Mayweather camp: Blood, sweat and cheers

As he jumps rope to the sounds of James Brown singing "Super Bad," a smiling Floyd Mayweather Jr. soaks up the attention. All eyes follow his every move, and that's how he likes it.

"Of course, when I'm the star of the show, everybody wants to see the star of the show," he says in a quieter moment after a recent three-hour workout.

An afternoon at the Mayweather Boxing Club, near Spring Mountain and Valley View in Chinatown, attracts a cast of characters as colorful as Mayweather's personality.

On a given day, a crowd of 30 or more gathers to watch Mayweather train for what is shaping up as the largest-grossing fight in history, an event that might even be as entertaining as his workouts.

Mayweather, the unbeaten pound-for-pound king of the sport, is doing all he can to hype his fight with Oscar De La Hoya, who defends his WBC super welterweight title Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.

Both boxers made public appearances Tuesday at the MGM Grand, and Mayweather returned to his gym for a workout open to the media and, as always, his entourage.

During a typical session, Mayweather's supporters shout encouragement and music blasts as he works up a sweat.

"When we come to work, we have fun," said Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's business adviser, friend and the man in charge of the gym. "Everybody who's around Floyd is positive."

Two burly bodyguards stand by the door. One is J.T., a Hawaiian with hands almost the size of a bear's claws. He appears intimidating, but when spoken to, he smiles a lot.

"Nothing gets to that point," he said, when asked how often he uses force to protect Mayweather. "Everybody's cool."

Wearing a blue stocking cap is Nate "The Snake" Jones. A former heavyweight fighter who retired for "neurological reasons," Jones might be Mayweather's most vocal supporter.

Jones had just finished a 20-month prison sentence for auto theft when he met Mayweather in 1994 at a boxing tournament in Milwaukee.

"When I first met Floyd, I didn't like him," Jones said. "He was talking smack to everybody, and I'm like, who is this kid? And then he became one of my best friends."

A scar from a knife fight is visible on Jones' left shoulder. He grew up in the notoriously rough Cabrini-Green projects in Chicago and barely escaped with his life. Three years ago, Mayweather invited Jones to Las Vegas to help with security.

"Floyd likes to feel comfortable. He has been through a lot," Jones said. "He learned through the past that a lot of people wasn't truly his friends. All the people who wasn't right ... we got rid of them.

"We've got his back. We're all one big family. Floyd knows when you have money like that, there's a lot of people out to get you."

One person missing is Floyd Mayweather Sr., who has had a fractured relationship with his son for years. Mayweather Sr. recently left camp and will not be in his son's corner Saturday.

Mayweather Sr., formerly De La Hoya's trainer, refused to work with Roger Mayweather, Floyd's trainer and uncle, in the latest chapter of the family circus.

Ellerbe is the voice of reason for Mayweather Jr.

"In our time away from the gym, we don't even talk about the fight at all. We talk about basketball, stuff we plan to do after the fight and business ventures," Ellerbe said.

Mayweather has three movie offers on the table and he's writing a book, Ellerbe said. Mayweather also owns an entertainment company, Philthy Rich Records.

A frequent sports bettor, Mayweather wagers on the NBA playoffs almost daily. He carries a roll of cash and often sends a friend from the gym to place his bets.

He also trains tirelessly for the De La Hoya fight.

"Floyd busts his ass day in and day out. This is what Floyd does, and this is what Oscar does part time," Ellerbe said. "Oscar is not on Floyd's level."

A camera crew from HBO has been trailing Mayweather for a four-part reality series, "De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7."

When he's not training, and sometimes even during training, Mayweather likes to take verbal shots at De La Hoya, who prepared in seclusion in Puerto Rico.

"Oscar has no personality. His personality is just dry and dead. When you watch 24/7, the show is basically based upon me," Mayweather said. "When people watch me, they're on the edge of their seat because they don't know what's going to happen.

"Oscar is really a fan of mine. He wanted my daddy to show him how to fight like me. He sees (rapper) 50 Cent was on 24/7 with me, so he called up a couple of his celebrity fans. Oscar De La Hoya is a Floyd Mayweather groupie, that's all, a male groupie."

With that comment, his entourage breaks into laughter. And Mayweather keeps firing away.

"Oscar, this dude is just so fake. They don't talk about how he's having kids out of wedlock or how he's a party animal. He loves to go to strip clubs, all that stuff. He can fool everybody else, but he can't fool me. I know the truth," Mayweather said.

"I'm selling this fight. I'm real. When it's all said and done, I can back it up."