Floyd Mayweather Jr reaches out to a global theatre

“So there was Floyd Mayweather Jr and Juan Manuel Márquez stood on the back of a No 18 bus outside Marylebone Station.” Perhaps not the most believable anecdote told by commuters arriving home late last night — not least because the bus said it was headed to Las Vegas instead of Willesden Junction, the No 18’s usual destination — but, nonetheless, true. Because when it comes to big bouts these days, all roads lead to London.

Mayweather and Márquez are promoting their contest on July 18 in Las Vegas, yet the American and the Mexican flew into Great Britain yesterday. After the United States, the UK is the world’s biggest pay-per-view television audience, so, after press conferences in Los Angeles and New York, London was the only other destination on the media tour.

“People are realising that fights like this are global events,” Richard Schaefer, the chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, said. “Some people in boxing have been very insular. When we promoted Floyd and Oscar [de la Hoya] we did 12 stops on the media tour, all in America, but the UK has a big and knowledgeable fanbase. When we have fights of this magnitude in the future, we will always bring the fighters to the UK.”

Despite Márquez’s stature as one of the best two active pound-for-pound boxers in the world — along with Manny Pacquiao, whom he has faced twice — Mayweather was the centre of attention. The unbeaten former five-weight world champion is making his return to the ring having retired after knocking out Ricky Hatton in 2007.

Mayweather is a more likeable character than the loudmouth personality he often portrays, but he was on good form yesterday as he took “Brand Mayweather” overseas. Wearing a Union Jack hoodie — a souvenir of the bout against Hatton that he found in his “24,000 sq ft house” — he said the right things and smiled his billion-dollar smile. He said he was considering buying a home in England, watching a few football matches and was even working on his London accent — “wicked” is his favourite expression.

“I used to talk a lot of trash and that made me as big as I am,” Mayweather, 32, said. “But my mother said, ‘Why do you have to do that? Just go out be respectful and just be Floyd Mayweather.’ Now I don’t have to call fighters out, I can sit back and pick and choose who I fight. I have earned the right.”

Mayweather also defended his father, Floyd Sr, from criticism he has received after training Hatton before his loss to Pacquiao this month and advised Hatton to retire. “My father didn’t tell him to box like that, a trainer can’t fight for the boxer,” he said. “Ricky’s career was over in December ’07, when he fought me. He has been knocked out badly now twice.”

This afternoon, Mayweather holds a public workout at the Peacock Gym in Canning Town, East London. Expect it to be crowded.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/boxing/article6338098.ece