"One thing about certain promoters, they don't like you to be sharp and witty...it's about the talent winning and the talent feeling comfortable...once again, the thing is this, you're supposed to care about a man's physical well-being, but it's obvious in today's time in the fight game, a lot of promoters don't care about nobody but themselves and what they can get," stated retired undefeated former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, who talked about his future plans for Mayweather Promotions. Check it out!
BT: Champ, in case I don't get a chance to say it before we get off the phone, merry Christmas and happy holidays.
FM: Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and your loved ones too, and happy holidays and merry Christmas to everyone that has supported FightHype from the beginning. I'm a little hoarse because I've been moving around, spending time with my kids, and I've been a little bit busy, but I always got time for you. I was in L.A. and I gave a few people some little small interviews, but they say save the best for last, so you know I have to give FightHype an interview.
BT: I definitely appreciate that, Champ. Thank you. I promise I'll keep this one short (laughing). Now that you're officially retired, you've had a lot more free time to focus on your promotional company. How's that been going for you?
FM: Yes, I want to say congratulations to all of my fighters that went out there this past Friday and competed. I want to commend all five of my fighters for going out there and giving it their best. Even though we had one guy come up short, Chris Pearson, I still think this guy's going to be a world champion. It's just a minor setback for a major comeback. It's little small things that we have to tweak to get him over the top, but Chris will be okay. I'm proud of Ishe Smith, Mickey Bey, Ronald Gavril, Gervonta "Tank" Davis, and Chris Pearson. One thing about Mayweather Promotions, we have Mexican fighters, we have American fighters, we have European fighters, we have all types of fighters, and we love everybody. We love all of our fighters and we care about their well-being. You've seen what I've done in a short period. Ishe Smith and Mickey Bey, world champions quick. Badou Jack, world champion! Mickey Bey didn't lose his title in the ring and he's about to fight for the world title again. I just signed Gervonta Davis and he's about to fight for a world title in his next fight. You know, Adrien Broner is about to face Ashley Theophane, and that's a world championship fight. I think we got one more fight for J'Leon Love and then he's fighting for a world title. So I'm doing my job as a promoter.
BT: As a fighter, you ushered in a lot of change in the sport of boxing, including the way that fights are promoted now with shows like 24/7 and All Access, the amount of money that fighters are now getting, and of course the war on PEDs. Do you think those experiences and accomplishments give you an advantage over other promoters?
FM: One thing about certain promoters, they don't like you to be sharp and witty. I'm not like a Manny Pacquiao. You can't just put any piece of paperwork in my face and I'll sign it. I'm not saying that's what he did. I have to clarify that because, you know, when a fighter acts like he got money and he really don't, he be trying to sue you to get some money. You know what's crazy, Forbes magazine talks about how much money I made and then they talk about how much money Manny Pacquiao made. Well the thing is this, they seen just one of my checks. That's just one. We've yet to see one of his. One thing we do over at Mayweather Promotions, you do the fighting and we'll do the promoting. We believe in the fighters making money, but as a promoter, with us helping you get to a certain point, of course we should make money too, but we don't want to screw or fuck over no fighter. You can ask Jessie Vargas. Interview Jessie Vargas and ask him did I treat him good. Ask Jessie Vargas, "Did Floyd Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions treat you good?" His answer will be, "I want to go back over there." It's about the talent winning and the talent feeling comfortable. That's something that Al Haymon communicated about a long time ago.
BT: Are you implying that there are other promoters who aren't doing right by their fighters?
FM: Once again, the thing is this, you're supposed to care about a man's physical well-being, but it's obvious in today's time in the fight game, a lot of promoters don't care about nobody but themselves and what they can get. In my opinion, Oscar De La Hoya only cares about himself. In my opinion, Bob Arum don't care about no fighter; he only cares about himself. That's just my opinion, and as a man, I can express and speak my opinion. It's called freedom of speech. Canelo just came off a good, exciting victory against a future Hall of Famer, Miguel Cotto, but they're so fast to try and throw this guy right back in the lion's den with another guy that they say is one of the top fighters in boxing. Why is the promoter rushing and trying to throw Canelo right back in there in another rough and tough fight? If they really care about your health and your well-being, if they really care about you and your family, which they don't, because I know; I've been in this sport forever, so I done seen how it works, but if they really care, me, as a promoter, I'd let that fight build. Badou Jack was in two tough fights. Do he need one or two solid bouts just to stay active before he go out there and fight another big name? Absolutely, because I care about his well-being. It's not about working harder; it's about working smarter. We have to care about these fighters' well-being.
BT: Is there anything you're looking to change or do differently as a promotional company heading into 2016?
FM: I would love to do work with Richard Schaefer. Sometimes in life, you get certain chess pieces that you want and you know with certain chess pieces that you get, you're not going to lose. If you got Mayweather and Haymon and Richard Schaefer, that's a win-win situation with us three working together. Richard Schaefer was the mastermind behind Canelo. He helped take Canelo to the next level. Richard Schaefer is a real stand-up guy; a very, very stand-up guy. I don't really understand this when I sit back right here and just think. How can Richard Schaefer help Oscar make unbelievable money as far as investments and...I would never do a guy wrong like that. That's not right. I'm very, very blessed and very, very thankful. I'm sitting very, very well. You know, me and Al sit down and we have unbelievable talks about different fighters that we're trying to take to the next level to surpass Floyd Mayweather.
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