Hands-on approach helps Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather Jr. despises Bob Arum.

But the Top Rank chairman had a hand in prolonging the six-time world champion's boxing career.

It was Arum who 10 years ago, when Mayweather was with Top Rank, united the undefeated welterweight and veteran cornerman Rafael Garcia, whose constant maintenance has helped restore Mayweather's once-brittle hands.

"He's the best," said Mayweather, who fights Shane Mosley on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden. "He has a lot of experience.

"But it's not just the hands. It's the face. It's the body. He has such an extensive knowledge of boxing. I trust Rafael completely. No one else touches my hands but Raf."

Garcia, 81, said the problem with Mayweather's hands was simple to correct.

"His hands were wrapped too tight," he said. "The blood wasn't circulating through his hands, so he had pain. I merely loosened the wraps a little and he was fine."

Actually, Garcia did much more. He massaged Mayweather's hands before wrapping them, making sure the blood was flowing into the ligaments and tendons. He used an oil -- a secret formula from his native Mexico, Garcia claims -- to soften and relax them.

Garcia's techniques helped the 33-year-old Mayweather regain confidence in his hands.

The turning point, Garcia said, was Mayweather's 2001 fight against Diego Corrales.

"He hit Corrales on the head several times, big punches," Garcia said. "Afterward, no pain. Floyd hasn't had any problems since."

The Mosley camp claims that Mayweather's handlers have used lidocaine to aid his hands -- boxers may legally use the painkiller in Nevada but only under a doctor's supervision.

Mayweather and his camp denied using the substance.

"I don't know what the (expletive) lidocaine is," Mayweather said.

"I can tell you, without hesitation, we have never shot Floyd's hands up with anything," Mayweather's manager, Leonard Ellerbe, said. "He has never used lidocaine -- or anything else for that matter."

Mayweather said Garcia is all the help his hands need.

Garcia will take about 10 minutes to prepare Mayweather's hands on a typical day, the cornerman said. On fight night, Garcia said, he'll take as long as 20 minutes to wrap his fighter's hands.

"Everything has to be perfect," he said. "I want Floyd to feel confident with his hands, so I take extra time to make sure."

Garcia, who has worked with legendary fighters such as Roberto Duran and Alexis Arguello in his 50-plus years as a cornerman, said his hand- wrapping style incorporates parts of other trainers' routines that he has cherry-picked over the decades.

"The main thing is to protect the fighter's hands," Garcia said. "Not so that they can punch harder."

In addition to Mayweather, Garcia works with light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson and featherweight champ Yuriorkis Gamboa. But Mayweather remains his priority.

"Floyd knows I'm always there for him," he said. "When he decides to quit boxing for good, maybe I'll quit too."

■ NOTES -- Both Mayweather and Mosley will have their official public "arrivals" today in the MGM Grand lobby, with Mosley making his entrance at 2 p.m. and Mayweather at 2:30. ... Friday's weigh-in at the Grand Garden arena is open to the public with both fighters expected on the scales at 2:30 p.m.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.