Born to be a champion

Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather gives David Isaacson surprising answers about his life and career

Your ring style is unique. How much is self-taught and how much was coached?

It's not really bragging or boasting but I always like to say there's a difference between being talented and being God-gifted. I truly believe I'm God-gifted. As far as fast feet, fast hands and very, very, very sharp mind - you know, having a sharp mind, you can't be taught that.

You've got a lot of guys out there who are super talented athletes, but I think [Muhammad] Ali was God-gifted, Sugar Ray Leonard was God-gifted. There's only a handful of fighters who are God-gifted, but there's a lot of fighters who are talented.

Who has given you the hardest fight?

You can rate that in different ways. Canelo and Miguel Cotto are the two strongest fighters I've faced ... but I fought a guy that was named Emmanuel Burton [a non-title fight in 2000] who made me fight super hard. [He] didn't have a [great] record, probably 23 [fights] with 11 losses but he was tough as hell.

If you could travel in a time machine and fight any past great, who would it be?

Probably Aaron Pryor. He didn't get his just dues. He's one of the best fighters who ever lived but he never got the credit. Nobody ever talks about him. And Pryor was the guy Sugar Ray Leonard never wanted to face.

Is the money hype merely part of your public persona, or is it the real you?

I'm making the money I'm making. That's not hype. That's not fake . I'm an outspoken person, having fun and living life. You have one life to live. I believe in giving respect and I believe in receiving respect.

Why did you start promoting yourself as a boxer?

I made more money on my own, probably in the first four rounds, than I made in my whole career with Bob [Arum].

You have been critical of promoters for ripping off boxers. How is your promotional company different?

I think Mayweather Promotions is the past, present and future of sports entertainment. We truly believe that talent must be victorious. We don't just mean having their hand raised. We believe they should get a bigger piece of the pie than the fighters are getting. I'm not saying the fighters or entertainers should get everything, but they should get a little bit more than they have been getting in the past. No one can match me when it comes to being fair. Absolutely not.

Have you been shopping since you've been in South Africa?

No, no. Just looking. Window shopping. I don't need nothing else ... I'm happy.

How do you feel about your bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics, when you were robbed in that semifinal?

I love that I received a bronze medal. It made me work that much harder as a professional. It made me hungrier, it made me dedicate myself to my craft that much more. At one time it really hurt me and I cried about it. I cried tears about it, but not around no one. When I got by myself I cried, because I knew I truly won. It made me a stronger person inside the ring as well as outside.

How important is it to you that you don't end up broke like other boxers?

I think everybody is entitled to live life the way they want to live it. I'm comfortable, but if people who work nine-to-five want to do what they want to do with their money, they're entitled to. I don't think Mike Tyson has any regrets, because he did it his way. You came to this world with nothing, when you leave, you can't take nothing with you.

Your comment on the conflicting reports about whether or not you have been paid to visit South Africa?

I don't really want to talk about if I was given a fee or not. That's not important. The thing is I'm here, I'm happy, it's about letting the people shake my hand and touch me, and I can speak to people and give them positive words to people who thought they would never get to see me. So that's what's important. This is my motherland ... this is where I originally come from. This is a dream come true. I did a safari today - you can see it only on Animal Channel - being 10 feet away, not just from a lion, but from a pack of lions, and see zebras and giraffes ...this is a beautiful place. What I don't like is, in America, people are misled about what goes on in Africa. I don't like on TV . they only show the bad parts of Africa, they don't show that they got Rolls Royces, they got five-star hotels ... beautiful women, just like we have.

Are you keen for your own Rumble in the Jungle?

Ali done it his way. If I fight here it's just another Floyd Mayweather fight, another pay-per-view extravaganza, another fight that's a part of history. Do I believe I'm going to fight in Africa some day? Hopefully. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Do you abstain from sex before fights?

Whatever I've been doing thus far, I've been doing something right. I would never tell my secret.

You have four fights on your contract remaining, which would take your record to 49-0. But would you consider going for 50-0?

This is my 18th year as a professional and I was champion before my oldest son was born, and when I get out the sport, my son will be 17. I think my main focus should be to give my children all my time.

Given your conviction and prison sentence for beating your ex-girlfriend, do you feel a need to disprove the image, in some quarters, that you are a woman abuser?

You know Chris Brown and Rihanna. You've seen photos of a woman who was battered. OJ and Nicole, you see pictures of a woman that was battered ... What I want you to do for me, I want you to pull up photos of a battered woman ...that would be your answer right there.

But the court presumably had evidence to convict you?

I'm a fighter, and you see the damage I do with gloves ... as soon as they say someone has been touched in a disrespectful manner, without anyone being pushed, touched, anything, I'm guilty already. So I have to prove my innocence. I'm already outspoken, I'm already very, very flashy, so those are strikes on my back already. I take it for what it is, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. Nobody is forced to watch Floyd Mayweather, but everybody that has tuned in and watched me, I thank you for purchasing pay-per-view. I got four more, please go out and buy the next four.