for as long as he's been ruling the boxing world.

"I did not train with (Floyd) Mayweather. What I did was I went in there and I picked his brain," Cruz said. "That's the brain of a champion. That's somebody you've got to, regardless of whether you like him or you don't like him, that's somebody that's been in the sport for 15 plus years of boxing at the top of the game and at the highest level. He's competed against all the best mentally and physically preparing for these title fights."

Cruz watched on the sidelines as Mayweather put in his daily routine of training, hitting pads and working out with sparring partners.

He says it was just a joy to watch one of the true legends of combat sports work out as well as run his boxing drills as he got ready for his matchup against Alvarez this weekend.

Cruz is a champion in his own right, holding the UFC belt at 135 pounds, but he has no problem asking Mayweather for advice or how he handles himself because it's kept him rated as the best boxer in the world for many years.

"If you're not picking the brain of somebody like that, then you're not trying to improve," Cruz said.

If Cruz can stay on top of his game as long as Mayweather, he's in for a long reign as champion in the UFC.

Check out the entire interview with Cruz. In it, he addresses his knee injury, when he hopes to return to action and his thoughts on interim champion Renan Barao.