ROGER OR FLOYD? DOES IT MATTER WHO TRAINS MAYWEATHER JR.?

On Sunday, Roger Mayweather, trainer of undefeated 5-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., was arrested after allegedly assaulting Melissa St. Vil, a female fighter that he once trained. According to reports, an altercation between Roger and Melissa took place. When police arrived, St. Vil was found still coughing up blood and Roger was arrested and charged with "coercion with force" and "battery-strangulation". Although Roger was later released on bond, with a pending civil and criminal lawsuit sure to follow, many are wondering if a new trainer will step in to finish preparing Floyd for his upcoming return to the ring against Juan Manuel Marquez. Some might assume that his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., will take over training duties, but does it really matter who's working Floyd's corner come September 19?

For the most part, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has kept his entire boxing career a family affair, training solely with his father and his uncles, Roger and Jeff. After capturing his first world title as a super featherweight with his father at his side, the flashy and flamboyant Mayweather Jr. grew tired of being told what to do by Mayweather Sr., who was away in prison during the early years of his son's boxing career. After a bitter split, Floyd would later bring in his uncle Roger to take over as head trainer and would go on to capture titles in the lightweight, jr. welterweight, welterweight and jr. middleweight divisions. All the while, Mayweather Jr. would proclaim Roger as being the best trainer in the world while the feud with his father would continue over the years. That was until recently, this past May, when shortly after he announced his return to boxing, Mayweather Jr. reunited with his father and revealed that the two would be working together as he prepared for his upcoming showdown with Marquez.

"My dad's been working with me every day since the Hatton fight," Floyd would reveal in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Mayweather Sr. would echo those sentiments in an interview with FightHype's own Percy Crawford back in June, stating, "I'm going to help Lil Floyd out here and there. Me and Lil Floyd alright now. I'm going to go back into town and help out a little." Although the Mayweather family had reunited and were all working together, Mayweather Jr. made it clear that Roger would still be the head trainer when it came time to working the corner on fight night. Of course, for Floyd, it really doesn't matter who's working his corner as the pupil became the master many years ago when he first dismissed his father as head trainer. In fact, this won't be the first time that his head trainer was missing from his corner.

In 2006, during the 10th round of Floyd's fight with Zab Judah, Roger got involved in a near riot inside the ring after Judah landed an intentional low blow. Floyd would go on to finish the last two rounds of the bout without his uncle, who was ejected from his corner due to his involvement in the scuffle. Afterwards, Roger would be fined and suspended for an entire year for the incident and then later had to serve a six-month jail sentence for committing "battery with substantial bodily harm" against the grandmother of his infant son. Later that same year, Floyd would face Carlos Baldomir and was forced to replace his uncle with then-advisor Leonard Ellerbe as head trainer. "Everything that Roger has taught me has stuck with me. I already know what to do. After being in the sport for so many years, you know what you have to do. Roger don't have to tell me to throw the jab. I know I have to throw the jab," Floyd stated prior to winning nearly every round on all three scorecards against Baldomir.

Truth be told, Floyd's right. It doesn't really matter who's training him. At this point in his career, Floyd's the one calling all the shots when it comes to training. If he wants to train at 4 AM, he's going to train at 4 AM! When it comes to skills, he'll be the first to tell you that he's the creme de la creme, the best of the best and there's nothing you can teach him that he doesn't already know. "I equate this to when Michael Jordan was playing and maybe Phil Jackson had to go out for hip surgery and [assistant coach] Jim Cleamons fills in. Just give Michael the ball and let him go. That's what I equate this to...The fight won't be decided on who is working the corner," Leonard Ellerbe reiterated the first time Floyd had to deal with the absence of his head trainer. Come September 19, after nearly a two-year layoff, we'll find out if Juan Manuel Marquez has what it takes to be the first to cause problems for Floyd. As of now, however, regardless of who's training him, expect to see the same shoulder-rollin' Mayweather who has racked up 39 wins and 0 losses through 13 years and five different weight divisions.

Source: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content5381.html