I had a chance to catch up with former IBO junior light weight champion and successful trainer, ‘Jazzy’ Jeff Mayweather to talk about the on going Pacquiao-Mayweather rumors. In this interview, Jeff gives his insight on the current status of the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao talks and what he thinks of the fight if it takes place today. Jeff Mayweather also speaks about the opposition that Floyd has faced and if he feels Pacquiao is the toughest foe for him out there. Additionally, Mayweather also talks about Bob Arum and why he feels that Arum is more inclined to make a deal at this stage of the game. Here is what Jeff Mayweather had to say.
Robert Brown: What have you been up to recently, Jeff?
Jeff Mayweather: I’ve been really busy, just really busy with boxing. I’m doing a lot of training, doing boxing, MMA and kickboxing as well. I’m very busy and of course busy is good in this business.
Robert Brown: It seems as though Floyd and Manny are very close to a deal. Do you know anything that the rest of us don’t?
Jeff Mayweather: To be honest, I do know what’s gonna happen but I can’t tell anyone if the fight is going to be made, it’s not my business to tell, that’s for Floyd and Manny to do.
Robert Brown: If it does happen, what are your thoughts on the fight?
Jeff Mayweather: It’s one of those fights in which once it’s over with, everyone is gonna say, “Oh they should have fought five years ago.” The reality is that, yes they should have fought five years ago when Floyd asked Manny to take a blood test and he refused to. We wouldn’t even be talking about this fight at all because it should have already been done.
Robert Brown: Whether it was five years ago or whether it’s now, does that make any difference to the fight?
Jeff Mayweather: I think that Floyd is just a better fighter now, at the end of the day. The one thing that people always fail to realize is that the one thing that you can’t use as an excuse is the fact that Manny’s old, because Manny will never be older than Floyd, no matter what.
It’s one of those situations in which you have Manny’s fans and even some of them really truly don’t believe that he has a chance but because they’re his fans and they hate Floyd, they just gotta ride with that.
I had a guy on Facebook talking crap and I said, “Okay put your money where your mouth is. We both know this person, you put up $5,000 and I’ll put up $5,000,” and he sure backed down, he backed out quickly. If that’s what you believe, put your money where your mouth is.
Robert Brown: Which fighter from welterweight to light middleweight would give Floyd the most challenging and most difficult fight in your opinion? Is it even Pacquiao?
Jeff Mayweather: It’s not Pacquiao. Pacquiao is just a place that he hasn’t visited yet. I think that Floyd already beat the best 154-pounderr, which is Canelo, and I think that he’s already beat the best 147-pounders. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that really has a real chance of beating Floyd. Manny is the only one that hasn’t had a chance that’s on that level.
These other guys coming up, Keith Thurman and a couple of other guys, they’re no threat at all. Not only are they not a threat, it doesn’t make sense to fight them because you have to carry the whole promotion yourself. Floyd is way past that, he’s a superstar in the sport, he needs to be in the ring with somebody that has a status that can bring something to the table, as opposed to a guy that basically everybody is selling wolf tickets about them.
He (Keith Thurman) still hasn’t really fought anyone yet but wants to bark and say that he can do this and do that but yet, if you’re so great, why don’t you have a following? It’s a business. Where Floyd is at in his career, it’s a business more than anything, more than trying to prove that you can beat the best young guy out there, because he already did it. He did it when he beat Canelo, so he doesn’t have to prove that again.
Robert Brown: If the fight does happen, what do you think was the tipping point for this fight happening?
Jeff Mayweather: I think that it’s a little bit of everything. Of course, I would think that the first thing would be for the money, and then after that it would probably be just to shut up Manny Pacquiao’s fans.
When it comes to legacy, Floyd doesn’t need Manny Pacquiao for his legacy. That’s what everybody doesn’t understand, Floyd doesn’t need Manny, Manny needs Floyd. Floyd wouldn’t be the only fighter that didn’t fight a guy out there that everybody wanted them to fight. Ray Leonard never fought Aaron Pryor, Roy Jones never fought Dariusz Michalczewski, and the list goes on. Every great fighter is gonna have somebody that they didn’t fight for some reason.
At the end of the day, hopefully the fight will be made and everything else will be over. Like I said, this is a fight that should have happened five years ago. We shouldn’t even be talking about this on the phone today. It was Manny Pacquiao who backed down, he didn’t want to take a blood test, it was that simple.
Robert Brown: When Floyd did the interview on Showtime he said that Bob Arum’s been stopping the fight for years and that he wants to make the fight happen. If Bob Arum has stood in the way of making this fight, why do you think Bob has let it happen now?
Jeff Mayweather: I think that Pacquiao’s career is winding down. Pacquiao has tax problems, so it would be an injustice for Bob not to let Pacquiao take this fight — if the fight is gonna be made. It’s one of those situations in which Bob and Floyd have a personal thing against one another, but that’s not Manny Pacquiao’s fight.
Bob Arum doesn’t have any reason to justify not having Manny take this fight, because it’s the biggest fight in boxing history. No matter what your beef is with Floyd and his beef is with you, let Manny Pacquiao become a part of this history and make more money than he’s ever made in his life. It would be an injustice for him not to.
cant wait for floyd to fight manny. sounds like jeff is one sided. discrediting manny. both are going to earn the biggest payday of their career. not only manny. both needed each other in their career not only manny needing to fight floyd. manny fought lebwada, barerra twice, morales thrice, marquez 4x and even wanted to fight the 5x if only marquez is willing, he fought dela hoya, margarito, hatton, cotto, mosley, and manny became the only fighter in history to have 8 titles in different division. Manny went up in weight to fight great fighters as he dominated the lower weights and no one can give him the challenge anymore..even after he got KO by JMM he fought a puncher Rios and strong Bradley..he didnt run and even wanted to fight again the one who KOed him. greatest fighter is measured not only how many times he won but more so on how he takes and handles a loss. For me i cant tell flloyd as the greatest yet coz i havent seen him how he will handle a loss in his life. will he handle it as a mature man and a winner or a pretty boy and a loser? we cant tell….Jeff is insinuating Floyd can turn down & wont fight Manny as Ray Leonard never fought Aaron Pryor, Roy Jones never fought Dariusz Michalczewski, and the list goes on. i have no idea who they are except that i knew leonard fought hearns, duran and hagler and bec of those fight i grew up remembering him until now. Instead Jeff should encourage Floyd to fight Manny instead of telling him he doesnt have to. 120M payday..wow. how can you call yoursel the “money” if you turn that opportunity down. Yes manny turned down 40M from floyd year 2009 but at that time Floyd wont gonna earn 120M . lets not dwell on the past. it would be crazy to see floyd fighting only for 40M just to avoid manny. no reason to fight Khan, Cotton and Canelo anymore. With Manny he has plenty and meaningful reasons making him even greater fighter WIN or LOSS.
Nice one larry
Nicely written Larry, but we cannot force a coward to fight. But let me sum it up my friend, his dad, his uncles are missing a pairs too big time. @ Jeff M. ,yes floyd needs manny for his legacy. And Manny, the only boxer to become boxings 8 times champion in 8. different weights divisions that will be hard or impossible to break in hundreds if not thousands of years to come. @ floyd “0” is nothing compared to that achievement. Crhis John of indonesia went up to 54 – 0 compared to you so when it comes to legacy , no defeat you and rocky marciano is nothing compared to Chris. So is the A or B side, to me A is for asian and B is for black. But to say you are better or best than the pacman , look at how i compare both of you.
The only thing that Uncle Jazzy Jeff did not understand is that his nephew hasnt enough balls to confront his fears of Pacquiao. The Mayweathers believe that Pacquiao fight is eAsy forgetting that Pacquiao will train hard for this. Floyd will get knock out once he feels the power and speed of Pacquiao!
“put your money where your mouth is.” come fight night jeff should have a man in manila coz everyone’s gonna be betting on manny. it’s not because we’re avid fans and fellow filipinos but we know the man and we’ve seen what the man can do. experts have always had it wrong for manny. he was rated an underdog in his fights with ledwaba, barrera, dela hoya, cotto, and mosely but look what he did to them. come fight night the world will know who the best ever is, and i don’t think its gonna be floyd.
i’m pretty sure the fight will happen
floyd may may be scared of pacquiao but he is not stupid
floyd knows he stands to lose everything in a BIG lawsuit and be sent back to the poorhouse
and the thought will definitely temper his fear and he’ll have to bite the bullet.
all Floyd BS & posturing. Now we all know who needs who – who went to see who – Now you all know who is the boss
Why ask Jeff Mayweather??? He won’t tell you.
Ask Alex Ariza!!!!! Ariza will tell you EVERYTHING!
the “GIRL” deals easily with class B, 5mph foes
I dont think Canelo is the best 154 lber as Jeff is saying. I bet Clottey can defeat him tho that fight cannot be made. Canelo is very strong, no doubt about it, cuz he’s a big dude who can fight at middleweight if he wants to, tho may not be a smart move. Jeff is saying that Pacquiao has not fought at the same level as Floyd has? He must have a one-track mind to say so. Pacquiao has fought Bradley who i think is the best 147 lb fighter that is known to the public and i doubt Floyd beats him in a “clean” fight esp at this stage where Bradley is too strong. And why should Pacquiao fight the best 154lber out there when the truth is, he doesnt even have a business fighting at the welterweight where the fighters weigh 170lbs up when not in training. I dont even understand right how a big dude like Danny Garcia can squeeze himself to 140. These dude are trying to lose so much weight so they can have a big advantage at the lower weights where they truly dont belong. It’s sad but i guess drugs play a role. So now no one can argue who’s truly the best fighter anymore because the weight alone is a mismatch, fighters dont fight on the same weight anymore so no one can boast. Besides, PEDS is a norm.