"I think I'm going to be a lot sharper come May 5th because I'm getting right back in there...I think I'm gonna be a lot sharper this fight than I was for the Ortiz fight...I want to stay active. I want to fight again in 2012 before the year is up...I respect Miguel Cotto as a man, always...I don't really know him, but he seems like a cool guy...Come May 5th, he's going to have to make me respect his boxing skills," stated undefeated pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather as he spoke to the media in attendance during an international conference call held today to promote his upcoming May 5th clash with WBA jr. middleweight Miguel Cotto. Check out what else he had to say about the fight, his career, Miguel Cotto, and much more.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER:
May 5th, I'm gonna dedicate this fight to Leonard Ellerbe's mother, who just passed away.
You got certain obstacles that get in your way throughout your career, but you have to be a strong individual...I always put my boxing first.
I think I'm going to be a lot sharper come May 5th because I'm getting right back in there.
A great thing about my career is that, as far as me taking long vacations, helped as far as letting my body heal totally.
I think I'm gonna be a lot sharper this fight than I was for the Ortiz fight.
I want to stay active. I want to fight again in 2012 before the year is up.
I think I'm getting better with age actually. I'm still sharp; I'm still hungry.
When I go into an arena, right, if the fans are cheering, that's a great thing. If fans boo, that's a great thing, because they're letting me know that I'm relevant and they're letting me know that they do know who I am...at one particular time in their life, they paid attention to me, so that's a good thing.
I don't think it's going to be an easy task for Manny Pacquiao, but I think that, you know, since I'm the face of boxing, have totally changed the sport of boxing, I'm the reason why they don't talk about heavyweights anymore...since I'm the face of the sport, I should be always, you know, like I said, trying to change the sport and make the sport a lot better.
Manny Pacquiao has done a lot in the sport, but he should also be standing behind me...if you're the best, step up and take the tests.
The game plan is to go in there and just do me.
I think Tito Trinidad is one hell of a fighter. You know, I think he was a helluva puncher, a helluva boxer...he's the one who kept boxing alive in Puerto Rico and he eventually handed it to Miguel Cotto.
I have a huge fan base in Puerto Rico myself. That showed the first press conference. I think there was 10,000 people in the arena and probably 5,000 was rooting for me.
The best man will win May 5th.
It was one mind trick when Bob Arum made him fight Manny Pacquiao at a catchweight...if a guy falls for certain things, certain tricks, he'll fall for it again.
I respect Miguel Cotto as a man, always...I don't really know him, but he seems like a cool guy.
Come May 5th, he's going to have to make me respect his boxing skills.
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