NUVOtv’s “Knockout” will broadcast from Casino Miami Jai-Alai in Miami, Florida on Saturday June 7, 2014. “Knockout” is a tournament-style reality series wherein young boxers are trained by world-renowned trainers Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Ruben Guerrero and Yoel Judah.
Scheduled televised fights include:
Dennis Douglin (16-3, 10 KOs) vs. Charles Whittaker (40-15-2, 24 KOs) (10 Rounds)
Azea Augustama (16-1, 9 KOs) vs. Cory Cummings (17-5, 13 KOs) (8 Rounds)
Ahmed Elbiali (4-0) vs. Yuwshua Zadok (2-1-1) (4 Rounds)
Douglin, Augustama and Elbiali all made brief statements, as did Floyd Mayweather Sr.
Elbiali and Augustama each promised to provide entertaining fights. Douglin also explained where he got the menacing handle “Momma’s Boy.”
“My mom trained me. She trained me my whole career,” said Douglin. “Floyd [Mayweather Sr.] is in now helping me hone my craft, improving my jab and my footwork, but my mom trained me my whole life and is still heavily involved in my training.”
Mayweather Sr. then took to the lectern, speaking almost entirely in rhyme.
“We know Whittaker don’t wanna fight, he didn’t come here tonight,” Mayweather Sr. said of his fighter’s opponent.
“But his wallet is kinda tight, and it’s forcing him to fight.”
Speaking of his fighter Douglin, Mayweather continued rhyming.
“Amazing, ain’t no jive, my man here has come alive.”
Late in the press conference, Floyd Mayweather Sr. stepped down from the stage and began fielding questions from media. When pressed to compare himself against other world class trainers, Mayweather insisted that he is the greatest trainer in the world.
“Roger and I are totally different,” Mayweather Sr. said, speaking of his brother Roger Mayweather. “I’ve made seven world champions. I made Floyd [Jr.] a world champion, Roger didn’t do that. Roger got there after I made him a world champion. From when he was in his crib, I trained him. I went to prison for three and a half years, and when I got out, I trained him to become a world champion. I trained Laila Ali, Chad Dawson and Joan Guzman. I trained Oscar [De La Hoya] for seven years.”
As one might expect in any conversation about boxing, the topic quickly changed to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his future opponents.
“Not Maidana,” Mayweather says adamantly. “He’s not a boxer. My son is a boxer. Maidana grabs elbows and arms, hits in the back of the head, he’ll hit you in the nuts. He’s not a boxer and shouldn’t be in the ring with a boxer like my son.”
Mayweather Sr. was equally dismissive of a rematch with Miquel Cotto, who Mayweather Jr. defeated by unanimous decision in 2012.
“He [Floyd Jr.] already beat Cotto,” Mayweather Sr. said firmly. “What does he have to prove?”
After members of the press pointed out that Cotto might be an improved fighter since putting trainer Freddie Roach in his corner, Mayweather Sr. laughed loudly.
“Freddie ‘The Joke’ Coach Roach!” he exclaimed. “That would make it easier to beat [Cotto]! If the Joke Coach Roach is in Cotto’s corner it would just make my job so much easier!”
“I train the best fighter in the world, and I’m the best trainer in the world. The Joke [Roach] gets all these awards, you know there’s a lot of sorrow behind him getting all that,” Mayweather Sr. stated in an apparent allusion to Freddie Roach’s health.
“[Manny Pacquiao] could never beat Floyd, especially with Joke Coach Roach,” Mayweather Sr. said of the Philippine WBO Welterweight Champion. “Could [Pacquiao] ever handle Alvarez? No! Alvarez is too big. But was Alvarez too big for my boy? Hell no. There you have it”
Tickets are priced at $15, $30, $50 and $75 for VIP, and are available at the Casino Miami Jai Alai box office or by calling 305-633-6400 and online at www.ticketweb.com. The doors open at 6:00 and the broadcast will begin at 7:00.
FOLLOW BILL BARNER ON TWITTER @BarnerBill
Bill Barner is a former certified “USA Boxing” Judge, Referee, and Trainer. He is a former sparring partner for several amateur and professional fighters and currently practices criminal and immigration law in South Florida for BarnerRossen PA. He has appeared in Bleacher Report, VOICE Magazine, Youngstown Vindicator, and is a regular contributor to East Side Boxing. He can be reached at barner@barnerrossen.com or on twitter @BarnerBill.
