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Tired Mayweather now focuses on Hatton bout
Thursday, October 18, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather has discovered the beauty of the mundane, to what extent anything around him fits the description.
The allure of ballroom dancing might never draw him back for even one more step, Mayweather acknowledged Wednesday, less than 24 hours after his elimination from "Dancing with the Stars" left him to focus solely on his Dec. 8 fight with Ricky Hatton.
But he said he is interested in helping establish inner-city ballroom programs for young people and is pleased his appearance on the show produced lasting relationships.
Just then, Leonard Ellerbe's cell phone chirped with a text message. The longtime camp insider glanced and laughed, then held up the phone to Mayweather, who did the same.
"I miss you both already. This sucks!" it read.
It was from Karina Smirnoff, Mayweather's professional dance partner who was eliminated from the show alongside him Tuesday night.
If Smirnoff had any doubt about her former student's relief at elimination, she should have stuck around one more day.
Tuesday night yielded to Wednesday's sunrise after a brutal night of late-night television appearances and travel. Mayweather even drove some of the Los Angeles-to-Las Vegas journey himself. It took him beyond the time frame for the customary next-day appearance on "Good Morning America" for eliminated celebrities, but there was other work to do.
He was noticeably exhausted when his mid-afternoon workout began.
Then, just like that, the layers of pressure peeled away during six rounds of pounding a world-class sparring partner, Lovemore Ndou. In more than a week of training, it easily was Mayweather's best workout.
"I feel better," he said. "I had a lot of stuff on my mind. I can focus now on what I can do. It gives me a chance to rest up."
He was tired often during the past week, an unusual admission for a fighter who, at peak condition, insists he cannot get fatigued.
"After leaving here, I would've had to rush to the dance studio. And the only time I would have to myself would be sometime after 12 o'clock at night. I wasn't going to sleep until 5 in the morning, because that was the only time I got to myself," he said.
One reality show ends, a new one begins.
No sooner than Mayweather returned to the gym was a producer from HBO on hand for early groundwork on the subscription network's upcoming "Mayweather-Hatton 24/7," a four-part prelude beginning Nov. 18.
The rawness of a reality show on a subscription network compared with broadcast television will be as stark as the differences between boxing and ballroom dance.
"In the gym, of course, you may see me use bad language," Mayweather said. "It's just that when I'm in the gym, I'm in my zone. You're bound to hear foul language, you're bound to see blood, sweat and tears, because this is my life. I don't mean no harm towards nobody."
He doesn't know how long he will continue to fight, but as the opportunities outside boxing mount, the likelihood of a lengthy stay in the sport diminishes.
His long-term goal is to become a billionaire.
His short-term goal is a pay-per-view bonanza with Hatton comparable to the record-setting revenues from his May win against Oscar De La Hoya.
"We can never predict the future, but it could break the De La Hoya fight," he said. "That's why I touched a different avenue, so people could see Floyd in another field. You don't see no other fighter on 'Access Hollywood,' or 'Extra.' "
That brashness may have turned off some of the mainstream dance audience, but if just 5 percent purchase the fight, Mayweather's prediction of another record-setting fight won't seem quite so silly -- and he is confident they will not forget him.
"I brought excitement," he said. "I brought realness to the show. Nothing about me was fake. I didn't want to be somebody I'm not. I brought
something different. What I brought to the show was personality."
Send e-mail to the author: dmayo@grpress.com
Thursday, October 18, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather has discovered the beauty of the mundane, to what extent anything around him fits the description.
The allure of ballroom dancing might never draw him back for even one more step, Mayweather acknowledged Wednesday, less than 24 hours after his elimination from "Dancing with the Stars" left him to focus solely on his Dec. 8 fight with Ricky Hatton.
But he said he is interested in helping establish inner-city ballroom programs for young people and is pleased his appearance on the show produced lasting relationships.
Just then, Leonard Ellerbe's cell phone chirped with a text message. The longtime camp insider glanced and laughed, then held up the phone to Mayweather, who did the same.
"I miss you both already. This sucks!" it read.
It was from Karina Smirnoff, Mayweather's professional dance partner who was eliminated from the show alongside him Tuesday night.
If Smirnoff had any doubt about her former student's relief at elimination, she should have stuck around one more day.
Tuesday night yielded to Wednesday's sunrise after a brutal night of late-night television appearances and travel. Mayweather even drove some of the Los Angeles-to-Las Vegas journey himself. It took him beyond the time frame for the customary next-day appearance on "Good Morning America" for eliminated celebrities, but there was other work to do.
He was noticeably exhausted when his mid-afternoon workout began.
Then, just like that, the layers of pressure peeled away during six rounds of pounding a world-class sparring partner, Lovemore Ndou. In more than a week of training, it easily was Mayweather's best workout.
"I feel better," he said. "I had a lot of stuff on my mind. I can focus now on what I can do. It gives me a chance to rest up."
He was tired often during the past week, an unusual admission for a fighter who, at peak condition, insists he cannot get fatigued.
"After leaving here, I would've had to rush to the dance studio. And the only time I would have to myself would be sometime after 12 o'clock at night. I wasn't going to sleep until 5 in the morning, because that was the only time I got to myself," he said.
One reality show ends, a new one begins.
No sooner than Mayweather returned to the gym was a producer from HBO on hand for early groundwork on the subscription network's upcoming "Mayweather-Hatton 24/7," a four-part prelude beginning Nov. 18.
The rawness of a reality show on a subscription network compared with broadcast television will be as stark as the differences between boxing and ballroom dance.
"In the gym, of course, you may see me use bad language," Mayweather said. "It's just that when I'm in the gym, I'm in my zone. You're bound to hear foul language, you're bound to see blood, sweat and tears, because this is my life. I don't mean no harm towards nobody."
He doesn't know how long he will continue to fight, but as the opportunities outside boxing mount, the likelihood of a lengthy stay in the sport diminishes.
His long-term goal is to become a billionaire.
His short-term goal is a pay-per-view bonanza with Hatton comparable to the record-setting revenues from his May win against Oscar De La Hoya.
"We can never predict the future, but it could break the De La Hoya fight," he said. "That's why I touched a different avenue, so people could see Floyd in another field. You don't see no other fighter on 'Access Hollywood,' or 'Extra.' "
That brashness may have turned off some of the mainstream dance audience, but if just 5 percent purchase the fight, Mayweather's prediction of another record-setting fight won't seem quite so silly -- and he is confident they will not forget him.
"I brought excitement," he said. "I brought realness to the show. Nothing about me was fake. I didn't want to be somebody I'm not. I brought
something different. What I brought to the show was personality."
Send e-mail to the author: dmayo@grpress.com
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