Pretty Boy lives his life on his terms

Boxing Welterweight title fightOn the billboards dotting the neon-drenched Strip this week, the face of Floyd Mayweather Jr overshadows that of Ricky Hatton. Not surprisingly, given the record of British fighters crossing the Atlantic, Mayweather is the bookmakers' firm favourite for Saturday night's big fight at the MGM Grand hotel.

When the two made their ceremonial grand arrival in Las Vegas, however, the American had a foretaste of the sort of fervour with which Hatton's thousands of British fans will attempt to push their man to victory.

Naturally Mayweather tried to make light of the booing that greeted him when he arrived in the casino-hotel's lobby on Tuesday. "Hatton's been here before and he didn't sell out," he remarked. "He's selling out now. Why? Because his fans are coming to see me. If he's so big, why is this his first pay-per-view fight? I hold the record for pay-per-view."

His answers to other questions suggested he might have grown a little irritated by the amount of attention Hatton has been receiving in the build-up to their world welterweight title fight. Much has been made, for instance, of Hatton's humble Manchester origins.

Mayweather responded by emphasising the nature of his own background in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which includes a father who served a five-year prison sentence for dealing cocaine and a mother who was once addicted to crack.

"I don't think Ricky Hatton's ever seen his father shot, I don't think Ricky Hatton's been on drugs, I don't think his dad's been to prison," Mayweather said. "I come from a neighbourhood where people dying is normal.

"To come from that life and fight my way to the top, I think that's one hell of an accomplishment. When everybody was doubting me, I never complained, I never cried. I just kept proving them wrong."

Mayweather also believes that too much is being made of the contrast between the 10-car garage at his home in Spanish Hills, a gated community on Las Vegas's west side, and the Reliant Robin that Hatton likes to drive around his home city of Manchester.

"Sometimes people portray you the way they want to," Mayweather said. "The pen and the mouth are strong weapons. Are you judging me by what you see on TV, or what you hear through hearsay, or do you really want to get a chance to see the real Floyd Mayweather?

"They didn't talk about the 600 families I fed on Thanksgiving, or the toy-drive I'm having for families who are less fortunate. But I know who I am as a person. If I can afford 10 cars, then I'll buy 10 cars. Just because I'm fighting a guy who may have one car, does that mean I'm saying I'm better than him? Not at all.

"I live my life the way I live it, and he lives his life the way he lives it. If he wants to buy one car, it's up to him. If he wants to drink beer and throw darts, that's his life. My life's a little bit different. But just because we live our lives in two different ways, that doesn't mean one is better than the other. I feel that everybody is equal. And I live my life the way I live my life."