By Mark Vester

Former two-time heavyweight champion George Foreman was recently interviewed by The Star and was far from kind to WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. I sense a pattern among the veterans of the sport who dislike Floyd, and I believe Mayweather's comments about being the best fighter in the history of boxing have turned the veterans of the game against him.

Foreman dislikes Mayweather's flashy image and the fighter's boasts of standing toe-to-toe with opponents, while not following through on that promise. Foreman hopes Ricky Hatton pulls off the upset at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"I love Hatton and I hope he really beats up Mayweather. I think Hatton has got great style and he's always a crowd pleaser, wherever he goes. But who is Mayweather? He's a nobody. When he was young he was a loveable little fella but something went wrong and changed inside him," Foreman said. "Now he is always cursing and bad-mouthing other fighters. The guy deserves an Oscar for some of the stuff he says. There is no way I would consider him to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He is good but he made a fool of himself against Oscar De La Hoya. He was in the greatest fight of his career and he just ran and ran like a chicken. De La Hoya brought that fight to him all night but I didn't like his style and the way he approached the fight. I thought he was very lucky to win it on points."

Foreman says that Hatton should have never accepted a fight with Mayweather, because he put himself in a no-win situation where the hometown judges could rob him on the cards.

"Hatton is a fighter I was interested in following for a very long time, but I really wish he hadn't decided to fight Mayweather. He doesn't need Mayweather. He doesn't need the risk of possibly losing his undefeated record and risking his future in the sport. It is just like when I decided to fight Ali. I just don't know why I chose to do it. I really shouldn't have done it. I took the fight to Ali round after round but then the next thing I knew, I was on the floor. Hatton doesn't need this fight to prove himself. Even worse, it is almost a fight he cannot win. Hatton could beat him up in every round but the judges will just see Mayweather's fancy shots and they'll give the decision to him."

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