Will Mayweather’s star begin to shine?

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 20, 1999 | 10:15 a.m.

There isn't any doubt he's a great, young fighter with superstar potential.

Floyd Mayweather is already 20-0 at 22 years old and has the World Boxing Council junior lightweight championship. As much as any fighter in the world today, by every appearance the Las Vegas resident is unbeatable.

He's quick and strong and possesses a wealth of experience even at a tender age. He was an Olympic bronze medalist and, last October at the Las Vegas Hilton, he so thoroughly dominated then-champion Genaro Hernandez that the proud man quit on his stool after the eighth round.

Mayweather followed that up with a devastatingly fast second-round knockout of supposed tough-guy Angel Manfredy last December in Miami. Saturday at Mandalay Bay, Mayweather goes up against another respectable foe, albeit a late replacement for the ill Goyo Vargas, fellow Las Vegan Justin Juuko, on the undercard of the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Oba Carr main event.

But winning fights and making money -- big money -- don't always go hand in hand. And that's where Jeff Mayweather, the fighter's uncle, comes into the equation.

It's his job, with the assistance of Top Rank's Dena duBoef, to market his nephew in as many effective ways as possible. It is something of a full-time job for Jeff Mayweather, an ex-fighter who also serves as a trainer for a handful of local professionals.

It's also a challenge of some sorts, given the fact Floyd Mayweather hasn't always been portrayed as warm and lovable despite his "Pretty Boy" nickname and fun-loving flair.

"At the beginning of his professional career, Floyd came off as brash, cocky, arrogant," Jeff said. "If you saw or heard him, more often than not he was talking trash. I know that turns off a lot of fans because at the Hernandez fight I heard some of them saying they hoped he lost.

"Actually, he was acting like that because he felt it was the right way to go. He wanted to make a lot of noise."

But that was then. Jeff flinched when he realized not everyone in the Hilton crowd was pulling for the up-and-coming local star, and he made his concerns known to Floyd.

"We sat down and had a long talk," Jeff said. "I told him he was rubbing people the wrong way. When you blow your own horn, people want to see you fail.

"In boxing, to make a lot of money, you have to win and either be a good guy or a bad guy. I told him, 'You don't have to be the bad guy.' Since then, Floyd has changed, and the best part of that is that people will be able to see he's changed and grown."

With Top Rank also handling De La Hoya, it would be easy to believe it would like to chart a course for Floyd Mayweather that would mirror that of the Golden Boy's path to fame and fortune. But Jeff Mayweather says that's not necessarily the way to go.

"It's not about Floyd being another Oscar," he said. "Oscar's nice, but everything's rehearsed. For the most part, Floyd's been pretty good with the media, but Top Rank suggested we do a rehearsal with Floyd for some interviews like they did with Oscar. I know the media can make you or break you, but I said 'no way.' We've never rehearsed Floyd and we never will.

"Why be Oscar? Be Floyd."

Despite a fairly cozy relationship and a contract that runs for three more years, the Mayweathers and Top Rank haven't always seen eye to eye on how to best promote the emerging star.

"Top Rank has all the avenues, but we've had our conflicts," Jeff said. "Like with something as simple as a fan club, Top Rank said to wait for a while. I said, 'Why wait?' I don't believe in waiting."

The fan club is falling into place, as is a Mayweather web site. Marketing help has also just arrived in the form of the company that represents Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa, and Jeff Mayweather has his feelers out for clothing and merchandise deals that would further promote his nephew.

"Image-wise, Floyd's on the right track now," Jeff said. "We had a deal with one clothing company and, of course, we're looking for bigger deals with someone like Puma or adidas.

"It's hard in a way because of the sport of boxing, but we've got to start somewhere and we've got a couple of deals in the works. We want to work with companies that are marketing items to people Floyd's age, and that, in turn, will bring another wave of people to boxing who might not otherwise follow the sport."

He's also looking into guest-spot opportunities on TV talk shows like those hosted by Chris Rock and Tavis Smiley.

"I think it's very important to do Smiley's show," Jeff said of the BET program that runs nightly during the week. "I'm reaching out to Smiley's people and I want to get Floyd on there."

Other avenues that have already been explored and utilized: a fitness magazine ran a profile of Floyd; he hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for the underprivileged last year at the Nevada Partners Gym; and an anti-gang message campaign that is in the exploratory stage. He's also under contract -- for three more fights -- with the HBO cable network, which is televising Saturday's card.

If there's something out there that will bolster Floyd's image and add to his pocket book, Jeff's pushing for it.

"I'm keeping my nose to the grindstone," he said. "I want to see the best for Floyd in every respect, and I want to be sure he has something to fall back on when he's out of the game. He's got something that can put him way above the normal fighter, both inside and out of the ring.

"My advice to him has been to just 'Be yourself.' Be your own man, but be the good guy."