By This content is protected , Yahoo! Sports December 13, 2007 Floyd Mayweather Jr. solidified his place atop the Yahoo! Sports boxing rankings with his 10th-round stoppage of Ricky Hatton on Saturday. It did not, though, come without a price. Mayweather said Thursday that he was in great pain throughout his training camp and that he needs a long rest to allow back, elbow and hand injuries to heal. Mayweather said Thursday by telephone from New York, where he was taping a segment for HBO's rebroadcast of his fight with Hatton, that he injured his elbow during sparring with Carlos Baldomir. He further added that his upper back was hurting, which limited his mobility. This content is protected "Boxing has taken one hell of a toll on me and my body is breaking down now," the 30-year-old Mayweather said, five days after his 39th professional fight. "I'm not the same now as when I was younger. My body is telling me the time is getting close when I can't do this any more." He said he needs a long vacation and wouldn't commit to fighting again at all. While he stopped short of saying he's going to retire, he said he won't fight unless his body feels better than it does now. He praised his most logical next potential opponent, WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, but wouldn't commit to facing the Puerto Rican star at some point. "I don't have to beat anyone to prove anything about my skills and my talents, because my credentials speak for themselves," Mayweather said. "Cotto is a good, young fighter; a good, young champion. I have nothing negative to say about him. He has had some nice wins. There are a lot of good, young fighters out there. He's definitely one of them, maybe one of the best." Mayweather said he had the television turned down in his locker room before the fight and said he wasn't aware the largely British crowd was so resoundingly booing the U.S. national anthem. A member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, Mayweather said he could hear the crowd booing but wasn't sure what it was about. When he learned of it after the fight, he said he was upset. "It brought tears to my eyes," he said. "I was on the Olympics. I represented my country. This victory, more than any other I've had, I fought for my country. I had my country on my back. I was respectful toward Ricky Hatton and all of his fans, but that was totally disrespectful to this country. I'm pretty sure Ricky Hatton would tell you that was wrong, too. It bothers me they did that."
I'd certainly believe this over any of the Hatton excuses so far. Floyd definately injured his elbow moreso than Hatton, say, didn't get any sleep the night before the fight... Or was too pumped up by the "messages of love" videos he watched the night before. Also, what he says about Cotto pretty much nails it on the head.