Mayweather family feud: Floyd Jr. upset with uncle

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not scheduled to fight again until September, when he's supposed to face Oscar De La Hoya in a rematch of Mayweather's May 5 split-decision victory.

If that fight takes place, it might be with a different trainer working Mayweather's corner.

Mayweather is keeping an eye on De La Hoya's May 3 fight against Steve Forbes in Carson, Calif. His uncle and lead trainer, Roger Mayweather, is working Forbes' corner, and the WBC welterweight champion is not happy about it.

"Right now, I'm upset with my uncle for training Steve Forbes," said Mayweather, who last spoke to his uncle Feb. 25 at the fighter's birthday party at Jet Nightclub. "That's not a good look, at all. If Forbes defeats De La Hoya, then he's taking money out of my pocket and everyone around me goes down the drain.

"If he continues to train Steve, I may have to pay my father (Floyd Sr.) more than Roger and bring him back. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. By training Steve Forbes, he's taking money out of his own mouth. He's jeopardizing millions to make 80 grand."

Meanwhile, Mayweather reportedly is getting $20 million to participate in WWE Wrestlemania on March 30. His "feud" with 441-pound Paul "Big Show" Wight has been ongoing for several weeks, keeping Mayweather in the public eye even though he hasn't boxed since Dec. 8, when he defeated Ricky Hatton.

"It's been a great move," Mayweather said. "I'm keeping my name out there. I'm one of the hottest products out there right now, even though I'm not boxing. I'm showing that I'm a businessman, that I'm not one-dimensional, that I am willing to go outside the box to build the Mayweather brand."

• BACK RINGSIDE -- Bill Graham returned to the judge's chair March 15, working two fights on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight at Mandalay Bay.

It was his first work since Dec. 8, when questions about the 92-year-old Graham's competency arose after he judged two fights on the Mayweather-Hatton undercard at the MGM Grand Garden.

Graham said he still was dealing with the September death of his son at the time and was taking medication for depression.

Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer had Graham ghost-judge a card March 7 at The Orleans and declared him fit to work the Pacquiao-Marquez undercard bouts.

"He did fine," Kizer said. "When he worked the week before at The Orleans, his scorecards were similar to those of the actual judges.

"More important, his concentration and demeanor was there. That told me he was capable of going back to work."

Graham said he was glad to get another chance and that the three-month layoff was no problem.

"I wasn't nervous at all," he said. "I knew after my son died I wasn't myself. But I'm fine now and ready to work."

• NEXT FOR KAMBALA -- Former UNLV basketball player and budding heavyweight Kaspars Kambala will fight in a four-round bout May 9 at The Orleans. His opponent has not been determined.

If all goes well, Kambala would fight May 24 in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Kambala's manager and trainer, Richard Steele, said the 29-year-old fighter needs to keep busy and get as much experience as possible. Kambala (1-0-1) is coming off a second-round knockout victory over Mike Goins on March 7.

"We want to get 10 fights in him this year," Steele said. "He's got a lot of catching up to do since he only fought two amateur fights. But his confidence is growing. That was the biggest thing from his first fight to his second."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2913.