Oscar De La Hoya, right, delivers a punch during his fight against Ricardo Mayorga in May. De La Hoya still hasn't hired a trainer for his WBC super welterweight bout May 5 against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Photo by John Locher.

Oscar De La Hoya still hasn't hired a trainer for his May 5 WBC super welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand Garden with Floyd Mayweather Jr., a fight expected to be the richest in boxing history.

De La Hoya is at financial odds with Floyd Mayweather Sr., who has trained him since 2001, and has rejected Mayweather Sr.'s request for a $2 million purse.

Trainer Freddie Roach admits he has spoken to Golden Boy officials, and Jack Mosley, who trained his son, Sugar Shane, to two wins over De La Hoya, is campaigning for the position. Shane Mosley is a partner in De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.

"It's obvious the man is super tight," Mayweather Sr. said of De La Hoya. "What comes first in this particular situation, greed or the fight? But he can do what he wants. I make money. Money don't make me. I'm going on with my life.

"Oscar's fired every trainer he's had. He's had all the so-called greats and he's fired every one of them, but has he fired me? No. And that should tell you something."

Las Vegan Wayne McCullough, a disciple of the late legendary trainer Eddie Futch, has thrown his hat into the ring. McCullough, a former bantamweight champion, is the trainer for Golden Boy super middleweight prospect Librado Andrade and said he would gladly handle De La Hoya.

"Oscar just needs someone who will keep his eyes open and see things and just remind him of things," McCullough said.

• CHAVEZ RETURNS -- Jesus Chavez will return to the ring Saturday for the first time since his tragic bout against Leavander Johnson on Sept. 17, 2005, when Johnson died of injuries suffered in their IBF lightweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden.

In the interim, Chavez had shoulder surgery that forced the cancellation of a March 25, 2006, bout with Marco Antonio Barrera, then had his appendix removed. But he said he is mentally and physically ready for Julio Diaz on Saturday's Showtime opener.

Chavez said he has remained close with Johnson's family and that Johnson's brother, Craig, has encouraged him. He said he went to four counseling sessions, but thought his best support was from the Johnsons.

"When I was in New Jersey for the funeral, I got a chance to meet his family, friends and public officials from New Jersey," Chavez said. "It was a beautiful ceremony. I felt so welcome and I felt like a warm embrace. There were no hard feelings for what had happened. That was probably the biggest breakthrough I've had."

He said that even though he has endured a tragedy, he won't ease off on Diaz in their Kissimmee, Fla., fight if he gets him in trouble.

"If I have someone hurt, do you expect me to take it easy?" he asked. "I do not think anybody on my team expects me to soften up because I think something tragic is going to happen. That is for God to decide."

• TRAINER CHANGE -- Light heavyweight contender Chad Dawson, who will meet WBC champion Tomasz Adamek in the main event Saturday in Kissimmee, has hired Mayweather Sr. as his trainer, replacing two-time Trainer of the Year Dan Birmingham.

After giving a politically correct answer about his reasons on a conference call, Dawson said later in a private interview he thought he could get more one-on-one attention from Mayweather Sr.

"Dan was all about Winky (Wright), and I felt I needed more time from him than he could give me," Dawson said. "He was all about those guys (Wright and Jeff Lacy). Floyd is a very hands-on trainer. He's there to run with me, he's there in the gym and he's taught me things I never knew.

"I'm throwing quicker and faster combinations and, even though he's a master of defense, I'm a better offensive fighter now."

• BYRD SET -- Former IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd, who recently moved from Las Vegas to Henderson, said he has abandoned plans to move to the cruiserweight division. He had considered dropping to fight champion O'Neil Bell, but Bell has signed for a March 17 rematch with Jean-Marc Mormeck.

"I wanted to fight for the title," Byrd said. "I don't want to have to fight my way up there."

Byrd, among the smallest of the heavyweight contenders at 6 feet 1 inch and 215 pounds, said he's gunning for 7-2, 330-pound WBA champion Nikolai Valuev.

"If I fight smart, that's definitely a fight I could win," said Byrd, who lost his title to Wladimir Klitschko in April when he said he failed to fight his style.

• COTTO READY -- WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto returns March 3 on HBO when he defends against Oktay Urkal. Cotto won the title from Carlos Quintana on Dec. 2 in his first fight after having moved up from super lightweight and said the difference in weight was significant.

He was cutting muscle to make the 140-pound weight limit, he said, and was sapped of strength and energy.

"I can't remember the last time I felt as good in a fight as I did for that one," Cotto said. "I could move. I could eat in the days before the fight with no (restrictions). I haven't had that for a long time."

• HATTON ILL? -- Ricky Hatton nearly pulled out of his Jan. 20 fight at Paris Las Vegas with Juan Urango, in which Hatton won the IBF junior welterweight title, because of a chest infection, a British newspaper reported.

The London Daily Express reported Friday that Hatton's father said his son developed a chest infection 10 days before the bout and that serious consideration was given to postponement. Hatton went through with the bout and won a unanimous decision, though he held a lot and the bout wasn't aesthetically pleasing.

"People have said Ricky looked jaded in the second half of the fight and I'm not surprised," Ray Hatton told the Daily Express. "Ricky suffered a really bad chest infection in the lead-up to the fight while out in Las Vegas. The doctor said it would linger for weeks.

"We carried on, but if the infection had started a few days later, we'd have pulled him out."