Roach, Mayweather Sr. Exchange Words at Media Dinner
By Mark Vester
For the most part, Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao have been pretty calm when meeting in a face to face manner. Their trainers are another story. During a private media lunch in California, a quiet atmosphere became a verbal jab-fest when Freddie Roach and Floyd Mayweather Sr. began to express their bad blood. There has been animosity since Oscar De La Hoya dropped Mayweather Sr. in 2007 and hired Roach to train him for the fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Lance Pugmire of the LA Times caught the back and forth between the two trainers.
Sometimes it's hard to understand either guy, so I did my best to figure out what the two of them were saying.
Floyd Mayweather Sr: We are talking about Ricky and Manny. My man is all those good things we were talking about. And then you went over to Freddie "The Joke Coach" Roach.
Freddie Roach: Please change that. Get a new line. That one's old.
Floyd Mayweather Sr: It's old Freddie but it's got to be used because you is a Roach. You is a Joke Roach.
Freddie Roach: You were the greatest. Just shut up.
Floyd Mayweather Sr: Freddie, don't get upset. We are all just here talking. I know I get up under your skin, don't worry about it.
Freddie Roach: Can I borrow some of your rings? [taking a crack at the numerous rings on Mayweather’s hands.]
Floyd Mayweather Sr: You can buy them. Sure you can.
Freddie Roach: I can't afford them.
Floyd Mayweather Sr: You can't afford them? We both a lot of money. Is that what your are trying to say. Its like the stupid thing you said before. You are in the hall of fame. No you belong in the hall of shame.
Freddie Roach: I'm in the hall of fame. Are you?
Floyd Mayweather Sr: I have to stand up when I hear a guy like you is in the hall of fame. You have to be joking me. Everybody knows that your are a joke. You know that you don’t belong in the hall of fame. You know the old guy that died, Eddie Futch. I'm saying that because you didn’t get in the hall of fame yourself.
Freddie Roach: What aren’t you [in there]?
Floyd Mayweather Sr: You didn’t get in the hall of fame yourself. You don’t know nothing. We all know that you're punch drunk anyway.
Freddie Roach: And you're not? And you're not?
At that point, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer cut in and said - "Alright, we are going to put that on the undercard."
