Floyd Mayweather doesn’t sit down for many in-depth interviews but he did so for the “Pivot Podcast.”
The hosts, former NFL players Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor, asked the Hall of Famer questions on a variety of subjects, from the secrets of his success, his vast wealth and family matters.
Here’s what “Money” had to say:
On his father/sometimes trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr.: “I wanted my dad to be proud of me first. Before anything. When my dad would say that ‘my son will break all the records,’ that stuck with me. On top of that, I wanted my own people to be proud of me. There’s nothing like that feeling. I’m more than the ‘American Dream’. I’m my own boss. I do what I want to do and I say what I want to say. If I feel that something is not right, then I’m going to speak on it.
On his impact on economics in sports: “I changed the whole dynamic of how athletes get paid. I’ve been fighting since Michael Jordan was playing basketball. I was undefeated from then to now. LeBron James’ career is almost over, and I’m still getting paid.”
On exhibition opponent Logan Paul’s claim that Mayweather stills owed him money: “This comes with the territory. To them, that’s real money, and I like the YouTubers. The money on the back end though, from pay-per-view, that takes a while. Nothing comes right away. I’m still collecting checks from fights seven or eight years ago. They just hate when the table is turned. Be happy with the biggest payday you ever got in your life.”
On becoming a grandfather to the son of his daughter Yaya Mayweather and rapper NBA YoungBoy: “I’m proud of my daughter and NBA YoungBoy. I look at him like one of my sons. I only want the best for him. These kids beef nowadays and they don’t know what they’re beefing for. These young rappers are dying on the regular. I’m going to continue to push both of them to be great in everything they do. I love being with my grandson. He’s just like his mom was. All he wants to do is hold onto my leg and have me pick him up all day.”
On his wealth: “Rich is something that’s short term. Wealth is long term. It’s established. I was sitting with [billionaire] Warren Buffett in my locker room before a fight and we were talking about private jets. He said he’s got over 500 jets. But when you’ve been living this life for so long, that’s normal. The only way to pick up these things is to sit, listen and learn. There are three ways to learn: hearing, seeing and doing. That’s what makes me so deadly in boxing. I can learn all three ways. I’m deadly in all three ways.”
On taking control of his career and life: “The ultimate goal is to go to sleep when you want to and wake up when you want to. If you’re not doing that, then someone or something is controlling you. I don’t want to be controlled. I want to be my own boss. That’s why I paid $750 thousand to get out of my first promotional contract. Because I eventually made $750 million in just three fights.
“I don’t really care what people believe. No matter what you do, it’s not good enough for everyone. No matter what, they’re going to say what they want to say. But the history books, they will say something completely different.”