Roger Mayweather Lays It All Out

I recently caught up with former two-time world champ and current boxing trainer Roger Mayweather. He is of course the trainer and uncle of Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who will face Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.

“Shane Mosley ain’t goin’ to beat Floyd,” said the mercurial Mayweather during a brief conversation. “It don’t matter if I was his uncle or not - I’d still say the same thing. All you gotta’ do is ask yourself one question. Shane lost to Cotto, right? Would Cotto beat Floyd? I think even you know the answer to that.

“I’ll tell you what this whole fight is gonna’ come down to,” continued Mayweather. “Shane Mosley can’t out think Floyd and that right there is all you need to know about it. He can’t out think him. Floyd’s too smart.”

While Floyd, who will be 33 by the time the fight takes place, is undefeated at 39-0, Roger says that the way to beat him, if anybody could, “Is with the jab. You gotta’ be able to probably hit Floyd with the jab, back him up and then get him on the ropes. Oscar did good, ‘cause Oscar got a good jab, he made it close. Thing is though, ain’t nobody out there can do that, you know what I mean?”

Many within the industry feel that perhaps Mosley, 38, could be the one to seriously test Floyd, but the opinionated Roger sees things differently.

“No, Shane don’t have the jab that he needs in order to hit Floyd. He’s got the speed, you know, the handspeed, but he ain’t got the jab. So, without the jab, how’s he gonna’ hit Floyd. To get to Floyd you gotta’ have the jab.”

Roger, however, did not totally dismiss Mosley as he has others that have challenged Floyd in the past.

“It will be a good fight, a good fight,” said Roger, 48, who is currently free on $13,000 bail and is facing battery and coercion charges from a Las Vegas incident last August with a woman he previously trained. If found guilty, he is facing from 3 to 16 years in prison. The trial is set to begin June 1.

“Shane Mosley is a good fight for anyone,” Roger theorizes. “But see, the thing here, the thing here is that he ain’t gonna’ be able to hit Floyd with the jab and he damn sure can’t outbox him. Then, like I said, he can’t out think him neither. So, since he can’t do none of them three things, then he in trouble.”


February 2010