by Charles Jay

I like watching the “Mayweather-Ortiz 24/7” episodes because unlike a lot of reality programming you see, you really get to catch these guys in a more natural environment. Sure, there are some staged events, but I don’t think the argument that took place between Floyd Jr. and Floyd Sr., his father and former trainer, was for the cameras.

In fact, I’m wondering whether he would have preferred that it NOT be in front of a viewing audience.

photo by Gene Blevins/Hogan Photos

Then again, I could be very, very wrong.

To call the two “estranged” from each other might be either an understatement or an exaggeration, depending on what time frame you were looking at. There have been plenty of stories written about it, as the father was the manager at first, before the son decided he didn’t want to act like someone who wanted to take orders anymore. The father established a reputation that he would use to hook on with other fighters, the most notable being Oscar De La Hoya.

I can tell you that the father would have gotten into De La Hoya’s corner when he was fighting his son, had he been paid enough (allegedly $2 million). In other words, for the right money he was ready to create a family melodrama. But he got turned away by Oscar, which, well, sent him back into his son’s gym.

I also know that the son was fully intent on throwing the father out of that gym, and hurled all kinds of insults at him; I’m not sure which one hurt the most, but I bet that it was the assertion that Roger Mayweather (Floyd Sr.’s brother and Floyd Jr.’s uncle) was a better trainer, even as he is being “tamed” by anger management counseling. LOL!

Yeah, Floyd Sr. was probably incensed by all that because he really believes that he is the best trainer in the world. Who knows – he might be. It is very hard to tell about any of this these days, as “trainers” of all kinds piggy-back onto the careers of other fighters and get credit for their success, even after the fighters have achieved ten-round status and even a championship belt (or two). You can hear the son clearly, when his verbal jabs move find their range as he points out that De La Hoya was already a champion when the father came onto the scene.

However, to be fair, all indications are that both Floyd Sr. and Roger (who won titles in two different weight divisions) had a hand in shaping Floyd into a highly-skilled boxer. Floyd Sr. gets the most credit for the gene pool, and his son acknowledges that. He also admits, “It all started with my father.”

Things can turn explosive in an instant, as we have seen. Obviously when the son says “You can’t train nobody when you’re locked up,” you can tell that he’s a little hurt that his father wasn’t around during the formative years when Floyd Jr. was moving through the amateur ranks and into the Olympics, having been locked up for a drug offense.

I don’t think the son has ever stopped making the father pay for that. Even though Roger himself got locked up for six months on assault charges, he essentially assumed his position as head trainer when he got out, while Floyd Sr. was given his walking papers. And the relations were strained all over again.

I don’t know who feels less of a bond to the other, although Mayweather Sr. has never been shy about the insinuations that Manny Pacquiao, who represents the big cloud that looms over Floyd Jr., is a beneficiary of performance-enhancing drugs. When it comes down to it, a father is going stick with his own blood, or at least we know that’s the case when someone else is training the other fighter.

Is blood thicker than money? The son called Floyd Sr., who most notably fought Ray Leonard in 1978 (losing on a tenth-round TKO) a “cab driver” as a fighter, and that “There are two Mayweathers that count,” meaning him and Roger. Ouch – that hurts too.

And the “youngster” wants to make another thing crystal clear.

“Motherf***er, I’m not no Junior.”

Don’t you wish they could keep those cameras rolling year ’round?

WBC Welterweight Title
September 17 – Las Vegas

The Charles Jay Line
Floyd Mayweather -700
Victor Ortiz +600
Draw +4000

Fight goes full distance -160
Fight ends inside distance +150

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