Floyd Mayweather Exclusive: Talks Family, Boxing and May 5 Fight with Pacquiao

In an exclusive interview with Fighthype.com’s Ben Thompson, Floyd Mayweather speaks candidly about his views on family ties, the state of boxing and his proposed superfight with Manny Pacquiao.

The current WBC welterweight and five-division world champion isn’t known for his humility, whether that be in or out of the boxing ring.

He does, however, have a penchant for sometimes shooting from the hip if pushed into an uncomfortable corner; Larry Merchant will testify to that.

Fresh from his Sept. 17 knockout victory over Victor “Vicious” Ortiz, “Money May” was supposed to have been involved with ongoing negotiations for a potential superfight with the Pac-Man.

Those purported negotiations, however, have been recently quashed as lies by Mayweather.

Nonetheless, during that period, he’s also had time to sober-reflect on other issues which impact on his life as a prize fighter and also as a human being.

Let’s take a look at the inner psyche of pound-for-pound legend Floyd Mayweather.

Mayweather on Family

“Your Relatives is Your Bloodline…It All Started Right Here.”

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“They say your family is the people that you create around you every day, but your relatives is your bloodline and, I mean, you can’t change it for the world. You gotta accept it how it is…I don’t care what city I go to, I don’t care what state I go to, I feel like home because they embrace me like one of their own. It’s like this, I feel like the fans are the same. If you’re a fan that don’t wanna see me win and a fan that do wanna see me win, y’all the same type of fan because the fan had to pay to know who I am…it all started right here. This is the real where it all started from, right here. Now we can’t say it started with the mother or the father; it started right here.”

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To Mayweather, his family comes first and everything else takes a back seat.

Nevertheless, he’s had a some disgraceful public spats with his father Floyd Mayweather Sr., most notably leading up to the Victor Ortiz fight, but rest-assured, those public differences, will, I’m sure, be settled in private.

Also, he’s facing four counts of felony and four counts of misdemeanor charges on account of allegedly assaulting his ex and mother of his three children Josie Harris.

He’s now due in court on the Dec. 21, 2011.

Regardless of his family fallouts, he still continues to make family his top priority.

This interview also proves, more than anything, that Mayweather has his fans as well as his detractor’s best interests at heart (boxing wise).

So, hate him or love him, Money will entertain the masses, which he’s been doing for the best part of his career.

Mayweather on Boxing

“I Gave Boxing My Whole Life…It’s Not Real Like It Used to Be”

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“I gave boxing my whole life…you know what? I’m not scared. I’m not scared at all. I’m smart. I don’t have to say certain names. Look at a lot of legendary fighters that’s living, that’s dead, and look at the position that they’re in because they didn’t take the random blood and the random urine tests, you know? I keep my fingers crossed that the sport of boxing will change and I’m happy that I was a part of it. You know, I gave this sport my whole life, man; my whole life…I don’t know nothing else but boxing. My whole life, I eat, I ate, s**t, and drunk boxing. That’s all I did. And I loved the sport. I loved it so much. I did you know? And I’m saying I loved it because I used to love it. I don’t love it like I used to because it’s tweaked now, it’s tainted, it’s not real like it used to be…boxing was my girlfriend, boxing was my life, boxing was my wife.”

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Mayweather’s words more or less are redolent of his love of and for boxing—he, like the rest of the pugilist purists, wish and pray that boxing will see another dawn where it hold its own alongside such emerging forces as MMA (mixed martial arts) and the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) in particular.

Nevertheless, boxing's recent fall from grace has the boxing fans and fighters like Mayweather questioning where it all went wrong for a sport that once stood head-and-shoulders above its contemporaries

Also, as Money May suggested, he’s given his whole life to boxing, but he can be rest-assured that he’s also given the public some memorable fights to boot.

Mayweather on That Super-Fight

“I’m Undefeated for a Reason…May 5th, Let’s Do It!”

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“God don’t make mistakes. Everything happens for a reason. I’m undefeated for a reason…it’s not about the money. They say, ‘Oh, Floyd is talking about he should get $60 or $70, or he should get $100 [million].’ Why shouldn’t I? I proved I should get it. Nobody has beaten me yet…if I wasn’t undefeated, y’all wouldn’t be wanting to see me…like I said before, May 5th, let’s do it, May 5th, let’s do it. I don’t want to hear no ifs, ands or buts. Let’s do it…I do it for my children, but I do it for the fans too. I love my fans…the fans have made me the biggest pay-per-view star in sports history. One day there maybe another, but right now, there’s only one, and that’s Money Mayweather.”

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The 42-0 defensive kingpin has never been the self-effacing type, if anything he thrives on the notoriety that comes with the territory—being one of the best and richest boxers in the fight game.

His record speaks for itself, in a career spanning 15 years, Money has attained legendary status and has gone undefeated in the process.

How many present day fighters in Mayweather’s class can attest to an undefeated streak? Not many, if any.

Vis-à-vis Mayweather stating he’s worth $100 million, I do wholeheartedly agree with him—“You get what you ask for and not what you’re given,” and he’s never shied away from stating the obvious.

And even though Mayweather said that it’s not about the money, in Money’s realm, it’s all about the money (no pun intended)—if it makes dollars, then it makes sense, has always been his mantra.

Apropos his proposed clash with Pacquiao, in the past Mayweather has been accused by all and sundry of ducking the eight-division world champion.

Needless to say, with his recent call outs to Pacquiao and in this particular interview, it’s more than evident that Mayweather wants to square off with the Pac-Man as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

He wants to do it for the fans, but more importantly he wants to settle the debate of who is the true pound-for-pound king.