I like the whole dysfunctional family thing going on. Floyd, Sr. asks Oscar for 2 million, Oscar says take a hike, then Floyd, Jr. decides everything is ok between them and Sr. can watch him train.
De La Hoya-Mayweather subplot: brother vs. brother
Rivalries are simmering everywhere in the buildup to the May 5 mega fight between junior middleweight titlist Oscar De La Hoya and welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather Jr.
There is, of course, a heated rivalry between the combatants, who grew to dislike each other more and more during their two weeks together hyping the fight daily on a cross-country media tour in February.
There is the rivalry-turned-reunion between Mayweather and his father and former trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr.
Senior is De La Hoya's former trainer and wanted to train De La Hoya to beat his son. But De La Hoya refused to meet his $2 million price tag and went with Freddie Roach instead, hence another rivalry.
The split led to Senior's tenuous reunion with his son, from whom he had been estranged for several years.
Now, Mayweather Sr. is a regular visitor to the Las Vegas gym where his son is training, and it's laid another rivalry front and center, the decades-old one between Floyd Sr. and his brother, Roger Mayweather, who has trained Floyd Jr. since the split between father and son several years ago.
The brothers, both former pro fighters, have had an icy relationship for 20 years. Now, they have been thrown together in the gym on a daily basis, trying to set aside bad feelings for each other for the sake of Floyd Jr., who originally turned to his uncle to train him when his father was imprisoned on a drug conviction.
There was heavy speculation that father and son would reunite as trainer and fighter after Floyd Sr. and De La Hoya split. It seemed quite possible after they buried the hatchet at the tail end of the media tour while Roger was serving out the final weeks of his own jail sentence for battery.
In fact, Mayweather Jr. opened training camp with his father working with him. But when Roger was released, Floyd Jr. remained loyal to his uncle. However, Floyd Jr. told his father he was welcome in the gym, where he now keeps a watchful eye on his son and offers him pointers to help him beat his former charge. Although his presence undoubtedly has made for some tense moments, Floyd Jr. has downplayed it.
"I'm back in the gym working with my uncle Roger. My dad is in the gym also. You know, the Mayweather family is together," he said. "It's just a tremendous combination."
Senior's presence, however, has put Roger on the defensive, and he doesn't sugarcoat his opinions.
During a conference call with reporters this week to discuss the fight, Roger was his usual caustic self when the subject of his brother's presence in camp was broached.
"It doesn't bother me at all," he said. "He can be there, he can be at home in his rocking chair, I don't give a [expletive]. The bottom line is this, we're going to win the fight regardless. I don't give a [expletive] about who we have in the gym. I don't train him based on his daddy. I don't train him based on who is there and who ain't there. And if he's in the corner, I wouldn't give a [expletive] either.
"I fought more fights than my brother, so I don't need to ask his opinion on how to win because number one, Floyd got here based on what I've done, not what the [expletive] he's done. He may have set the ground plans for Floyd, but Floyd's on pay-per-view because of me, not because of his daddy. I don't need to talk about his daddy because the bottom line is I ain't got [expletive] to say about him anyway. If you want to ask him a question, then you need to call him. Don't call me."
When Roger was quizzed about why Floyd Sr. was around he was also direct.
"Why is he there? Because that's his son. I can't tell him not to be with his son," Roger said. "That's my brother. It ain't like I hate him. His son is the one taking the risk, not me, but not him. So it's not about that. We're still brothers, remember. He was my brother before Floyd was ever born. We're in the same place and we have to get along about certain things. So I ain't going to never tell nobody to stay away from their daddy because I wouldn't want nobody to tell me to stay away from my daddy. [But] I'm the one who's doing the training, so I don't worry about the disagreement that he has with me. [His presence] don't make it awkward for me. It don't bother me one way or the other. He can be there or not. Don't matter to me."
Floyd Sr., the self-proclaimed "world's greatest trainer," clearly believes his son would be better off with him as chief trainer, but he's not pushing the issue.
"It's Floyd's fight. Whatever he decides he wants to do, that's fine with me," he said during HBO's "De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7" debut episode. "If he wants a great chance [to win], he has his daddy. If he wants an all right chance, maybe he'll do something else."
Mayweather Jr. has left open the possibility that even though Roger is head trainer, his father could work the corner as an assistant on fight night.
"My daddy, he's going to be at the fight in the front row and he may be in the corner," Mayweather Jr. said. "We don't know yet. But he's been in the gym. My uncle's been in the gym, and there's been nothing but love. Everybody is happy."
Oh, brother!