You previously designed for Mike Tyson. How is Mayweather different?
Floyd has a pretty-boy, you-can’t–touch-me style. Tyson might just cut a hole in a towel and come in the ring. Tyson looked bestial to intimidate his opponents. Tyson came along during the birth of hip-hop, so I used to make him all of these elaborate outfits, the same things I was making for LL Cool J and all of the early rappers. Also, Mike Tyson would sweat enormously. He used to tell me that his shorts started feeling like lead. So Tyson would not be a good candidate for wearing Mayweather’s stuff. Floyd can wear leather, alligator, even mink shorts in the ring.
Were you always a boxing fan?
Yeah, I grew up during the boxing era. Boxing was very significant because we could run up to the TV and watch our champions, like Joe Louis. There was a lot of prejudice early on in my era, so we were denied opportunities in sports. Boxing was one of the early color barriers that we broke. To see black guys get in the ring and knock people out, it was like we were winning, just for that moment. For those rounds, we were on top of the world.
Why do you think the popularity of boxing has declined?
It’s not as big as it was back in the day because, with the exception of Floyd, the talent is no longer there. Where as in basketball or baseball, there is so much more room for that talent. With boxing there is just one guy here and one guy there. I am inclined to believe that boxing is the greatest challenge of all of the sports. Somebody could be very talented in boxing, but never get the right fight. I think that hurts the industry a lot.
Do you hope to work with more boxers?
To be honest with you, a lot of up-and-coming guys have been calling. Floyd set a format that could help boxing a lot. The kind of excitement he creates with the way he dresses is starting to attract other fighters for personal and financial reasons. Brana is trying to follow in Floyd’s footsteps. He needs a few more pointers from Floyd in and out of the ring. I think it would help out the industry, so I am working with a few guys. You will be seeing something soon. I have been trying to feel out what the major design companies are doing. I wonder who is going to be wearing Dolce & Gabbana or Louis Vuitton shorts in the ring. I wouldn’t be surprised by that at all. Remember, back in the day, nobody would have dreamed up the way that design companies eventually embraced hip-hop.
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