Jeff Mayweather: “Golovkin wants a payday, but going down to 154lbs doesn’t mean anything. Go down to 147 to fight Floyd!”

I recently had a chance to speak with trainer, former IBO champ, and uncle of Floyd Mayweather Jr,’Jazzy’ Jeff Mayweather. Jeff has trained many top level professionals such as Sultan Ibragimov and Celestino Caballero and continues to expand on his training career. Topics discussed in this interview include, Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev unification bout, future opponents for Gennady Golovkin, and the Mayweather-Maidana rematch. Here is what Jeff Mayweather had to say.

Robert Brown: Bernard Hopkins recently signed to fight Sergey Kovalev, what do you think of this bout and why do you think he decided to take on Kovalev?

Jeff Mayweather: I think it’s an interesting fight. I think that Kovalev is a dangerous fight, but also it’s one of those situations where Kovalev and Gennady Golovkin, both of them really haven’t fought anybody. Don’t get me wrong, they’re doing great and they are good fighters but they’re probably not as good as people think they are because if you look at their resume, who did they really beat?

It’s one of those situations where maybe Bernard has seen something. There’s some reason why he took this fight because when the opportunity came for him to fight Andre Ward, he clearly said, “No, I don’t want to fight him.” Obviously he thinks less of Kovalev than he does Andre Ward.

I think the guy is a good fighter but at the same time, he’s still unproven. I think it should be a good fight to watch. Bernard is a very smart fighter, very crafty. The one thing that he does, that seems to be one of the few things that many fighters can’t do is, he can slow you down and have you fight at his pace.

Robert Brown: Based on the level of opponents that Kovalev has faced, would you be backing Bernard Hopkins to get the victory at this stage?

Jeff Mayweather: I wouldn’t necessarily say I think Bernard would get the victory, but I just think that if anybody is gonna expose him, Bernard will be the guy that’s gonna expose him. Do I think Bernard is gonna win? I think it may be a toss up.

One thing that Kovalev can do, and it’s one thing that you can’t teach, it’s something that you have, and the guy does have power. He has vicious power and if he catches Bernard right, that could change the fight. Like I said, if Kovalev thinks that he’s gonna just go in there and do to Bernard what he does to these other guys that they put in front of him, that ain’t gonna happen.

Robert Brown: You mentioned Golovkin earlier, there’s talk about who he might fight next. There’s talk about Canelo, Chavez Jr, and Froch at 168lbs. Who would you like to see ‘GGG’ fight to prove how good of a fighter he really is?

Jeff Mayweather: I would like to see him fight Chavez. I think that would be a great fight, I think that would be a very entertaining fight and I think that it’s gonna be give and take on both sides. I think that there’s no guarantee who I would think would win, I think it’s a pick’em fight.

Robert Brown: Believe it or not, there’s talk of Golovkin fighting Floyd Mayweather at 154lbs. Do you think Golovkin has fought the quality opponents to even be considered for a fight like that?

Jeff Mayweather: First of all, Floyd’s not even a 154lb’er. Floyd just happens to be the best 154lb’er in the world, but he’s never fought at 154lbs. He fought at 149 and 148, when he won the title. Why are you begging for a guy who is 13lbs under when you have a guy that’s 8lbs north of you that’s also considered one of the best fighters? He wants a payday like everyone else, that’s what it’s about.

It’s not about trying to prove anything because you’re not proving anything by fighting Floyd. Golovkin wants a payday like everyone else, but going down to 154lbs doesn’t mean anything. Go down to 147 to fight Floyd.

Robert Brown: Floyd is fighting Maidana again. Last time we spoke, you weren’t too keen on the fight because of the way Maidana fought. Now that the fight is gonna happen, what are your thoughts on it?

Jeff Mayweather: I think that at the end of the day, the reason why this fight is happening is because Floyd’s a businessman and at the end of his career, it’s about cashing out. Not necessarily cashing out to leave, but still making the most money out there that’s available.

You have these other names that people are throwing out there, but they don’t bring nothing to PPV. Keith Thurman probably can do 200 homes, Shawn Porter could probably do 200 homes, what do you need them for?

At least Maidana gave a good account of himself, even though he was dirty as can be. But still, he fought hard and the fight was entertaining, give and take on both sides. It makes for a good rematch and it’s a fight that people want to see, people are gonna pay money to see it again. It’s a business decision.

Robert Brown: Do you think because of what happened in the first fight, there will be extra pressure on the refereeing and perhaps points will be taken away earlier to regain control of the fight?

Jeff Mayweather: Oh definitely. I think that any referee that watched that fight — even Tony Weeks himself who was in that fight — wished that they could take that night back. He did a horrible, horrible job. This guy did every foul there is in boxing and he didn’t get not one point taken away from him.

It’s ridiculous, he tried to break Floyd’s arm, he threw Floyd on the ground, he kneed him, he headbutted him. What else can you do? He did everything. I think that whoever gets that assignment, that’s the very first thing that a referee is gonna do. They’re gonna let Maidana know that what he did last fight, that’s not gonna happen.

If a referee takes control of a fight and doesn’t allow him to do that, he’s gonna get whitewashed. That’s the only chance he has, is to fight dirty, he don’t have no chance any other way.