by David P. Greisman
Floyd Mayweather had been speaking to the assembled public in Washington, D.C., about how long he’d been at the top of the sport when he pointed to Robert Garcia, the trainer of Marcos Maidana — Mayweather faces Maidana in a rematch on Sept. 13.
“I was champion when he was champion,” Mayweather said. “And then he long gone away from the sport, I’m champion. And once I retire you Sept. 13, I’ll still be champion.”
Garcia felt he had to respond while sitting on the dais.
“Hey Floyd,” the trainer said.
“Oh now you want to talk,” Mayweather responded. “You had your chance to talk.”
The war of words began, with Mayweather landing some heavy blows.
Garcia: “We were champions at the same time. Sixteen years ago, I was world champion. But if you want to take a little walk, me and you can take a little walk. I’ll show you.”
Mayweather: “I’m the type of fighter, I can kick a fighter ass and the trainer ass the same night.”
Garcia: “Me and you can take a little walk.”
Mayweather: “If y’all want me to kick both of their ass the same night, I can do that. Y’all want me to kick both of their ass the same night?”
The crowd cheered.
Mayweather: “They only pay me to kick one ass.”
Garcia: “We don’t need no pay-per-view. Take a little walk.”
Mayweather: “If I’m not mistaken, he had his chance to talk. He got up here and didn’t say nothing. You want to get the mike again? He had his chance. He had his chance. Since he couldn’t get the job done against Diego Corrales, I did.”
Mayweather then pantomimed a body shot.
Mayweather: “Y’all got YouTube? YouTube Diego Corrales and Robert Garcia. His trainer, and you can see what’s going to happen Sept. 13. You know, birds of a feather flock together.”
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
