By Mark Vester
WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. pulled no punches during a recent conference call with the media, telling the boxing pundits how he really feels about his Dec. 8 opponent, Ricky Hatton. The two square off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on HBO pay-per-view.
He felt that Luis Collazo was the clear winner of his fight with Hatton, which took place last May. Collazo, then the WBA welterweight champion, was the opponent of choice for Hatton's first stint as a welterweight. Hatton struggled in the bout and was rocked bad in the twelfth round, barely escaping to win a close decision on the cards. Following the hard bout with Collazo, Hatton moved back down to junior welterweight, admitting that 147 was too heavy for him.
"Ricky Hatton lost to Collazo. He got a gift [from the judges]," Mayweather said.
Mayweather admits that he's no fan of Hatton. He's only using two of Hatton's bouts as a study guide for the fight. Floyd was very adamant about not overlooking Hatton.
"I'm not really a Ricky Hatton fan. I saw a couple of rounds of him against Kostya Tszyu and some more against another fighter. I've never really watched Ricky fight. I don't study tapes of fighters. I'm going to adjust to his style when I get in there," Mayweather said. "I don't overlook no opponent, I approach every fight in a great manner. I am always pushing my body to the limit to get the most out of myself. I am disciplined. You don't see me after my fight in no pub, drinking beer. Just being around the sport, you know that's unhealthy for you."
When asked what he plans to do after beating Hatton, retire or fight WBA champ Miguel Cotto, Mayweather would not provide a clear answer. He would later promise to answer everything after December 8.
"I feel like I've accomplished nearly everything a fighter can accomplish in this great sport of boxing but I need to sit back and talk it over with my mother. Right now I'm not interested in anything except my fight on December 8. I just want to focus on one fight at a time. I am going to overlook nobody and see where we go from there."
Mayweather doesn't know why the media has labeled him as the villian of the fight, he sees no reason for being branded as the "bad guy." He doesn't view his attitude as trash talking, just a fighter being confident in his abilities.
"Each fight has to have a good guy and a bad guy, but I'm just saying I believe in my skills," Mayweather said. "Everybody's entitled to judge a person how they want to do, but I've got a good heart. I never did anything illegal, and all I did was go out there to dedicate myself to the craft of boxing. I conduct myself like a gentleman. I'm not out there pushing Ricky Hatton off the stage or shoving him. When I fought Oscar De La Hoya I was the bad guy, but when I fought Zab Judah I was the good guy because he was even worse than I was. That's the hand you're dealt and you have to deal with it. Everything is a struggle, but you don't let anything break your confidence."
The experts have Mayweather as a solid favorite to win, as he is in most encounters, which in his opinion turns a winning effort into a struggle for respect.
"If I win, I'm supposed to win. So in boxing, I'm always in a no-win situation. After I win, there's always an excuse. But I do say, judge me for what I do in the ring, not on hearsay or on what they write," Mayweather said.
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