Holding court with someone like Floyd "Joy" Mayweather Sr. is like consulting an oracle. The man has the know how, the all too valuable first hand experience, and he is also a very good motivator and teacher.

Floyd Sr. is here in Miami with his charge, IBF Junior Lightweight Champion, Stevie "2 Pound" Forbes, who will face #2 contender, John "The Beast from the East" Brown September 29 in a Showtime Championship bout hosted by the Miccosukee Casino and Gaming.

Forbes and Brown will be getting it on for the second time, and we took advantage of a lull in the action preceding the weigh-in to have this session with Mayweather Sr. This is what we talked about...

BRC: What can you tell me about your young champion Stevie Forbes and how he is feeling coming into this title defense fight.

MAYWEATHER: Stevie Forbes is in great shape, he has been training in the mountains, running 5 miles at an altitude of 6,000 feet, sprinting a half a mile, sprinting a quarter mile, so we are in good shape.

BRC: How do you see the fight evolving? Please give me your take on it.

MAYWEATHER: I think the fight is going to go the distance because neither one is a puncher. You got Brown with 31 fights, 11 stoppages. Stevie overall has 20 fights with 5 stoppages, so neither one is a big puncher. I look for the fight to go the distance. I just feel that my man will prevail because overall he has more skills; he is taller, if he uses his reach and his range, I don't see John Brown really getting in. I think it's going to be a totally different fight than the other fight.

BRC: How so?

MAYWEATHER: Well, first of all because I am in the picture. That should make a difference, if he does what I tell him. I'll say this, you can take a horse to the well, you can't make him drink; but if he listens to me, does what I tell him, he will prevail.

BRC: Now, I would like to ask you about your other trainee, Mr. de la Hoya. Why does Oscar feel that he is "in charge" as he recently stated? Why do you think that he feels that HE is the one who can call the shots?

MAYWEATHER: First of all, I feel like if a guy, it's his destiny, his career, he should have options to call shots. I am the trainer, when it comes to training, I am the boss, I'm a no nonsense trainer; and when it's his career, it's his destiny, I feel he should be able to call the shots. I wanna fight this guy, I wanna fight that guy, hey, that's what you wanna do? Let's do it, I'm with it. You feel that comfortable and confident in what you are going to do, I'm all for it. He knows his destiny, his career; you got other people on the other end, making sure that he makes the right moves, making sure that he picks the right opponents, just looking out for him overall, for his best interest. Somebody still should be there, but the final call should be his; if he wants to fight Trinidad, Mosley, whomever.

BRC: Oscar versus Castillejo. Can you review that fight for me? And is it fair to say that Oscar hast lost some of his punching power at the heavier weight class?

MAYWEATHER: Well, let me say this. Castillejo had never been off his feet in over 50 fights, de la Hoya took him off his feet. I mean, over fifty guys never took him off his feet, Oscar did it. First of all, Oscar is not really a true Junior Middleweight, not really, he walks around at the weight that he fights at, 158 or 160. If you have 4 or 5 pounds to lose, you are at the same weight that you fight at; so Oscar is fighting a bigger man, and a bigger man normally can take a smaller man's punch, because he is a full size, strong Junior Middleweight.

Castillejo was probably coming from 165, 170, to get down to 154. Oscar can run sometimes a good five miles, and at the end of the session, he weighs 154 pounds. So overall, you have a little man fighting a big man. The difference is that Oscar has more skills than him, he outwitted him, outsmarted him; overall in the game, there is no little good man that's gonna whoop a good big man.

BRC: How about this mandatory defense coming up for Oscar? What do you know about his opponent Roman Karmazin?

MAYWEATHER: I don't know much about him. Only thing I know about him, I've seen a couple of fights on tape, he is not a bad fighter, but I do think Oscar will prevail again. I think the guy is pretty smart, I would say he is better than Castillejo, I think so.

BRC: How have you changed Oscar? What have you done differently to improve him?

MAYWEATHER: First of all, I had to get his attention, and let him know who is the trainer; and I am the trainer, and you listen to the trainer. So, once he understood that I am a no nonsense trainer, and once we got that established, we went from there.

I teach Oscar so much stuff, that is amazing, it really is.. it's amazing. Overall, Oscar needs a lot of defense, and I'm teaching him a lot of defense; how to catch punches off his shoulder, how to catch punches with his gloves, how to drop under punches, slip punches, pivot from punches. I'm really teaching him the ins and outs of boxing, because I am, well, people have always called me a defensive trainer, but I am more of both, really. I'm versatile with that. When I have a guy miss you, I have you come back and counter off that, so what I'm saying is I have it both ways. You make the guy miss, and you make him pay when he misses. I call myself defense and offense, the whole "shabang".

BRC: Assuming that Oscar gets by this mandatory coming up, and if it were strictly up to you, who would you like to see him fight next?

MAYWEATHER: I wouldn't want to see him fight Trinidad, I think Trinidad is too big for him now. Oscar beat Trinidad the first time, I know. Oscar beat him, I thought Oscar beat him convincingly, with no questions, he beat him hands down! I thought Oscar beat him nine out of twelve rounds. And I don't think anybody can dispute that, if a guy only wins three rounds out of twelve, how can he be awarded the decision?

BRC: So, you wouldn't want to see him fight Tito...

MAYWEATHER: Well, only because of his size, Tito has grown into a full Middleweight. Tito has to lose 15 pounds to get to Middleweight, so we are talking about a much bigger, stronger man. I'm still not going to say that Oscar can't whoop him, because Oscar showed everybody the textbook on exactly how to whoop him. If anybody follows a page out of Oscar's book, they are gonna whoop him. Simple. I know he'd whoop him easier now, because I'm here. It would be an easier fight, being that I'm here teaching him what I'm teaching him. But I mean, anybody can get careless, get hit with a big shot; that can change the whole tempo of the fight, it can turn the fight around. Turn a fight into a no fight, it happens. So, personally I just think that Shane, well, I would want Oscar to learn a little bit more from me, maybe a fight or two, to fight Shane. I would want him to fight Vargas. I think that after the mandatory and Vargas, he would be ready to fight Shane Mosley.

BRC: What do you think would happen if he fought Vargas?

MAYWEATHER: I think Oscar would stop him, middle to late rounds.

BRC: Do you think that Vargas is the same fighter since he fought Trinidad?

MAYWEATHER: No, no.

BRC: Do you think he ever will be? Will he recover?

MAYWEATHER: Most times you don't. Not that he still can't fight, but his jaw is suspect now. I think, and I am not taking anything from Trinidad, he is a brutal puncher, even if I don't think he is going to win this fight tomorrow...

BRC: (Rudely interrupting and laughing with Floyd) YOU DON'T? What is your prediction for tomorrow?

MAYWEATHER: If anybody is going to get stopped, it will be Trinidad. Trinidad is a good puncher but he is going to have a real legitimate Middleweight in front of him. Forget the Joppys, and...

BRC: (Jumping right in) Really? Do you think that Hopkins is a more legitimate Middleweight than Joppy?

MAYWEATHER: Yes. Hopkins has defended his title 13 times. Let's not talk about who he fought, because you can only fight who is there. So, Joppy fought Roberto Duran, 50 years old, 52, 53, whatever, that doesn't prove nothing to me. Joppy hasn't shown me anything, even when I see him in the gym. Joppy is just like Fernando Vargas, like David Reid, just like Joppy himself, FINISHED! Tito did that, I'm just saying that Vargas, I mean, when Trinidad gets through with these guys they are just not the same.

The only one that I can honestly say is still around here able to talk about it, and know that he beat the man, and have no regrets about taking the fight, he did what he had to do at that particular time, is Oscar. Vargas is through, David Reid is through and Joppy is through. Trinidad is very potent, but Hopkins just has more knowledge than Joppy. I just think that de la Hoya is going to make a stand, that a lot of people are not going to recognize him.

BRC: Do you think that he needs to do that for the fans, to thwart some of the criticism...

MAYWEATHER: Yes, well, you know you can't stop the criticism. I don't care what you do. I mean, I don't care how good you are at anything you do, there is always going to be criticism. I don't care how good you are. Like, we were talking about my son, I know already, I don't even train my son anymore, I don't train him. My son has fallen short of glory, and he is going to continue to fall short of glory... I mean, you don't disobey your parents... Disobedient kids are always gonna fall short, I don't care whether it is my son, your son, I don't care who it is. You know, you gotta walk that walk.

BRC: Now that you brought up your son, have you guys made up? I mean, after his last fight you two hugged in the ring, it seemed like things were going to get worked out...

MAYWEATHER: Shamming, it's called shamming, that's what it is...My son came over to my house, because I had been sick, but I told him not to come over, I really didn't want him to come over. He came over on July 3rd, then he invited me over to his house on the 4th of July, so I did what any respectable father would do, I went over. We had a real nice time, you know, and he has called me a couple of times, but I don't deal with my son because I don't care about all them rappers and stuff, it's not my world, you know.
He is into so many things outside boxing, he gets in trouble with the police, doing too many different things, too cocky.

BRC: Is that what your main problem is with him?

MAYWEATHER: No, my main problem is that my son is too disrespectful. Anytime you disrespect your parent, you know, your parent trains you, taught you all your life, don't get me wrong, God first. God gave me the gift to pass on to my son, but my son, when he was younger coming up, it was all about my daddy is going to be with me, my daddy ain't gonna never want for anything. I had to go get it myself, don't get me wrong, my name is Floyd Joy Mayweather, Sr., his name is Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. so, if something happens to Floyd Joy Mayweather Sr., all mine goes to Junior, that's how it would have been, but he is not in my trust or anything. And his money, I know he doesn't have me in his trust. Regardless of whatever I have done for him, I know he doesn't have me in his trust. So, the thing is now, I play it by ear, about everything.

My son has been too disrespectful, he kicked his daddy out of a house that he gave him for helping him get the money that he is getting. He took the van from me, and gave it to another guy to drive him to the gym and stuff. He kicked me out of the house, he didn't know where I was staying or anything. But it was no thing. The Lord fixed it where Floyd Joy Mayweather Sr. is doing great. Not good, great. The Lord fixed it that way. I'm not worried about that.

I'm training Steve Forbes here, which is no big money, it's alright money. I got de la Hoya coming up, and I'm supposed to train Erik Morales. I trained him before, it's just going to be bigger money now, they know they have to pay me now. The Lord just worked things, He showed my son, like the house he kicked me out of, I ended up buying that house, it's 1750 square feet. I'm getting ready to move into a 3000 square feet home. Just to show him, ain't nothing to it, you ain't gonna stop your daddy. First of all, father knows best. I'm the one that brought you here, you didn't bring me here. How in the world do you think you can overplay me? You can't do it, he's never gonna do it. Ain't about the money that he is getting, 'cause the money that he is getting, the way he is going now, he will be broke. It's so plain to see, Ray Charles can see it. How much more plain can it get?

BRC: Do you have a problem with your brother having stayed with Floyd Jr.?

MAYWEATHER: He is a snake.

BRC: You mean, the "Black Mamba" nickname fits?

MAYWEATHER: Like Johnny Cochran said, if the glove don't fit, you must acquit. (Laughing) He is a snake, a venomous snake; believe me, he is. My brother talked about my son everyday. Called me on the phone, wanting to talk about my son, talked for hours, he knows nothing about my son.

You see the difference when I trained my son, and when he is training my son, you see a big difference. Look how when he fought Emmanuel Burton, how he was getting hit out there in Detroit, with a guy with a 500 record, and look at, ok, he had three fights for my brother, right? Then he fought Diego Corrales, who was there? His daddy, calling the shots, look how he fought then.

After that he fought in Michigan again, his daddy ain't there. What happened? It should tell you something. It ain't no joke about me. My thing is if they do what I tell them, they will continue to grow, because I know, and I am not boasting or bragging, but I truly believe, and ain't nobody proved me wrong yet, I'm one of the best trainers in the world. My son is running around here, his nose bleeding, I mean, it's just a matter of time. He let a brilliant career go down the drain...

BRC: So, what is the plan for you now?

MAYWEATHER: Stevie Forbes tomorrow, then Oscar, then I'm leaving January 7th to work with Erik Morales. I worked with Erik before, the best he looked was when I had him and he fought Kevin Kelly. That's the last time anybody know of him looking good. They said they are going to let me handle the whole thing, if they do, you are going to see a different fighter.

BRC: Do you have a message for boxing fans?

MAYWEATHER: I just wanna say, I don't want people to feel bad for me; it's part of life, I can accept whatever it is, I'm not a kid anymore. My son broke one of the cardinal rules anyway, that's on him. He's old enough now and he is accountable for his own actions. I don't want anyone to feel bad for me. I just want the fans to keep yelling, and cheering me on, and I'll keep going for it.

BRC: Thank you so much Floyd, appreciate your candor and your time.

MAYWEATHER: Not a problem, thank you.

P.S. I'm happy to report that Stevie Forbes went on to win his fight against John Brown in a unanimous decision. He remains the IBF Junior Lightweight champion. Floyd was quite correct about his prediction on the Trinidad-Hopkins bout. Bernard Hopkins did exactly what Mayweather Sr. said, he took a page from Oscar's book and defeated "Tito" Trinidad. Well, Hopkins did fine tune the page a bit, by not running, and fighting throughout the twelve rounds as champions are supposed to do, and it certainly worked very well for him.

I walked away from this interview with a sense that Floyd Sr., although very hurt by what has happened between him and his son, looks at it as a blessing in many ways. The experience has motivated him to move on, to really blaze his own trail as a trainer, and there is a lot of satisfaction for him in the success that he continues to achieve.

There is an old saying, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." Floyd Joy Sr. is definitely a tough one, and he is going on. I want to wish him all the best, and look forward to chatting with him again.