Future of Top Trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. Suddenly on the Line

Future of Top Trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. Suddenly on the Line

By Brandon Estrict for DoghouseBoxing.com (May 1, 2009)

You know what they say about things that appear too good to be true (and if not, get a clue).

Apparently, just two days out from East meets West, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton taking on Manny Pacquiao in the boxing event of the year, there is major tension between Hatton and new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr.

The news was broken by fellow journalist, Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports just hours ago.

The major factor for the resentment between the top trainer and his charge, is reportedly Mayweather’s habitual tardiness as well as friction with long-time Hatton co-trainer, Lee Beard.

While it would be irresponsible to speculate at this point, Mayweather’s track record with his fighters does seem to speak for itself. Mayweather is, undoubtedly a brilliant boxing mind and has been one of the game’s top trainers for over a decade, bringing along such fighters as his own son, Floyd Mayweather Jr. through the early part of his career, and Jr. is, arguably, the greatest fighter of his generation. Mayweather has also had a long run with Oscar De La Hoya, through the earlier part of Oscar’s career, taking him to multiple Championships, prolonging his reign at the top and was chief second through the majority of Oscar’s more successful years. He has also spent time with rising star and Light Heavyweight Champion, “Bad” Chad Dawson, in effect laying the blueprint for the talented kid out of Florida.

No doubt, his resume goes a long way. But what those prominent fighters have in common, is that neither of the three are trained by Mayweather Sr. these days. His problems with Floyd Jr. and De La Hoya have been well publicized, and on his reason for splitting with Senior, Dawson hinted at Mayweather having control issues, and making things about himself rather than his fighter. Whatever is going on behind the scenes, it seems that Mayweather has always been the common denominator.

Now with the apparent rift between himself and Hatton, the pressure is for Floyd as much as either of the two combatants this Saturday. He’s already been relegated to the sideline in a fight of this magnitude once prior, forced to watch with the rest of the paying audience when Floyd Mayweather Jr. outpointed Oscar De La Hoya in the biggest money grab in boxing history. And as much as that hurt Mayweather, a Ricky Hatton loss could spell the end for him as you’d have to believe any big name fighter would be hesitant to hire him again, seeing as how, justified or not, he always seems to become a focal point in the pre-fight build-up, and at times, such as possibly in this instance, overshadows his fighter.

Whatever the case may be in this situation, it’s obviously bad enough that someone, allegedly reached out to Pacquiao trainer, Freddie Roach, about taking over Hatton’s training duties after this fight, citing that Ricky has been “miserable” with Big Floyd.

To be fair to Mayweather, these things seem to be coming from sources closer to Team Pacquiao. But even still, Mayweather himself has been quoted as saying there may be some validity to the rumors, and with his noted history with his fighters, as previously mentioned, it is at least, a cause for concern.

How will this all effect Hatton in the ring? You have to believe that the resentment in the corner, if it is as bad as it’s being played up to be, could work against him in their with a Pacquiao who has shown improved counter-punching ability, and as evidenced in his fight with Floyd Mayweather, most memorably the check hook that ended it, Ricky Hatton’s adversity leads to frustration, and he’s had a tendency to get reckless.

Check back with Doghouseboxing.com in the coming days for more on this story as details continue to emerge, and make sure to catch East meets West, Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton squaring off live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, live this Saturday, May 2nd. The card, which features four undercard fights, kicks off at 9 pm, US EST and will be available on HBO PPV at a suggested retail price of $49.95.

Send all thoughts and comments to Brandon at
BEstrict@hotmail.com,
or Myspace.com/BEstrictboxing