By LANCE PUGMIRE Los Angeles Times LAS VEGAS -- The volatility that defines Floyd Mayweather Jr. is rooted partly in the complex relationship with his father. Floyd Mayweather Sr.'s boxing lessons helped propel his son to unimaginable riches. The younger Mayweather gets another huge payday Saturday for his title bout against 154-pound champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. But there's tragedy in the familial connection, too, of lessons outside the ring that were left for the son to learn painfully on his own. On June 1, Mayweather Jr., 35, is scheduled to report to Clark County (Nev.) jail to begin serving a 90-day sentence for a battery domestic violence conviction against the mother of his three children. A legacy of household unrest dates to Mayweather's childhood. Mayweather Sr., who in 1978 fought and lost to Sugar Ray Leonard, told the story recently of a day in their Grand Rapids, Mich., home when he picked up his crying toddler son from a walker. A few minutes earlier the dad had put his hands around the throat of Tony Sinclair, the late brother of Mayweather Jr.'s mother, who had overstayed his welcome living in their home, according to Mayweather Sr. Sinclair went outside to get a rifle, kicked in a door to the house and aimed the barrel at Mayweather Sr.'s face while he held his son. "If you're going to kill me, you're going to kill the baby, too," Mayweather Sr. said he told Sinclair. "(Floyd Jr.'s) mother said, 'Give me the baby.' She was pulling the baby out of my arms so her brother could shoot me. "But I wasn't going to put that baby down. I didn't want to die. It wasn't about putting my son in the line of fire. I knew (Sinclair) wouldn't shoot the baby. So he took the gun off my face, lowered it to my leg and bam!" Mayweather Sr. lifted his left pant leg to reveal the grotesque damage caused by the blast. "I used my mind that day," Mayweather Sr. said, "and the first thing on my mind was, 'Ain't nobody getting killed.'" With that scene as a starting point, the quest to make sense of the complexities and contradictions of Mayweather Jr.'s life makes him as evasive to dime store psychology as he is to foes in the ring. This content is protected This content is protected In the calm inside his Las Vegas gym recently, Mayweather (42-0, 26 knockouts) reflected on his place in the world. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected On this day, Mayweather Sr. returned to his son's gym for the first time since their infamous blowup caught by television cameras last year, when Mayweather Jr. kicked his father out of the building, firing a barrage of expletives. This content is protected This content is protected The mediator to the family drama is the boxing champion's uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected In the domestic violence criminal case, Mayweather allegedly threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, pulled her hair and threw her to the floor at her home. The Clark County criminal complaint alleged Mayweather Jr. told Harris he would make her and her new boyfriend "disappear." Felony coercion counts were filed, alleging Mayweather Jr. threatened to beat his two sons if they left the residence or called 911 during his verbal and physical attack of Harris. In December, Mayweather pleaded guilty to one domestic violence charge and no-contest to two harassment charges. It was a day of reckoning. "You take the good with the bad and the bad with the good - that's life," Mayweather said. "You live and learn. The only thing (jail) will do is make me mentally stronger." And on the afternoon his father visited the gym, Mayweather extended his hand for a shake and offered a quick embrace. "At the end of the day, there's no hatred," Mayweather Sr. said. "He's my blood, my son and the apple don't fall too far from the tree." "I'm good for anything that's put in my way," his son said. http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/04/3593062/floyd-mayweather-jr-learned-more.html
This content is protected There are some that will never understand that it is this fanatical nature that drives Floyd. Floyd had the gift to be the best in his sport and never squandered it. Mike Tyson threw it away by being unfocused but he was a nutcase altogether. Roy Jones Jr. did when for years, he coasted on natural ability, he never had the technique to really fall back on. Many other sports as well. Vince Carter had everything in this arsenal to be the best, his passion or lackthereof is/was his downfall while Kobe Bryant gets up and is practicing his craft at five in the morning. Lest not forget who was organizing 2 in the morning work outs while his opponent was in bed sleeping. That person isn't Miguel Cotto, it was Floyd Mayweather. People lose sight of all of that and more. Floyd never overlooks any opponent, is one of the best athletes ever for blocking distractions out of his head and can focus on his opponent squarely. Floyd is fighting Miguel, Miguel is fighting the zero. There is a big difference there.
