LEE SELBY rejects the ‘Welsh Mayweather’ tag he has been branded with in the past, arguing that he has not yet come close to emulating Floyd Mayweater’s achievements.
The Welshman defend his IBF featherweight title against mandatory challenger Jonathan Victor Barros at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this weekend.
While he is confident in his own abilities, he does not feel he deserves to be compared to the former pound-for-pound king.
“It’s a terrible name. How can they call me the Welsh Mayweather? There’s only one Mayweather. I’m a quarter of what he is. It’s an insult to him to call me that,” he said.
“He’s the best fighter of our era, it’s great to be boxing in his home [city].”
Selby has attended some of Mayweather’s fights and has watched him train up close and personal at the American’s gym in Vegas.
Lee has been to Las Vegas numerous times in the past, usually for training, and his familiarity with the fight city has allowed him to remain focused during this visit.
He said: “I haven’t been walking round looking at the sights. It’s nothing new to me so I’ve just stayed in the gym, stayed in the hotel and stayed focused. It’s strictly business.”
Indeed, Selby even says he isn’t the best fighter in his own family – his younger brother, Andrew, was a prolific amateur and currently holds the British flyweight title.
“My brother, he’s a special talent. Some of the stuff I see him do in the gym you just can’t teach.”
Andrew fights next weekend for a WBC world ranking, and Lee is adamant that he too will become a world champion in the near future.
