"I think that maybe this time around, Marquez might finally get it if he puts on the same kind of performance that he put on in the last fight. He might just get the decision. But then again, I don't know because there is a possibility of the fight happening with Floyd again. That's back in the works and back in the talks, so we will see. He might be facing the same exact thing as last time and I don't think he can stop Pacquiao, but he has proved that he can beat Pacquiao on more than one occasion," stated world-class trainer Jeff Mayweather, who shared his thoughts on Pacquiao-Marquez IV, Andre Ward, Sergio Martinez, the breakup of TMT Promotions, and much more. Check it out!
PC: Jeff, it was a little strange seeing you in the MMA circles on The Ultimate Fighter. How was the experience for you?
JM: (Laughing) I mean, I went into it making it not about me. I was out of the way as much as I possibly could be. I thought it was a great experience. I got to meet some great people, especially the coaches. We had a ball on the show and I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it from that aspect. On the flip side of it, it was very draining. It was so draining that my sleep is really messed up bad right now.
PC: Yeah, Ron Frazier had nothing but good things to say about you after being around you.
JM: Yeah, he's a good guy.
PC: A lot of boxing this month. I wanna start with Andre Ward vs. Chad Dawson. What did you think of the fight and the outcome?
JM: I mean, to be honest, I thought the fight would go that way, but I didn't think he would get stopped. I thought he would get dominated, but I didn't think he would get stopped. To be honest, in my own assessment, I just think that Dawson has beaten Tarver and beat Bernard Hopkins, two guys that's over 40 years old and in the twilight of their career. They just so happen to still be in existence because they were former champions. As far as their skill level and everything, their best days are over. I feel that just beating them for namesake is good in that aspect, but realistically, they weren't in their prime; Bernard Hopkins nor Tarver. To me, they were insignificant wins other than their name.
PC: On the flipside of that, Andre Ward has emerged as a top fighter and has shown very few flaws in the past few years. What do you think of him as a fighter?
JM: I mean, I think Andre Ward is the truth. He is a guy that knows how to get the job done. He knows what he has to do. In this particular fight, I saw a different Andre Ward than I seen in his previous fights. He is on a mission. It seems like he is on a mission and he's on the attack more than I have ever seen him. Really, to be honest, after the 3rd round, it seemed like Chad was in survival mode. He was like, I'm here, and maybe at the end of the day, it was about the payday. He didn't fight like a true champion would and go out on his shield and he quit. He took the Victor Ortiz way out!
PC: Did you get a chance to see the Canelo Alvarez and Josesito Lopez fight, and if so, what were your thoughts?
JM: Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see that one. I was trying to watch both fights on TV and I was flipping back and forth, and when I flipped back to Canelo's fight, it is was already over. I didn't get to see none of that.
PC: What about Chavez/Martinez? What did you think?
JM: I saw that happening before it even took place. The one thing is this, you have a guy that is 6-foot tall and he doesn't throw a jab at all. It is ridiculous. If he had a jab, it would be a whole different story. I think Chavez probably could have won the fight, but instead of that, the only thing he throws is body shots. He puts everything into every single body shot he throws, and every shot he pretty much throws is big, and a good boxer, they can see that shit coming from a mile away. And that's what happened. You had Sergio Martinez, I mean, he's not the greatest boxer, but he's smart. He is a smart boxer and he knows how to get out of the way of any guy that's throwing punches that big. I took my hat off to Martinez. He put on a great performance. He probably got a little relaxed, but also I'm hearing now that he has torn ligaments in his knee and that's probably why he got caught. He probably couldn't move the way he was previously. But it was basically a shutout and I see that happening every time out. I can't see the fight going no different than it did on Saturday. Honestly, if you take away the fact that the man was injured, he didn't win a second of any round. He lost every single round.
PC: I can't believe people are screaming for a rematch. He won 30 seconds of a 12-round, 36-minute fight.
JM: Exactly. But the thing is, he is Chavez and he's going off of his dad's name, and it seems like Freddie Roach can't get a hold of this guy at all. He does whatever he wants to do. Sometimes that philosophy works, but I mean, it's disrespectful when you have your trainer waiting and you never call him back and you never show up. That part is disrespectful. There is nothing wrong with training the way you want to train. If you wanna train in the house and that makes you feel good and you're comfortable with it, that's fine, but when you do that and your trainer don't know what's going on, that's bad. It's really bad and it's almost like when you do things like that, you give your trainer the chance to say, "I told you so."
PC: As a trainer Jeff, how do you control a guy that likes to go by the beat of his own drum, and more than that, would you work with Chavez and think that you can change those ways?
JM: I mean, don't get me wrong, my thing is this, at the end of the day, I want respect, but I know for one thing, I know for a fact that I would make him a much better fighter than he is if he was willing to listen and learn. I would make him a much better fighter than he is. To be honest, with all of that height and power and everything, to not know how to use it is a disgrace.
PC: Pacquiao/Marquez IV just got announced. Is there any interest in this fight for you, and more than that, now that we have seen that Pacquiao can lose on the cards, do you think he better throw caution to the wind and try and stop Marquez, because if it looks like the first three fights, the decision may go the other way?
JM: I think that maybe this time around, Marquez might finally get it if he puts on the same kind of performance that he put on in the last fight. He might just get the decision. But then again, I don't know because there is a possibility of the fight happening with Floyd again. That's back in the works and back in the talks, so we will see. He might be facing the same exact thing as last time and I don't think he can stop Pacquiao, but he has proved that he can beat Pacquiao on more than one occasion. The judges just didn't give it to him.
PC: What do you have brewing other than working with Roy Nelson for his fight against Shane Carwin?
JM: I got Derrick Gainer, who is making his comeback to boxing on the 29th. One thing is, the situation with me and him is very much understood. He made it clear. He said, "Jeff, if you think that I don't have it anymore, it's your call and if you make the call, it's over with." But I have been working with him a little bit and the thing with him is he has tremendous hand speed still. He's faster than 99% of these guys that's in the game, and now he's a little bigger and his punching power is a little better. But the only thing that I've been trying to work on, but he's been doing it so long I really can't change it and that's his stance. It's so wide, it makes him a lot shorter than what he really is. And also, when your stance is so wide, it makes it a lot tougher to get away from shots as well. But we been working hard and I'm looking forward to seeing what he's got left.
PC: Any update on Celestino Caballero?
JM: Well, basically, of course with the breakup of TMT, his contractÂ…no one knows who is supposed to be with who or anything like that, but I know for a fact with Celestino, just yesterday he had to redo his contract because he had signed with TMT Promotions as well. But I don't know what's going on with Gamboa and Dirrell because those guys actually took money from 50 Cent. 50 Cent actually paid them, so I think that they are probably his fighters. It's one of those situations that is unfortunate. It's unfortunate that they couldn't rectify whatever it is that was going on because I think they would have made an awesome team. They could have took over boxing. Everything that looks good ain't good sometimes and it's one of those situations that's unfortunate, and from the outside looking in, it could have been one of the greatest takeovers in boxing history. At the same time, it probably just wasn't meant to be.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]