By Chris Robinson
Recently I ran a piece where trainer Jeff Mayweather responded to and refuted remarks from trainer Freddie Roach, who claimed that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is slipping and has lost his legs in the wake of his May 5th victory over Miguel Cotto.
Jeff, Uncle to Floyd Jr., spent the closing minutes of our interview breaking down the June 9th fight between brash Timothy Bradley and eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao, who is trained by Roach.
The two fighters meet inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as the unbeaten Bradley will be moving up in weight in an attempt to wrestle away the WBO welterweight crown that Pacquiao holds.
Bradley’s skills may not be overwhelming but he isn’t without talent and he is mentally tough and always in pristine condition. That alone is enough to make Mayweather believe that he has a realistic shot at the victory.
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“I think that Tim Bradley’s a solid fighter and he’s going to give a great account of himself,” Mayweather would state. “If Pacquiao’s slipping and he performs to the level he’s been performing as of late, he might even get upset.”
Mayweather is of course referring to Pacquiao’s split-decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez this past November, a fight he seemed fortunate to win after getting off to a sluggish start while having trouble coping with Marquez’s counter-punching the entire fight.
Seeing how that match played out leaves Jeff with little doubt as to how Mayweather Jr. would handle Pacquiao.
“I think that every fight that he has with Marquez will be a tough fight,” said Mayweather. “I think that Marquez pretty much has his number. I think it’s ironic that Freddie always makes an excuse when they fight. And his excuse is that Marquez is a great counter-puncher. And if he’s a great counter-puncher, what does that make Floyd? He’s way better than Marquez has even been or ever will be. What does that mean in terms of what Floyd is going to do to Manny Pacquiao?”
Turning his attention back to Pacquiao-Bradley, Mayweather speaks passively when speaking on Tim’s abilities but feels that he is a live dog regardless.
“Bradley is a super conditioned fighter. To me, realistically, his skills are very limited, but his condition makes up for where he lacks. With that being said, he doesn’t have any punching power that would make Pacquiao afraid of him. But it’s boxing, anything can happen. I still feel Bradley is going to give a great showing in the fight either way,” stated Jeff.
Recent Chris Robinson Video Interviews
Jeff Mayweather responds to Freddie Roach / Robert Garcia talks Pacquiao, Alvarez, Maidana, more / Brandon Rios rips his critics
