By Chris Robinson
As he enters his 44th professional bout, there is again a special kind of aura in the camp of Floyd Mayweather.
Readying himself for a May 4th defense of his WBC welterweight crown against interim champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, Mayweather seems as focused as ever heading into what looks to be the final championship run of his career.
That doesn’t mean that a few things in camp haven’t changed, however, as some faces have left the scene while others have reemerged.
For the Guerrero fight, Mayweather’s father Floyd Sr. has thus far played an instrumental role in his training by simply overseeing his son’s work and offering up his own personal advice and insight while inside of the gym.
For the elder Mayweather, playing such a role is something he doesn’t try to downplay.
“It means everything to me,” Floyd Sr. told me recently following another day in camp. “That’s still my son. That’s my blood. My blood runs through him and his blood runs through me.”
It’s been well-documented how father and son haven’t always seen eye to eye, as they were even seen getting into a heated exchange on national television nearly two years ago as Floyd prepared for his match with Victor Ortiz.
Mayweather Sr. seems to take everything in as a learning lesson, however.
“I never want to have no kind of disagreement, or whatever it is, but you’re going to have disagreements, because it’s life,” added Floyd Sr. “And no two individuals is going to think the same and live the same. So, you’re going to have confrontations.
“But, it’s ok, as long as I don’t have it with my son,” he continued. “I don’t want no type of ill feelings about him and hopefully there’s no ill feelings on his behalf.”
As seen on Wednesday night’s episode of All Access: Mayweather vs. Guerrero, Floyd's Uncle Roger is still working with him on the mitts, while Floyd Sr. watches all of his son’s movements with a shrewd eye, offering up support and honest feedback from the sidelines.
And while Mayweather Sr. is selective in choosing when to speak with Floyd, he can still feel a deep connection taking place whenever he opens up.
“Right now, as you can see, it’s not me being the trainer,” Floyd Sr. stated. “But my words are strong. He believes what I say, and he’s going to do what I say. All he has to do is be here and when he hears me talk, he responds.”
Having turned 36 years old in February, Mayweather is at an age where most high-level athletes have begun to noticeably slow down. But in seeing his son on a first-hand basis, day in and day out, Floyd Sr. recognizes just how much he still has left.
“It’s good that he hasn’t lost a lot of things,” said Floyd Sr. “He’s still sharp at his age right now. He’s still sharp and I’m glad that I’m here. He’s a smart fighter anyways and when you call it, he can do it. That’s not a problem.”
During several of my conversations with Mayweather Sr., it’s always been easy to spot just how much pride he has in having helped mold his son into the man he is today. Immersing Floyd into the sport of boxing as a practical infant, Mayweather Sr. always had championship visions for his boy, well before fame and money came into play.
And while he admits that it has often been hard being away from Floyd during his championship years, Mayweather Sr. again seems to be right where he is most comfortable these days.
“Look man, it’s hard anytime, when you make a product,” Floyd Sr. said. “To me, it interrupts whatever you set your goals. I set my goals to make my son a world champion and I told everybody I was going to do that and I did what I said I was going to do.”
