by Chris Robinson
On Monday afternoon, five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. treated audiences to an inside look at his latest training camp, highlighted by a sparring session with unbeaten middleweight Omar Henry, inside of his personal gym in Las Vegas. Mayweather is prepping for a May 5th assignment against Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto at the nearby MGM Grand and it was surprising to see him give viewers a closer look at his latest regimen given how tightknit the camp often is.
While Mayweather hit the heavy bag after his work with Henry, there was some lively sparring taking place in the main ring between highly-regarded Cuban-American amateur Luis Arias and super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell. It turns out that Dirrell was in town to discuss some business with Mayweather and his team and wanted to get in some work before heading back home to Flint, Michigan.
After his time in the ring was over, Dirrell could be seen soaking up the atmosphere inside of the gym, as nearly seventy people showed up to make for a pretty entertaining scene. After mingling and networking a bit, Dirrell sat down to discuss the latest with his career while turning his attention to some other news in the sport.
Possessing a 20-1 record with 14 knockouts, Dirrell came back from a 21-month layoff at the end of the year by crushing Detroit’s Darryl Cunningham in two rounds. Dirrell took some time off from the sport following his 11th round disqualification victory over Arthur Abraham in March of 2010 after some lingering neurological issues arose because of the late cheap shot he absorbed in that fight.
Focused again and eyeing his future with budding exuberance, Dirrell touched on what his next move may be, gave his thoughts on whether we will his see brother Anthony fight WBA/WBC champion Andre Ward, gave his prediction on the May 26th Carl Froch-Lucian Bute scrap, and revealed what it was like being at the Mayweather Boxing Club yet again.
This is what Dirrell had to share…
His return against Cunningham and what 2012 holds…
“It took a while, but I am finally back. I wasn’t nervous; I was more excited than anything. I felt good. I prepared great. I honestly overdid it in training camp; I was there for three months. But when it was time to get in there, you saw it, I felt great, and it’s just great to be back. Above all, super-psyched and I’m just excited to see what 2012 holds for me.”
Looking at all the belts…
“I’m looking at the belts, man. I honestly want to chase that WBO with the utmost haste. I just really want to get to the title as fast as possible. Once one of them kicks off, once I get one belt, I’m going for them all. I’m already going for them all but that’s my leading motivation right now, just to go for a title this year and see where it takes me from there. My motivation is so psyched up right now. I really can’t see where I’ll be headed.”
Why he doesn’t like training alongside his brother Anthony, as was the case late last year…
“Believe it or not, we don’t like it to too much. Not anymore, because we’re always in one another’s way. Only time it’s good for me to be with my brother in training camp is when I’m sparring with him. Any other time, every fighter needs that full attention on himself. From this point on, we’ll start setting up different training camps and just keep it moving that way. But it’s always motivation to sit there and watch my brother progress and vice versa. We’re just each other’s motivation.”
Whether Anthony, the WBC’s #1 contender, will ever land a fight with Andre Ward…
“Who knows, who knows. Andre Ward’s a tough fighter. He’s one of the most technical guys in the game, along with Bernard Hopkins and a few other fighters. And my brother has extraordinary power. He’s a straight fighter, he’s a brawler, he goes for it, and he fights with the utmost will. You don’t see it nowhere, really. You don’t really see it. For them to meet, it really would be a great fight but I don’t know where it stands right now. I know Andre Ward has within a month to decide what he wants to do so we’re just sitting here waiting on that.”
Favoring a rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson, who fought to a no-contest in October…
“I think it’s good, it’s needed. They didn’t fight the first time. Bernard said he hurt his shoulder, I believe he hurt his shoulder. We all saw how Chad Dawson came for that fight, he was hungry. And he was so disappointed. He deserves that shot. He’s a hard worker, one of the most technical guys in boxing himself. He’s a straight boxer. He can put it downstairs, he can put it upstairs, he can mix it up well. And I like Chad Dawson, he’s a hell of a fighter and it’s just something the fans want to see. I can’t wait to see it. Chad will take the fight to him, no doubt about it, we’ll see how Bernard reacts to it. Because of his age, I’m going to find it pretty difficult for him to beat somebody like Chad Dawson but it can be done. As far as dissecting fighters, Bernard is one of the best at it.”
Why he believes that Carl Froch will beat IBF super middleweight champ Lucian Bute…
“I don’t know how everybody else feels in this room, but I feel like Froch is going to beat Bute. Froch is a tough guy, man. He can take body shots, he can take head shots. And he’s a fighter; if you press him, he’ll press you. He doesn’t hold nothing back, he’s a tough fighter. I honestly see Froch beating him. Bute hasn’t had no opposition like Froch. I see Froch winning the fight.”
His sparring session with Luis Arias…
“He is an amateur, he has a lot to work on, but when you spar with guys who wants to prove themselves, they give it their all. You see the spunk, you see the drive, you see the fight in them. He has that. He’s a hard fighter, he’s a tough fighter, we all have to work on stuff. Keep pushing yourself, the rest will fall into place. As well as me, as well as the rest of all these fighters in here; anybody coming up, that’s my advice to them. Keep pushing forward, don’t stop, don’t slow down.”
The atmosphere inside the Mayweather Boxing Club…
“It was too damn hot, man. I aint never been in this gym and it was this damn hot. You know what I’m saying? And this is where all my training camps be. First time I ever walked in here and I felt it was a body heat, man. I felt that heat when I stepped up in that ring. The atmosphere is always great; it’s going to press you to train. When you got so many guys in the gym just watching you, you’re going to put in the best you got. You’re going to give it your all. I love a big crowd, because I always like to stay on top of my game and they’ll keep me on top of my game.”
Getting motivation from watching Mayweather train…
“He’s probably still out there punching, who knows. You don’t see work like that. And that’s where I’m trying to be, as far as work. I aint looking at the fight, I aint looking at what he does, I’m not trying to be him, I’m me. But as far as work ethic, if you can’t look at that man and motivate yourself to do the same thing, then there’s a problem. I feel like all I need to see is that work ethic, motivate myself by seeing that, and push forward and be a champion myself. It don’t get no better than the best and I’m watching the best work.”