Mayweather getting aggressive, KOs sparring partner with body shot

Floyd Mayweather apparently isn't taking it easy on his sparring partners. (Getty Images)

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has not scored a knockout since he was a spry 34-year-old kid.

But if at least one story out of “Money's” Las Vegas-based training camp is true, the 38-year-old version of the five-division champion could be looking to end the drought come May 2. Photographer Chris Robinson told CBSSports.com Sunday that Mayweather has been stepping on the aggressive gas in the early days of training, which has yielded a KO of at least one unsuspecting spar mate. "Floyd doing his thing," said Robinson, owner of the HustleBoss.com website, which posts images and stories from Mayweather headquarters. "He dropped one of the guys with a body shot." Mayweather has 26 knockouts in his 47 professional victories, but his last inside-the-distance win came under dubious circumstances against Victor Ortiz, who was turned toward referee Joe Cortez when Mayweather dropped him with a combination. Before that, the last opponent stopped before the final bell was Ricky Hatton -- in 10 rounds -- in December 2007. Outside of Ortiz, Mayweather has scored just one knockdown since the Hatton fight, in the second round against Juan Manuel Marquez in September 2009. He was forced into a more physical fight in his initial match with Marcos Maidana last May, then was more tactical upon beating the Argentine by unanimous decision in their second meeting in September. A revved-up training camp version of Mayweather isn't exactly a novelty, though, and may not be his best approach with Pacquiao, according to SecondsOut.com boxing columnist Marc Livitz. 

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“Maidana made him fight for his life last May, regardless of the ‘I fought that way for the fans' schtick,” Livitz told CBSSports.com. “[Mayweather's] known to beat the crap out of his sparring partners. Swarming Pac would not be the answer, because I still think that despite the fact that Pac is now powerful on each side -- he can still be outboxed.” Pacquiao has 38 KOs in 57 career wins, but has not registered a stoppage of his own since bludgeoning Miguel Cotto into submission in November 2009. He bounced Chris Algieri off the canvas several times in a wide 12-round win in his last fight in November and had dropped Marquez in round five of their most recent meeting in December 2012, but was subsequently stopped himself one round later. Livitz said pressing the fight might get Mayweather into a more dangerous firefight with Pacquiao. “An aggressive mindset may lead to a more ‘tit-for-tat' style of contest,” he said, “where he'll get more on the receiving end.”

-CBSSports.com