Mayweather adds yoga to preparation regime for bout against Cotto

As he gets older, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has to look for new ways to stay at the top of his game.

The 35-year-old undefeated welterweight champion, who faces Miguel Cotto on May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden for Cotto's WBA junior middleweight title, has added a weapon to his training arsenal.

Yoga.

That's right. A boxer sitting in a hot room getting stretched every which way to retain his flexibility.

"I never used to stretch," Mayweather (42-0, 26 knockouts) said Tuesday during his media day at his gym off Spring Mountain Road. "I feel I can perform better when my body is stretched out. I've been thinking about doing yoga for about five years. I finally decided it was time to try it."

Mayweather spends about an hour per day doing yoga, sometimes at a local studio, sometimes at his Southern Highlands home. But he said the results have been beneficial.

"I'm looking and feeling stronger," he said. "But it's hot in that yoga studio. Really hot."

That added strength will come in handy when he steps into the ring with Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs). The fight is at 154 pounds, and both fighters will be using 10-ounce gloves. Mayweather said the last time he fought with 10-ounce gloves was in December 2007 when he beat Ricky Hatton at the Grand Garden.

"We used heavyweight 10-ounce gloves in that fight," he said. "The difference between heavyweight gloves and regular 10-ounce gloves is the heavyweight gloves are more rounded and have a bigger (punching) surface.

"Two ounces can be a huge difference. You're carrying around heavier gloves. But I don't think it will slow me down at all. I can still be fast, whether it's 10 ounces, 8 ounces, 12 ounces or 16."

Mayweather appeared to be in good spirits Tuesday. He smiled and was relaxed. He praised Cotto as he has throughout the promotion, calling him "a skilled fighter, someone I cannot afford to overlook."

Mayweather also admitted he's becoming a more stationary fighter as he gets older.

"I'm willing to engage more," he said of going toe-to-toe with his opponents. "I think I'm a more physical fighter than I used to be. But I'm still a smart fighter. The key for me is keeping myself in control of things and stay in character and not try nothing new."

Mayweather, who normally walks around at 150 to 152 pounds, won't have to worry about making 154. He said he has stuck with a sensible diet, and he looked strong during Tuesday's workout.

And with his pending incarceration looming June 1 at the Clark County Detention Center to serve his 90-day jail sentence following his domestic violence case, Mayweather said his focus is entirely on Cotto.

"Honestly, I don't even think about it," he said. "It's going to be what it's going to be. I may go in in June, I may not. Things happen in life. But I'm concentrating on Miguel Cotto, and the best thing is I'm healthy, my children are healthy, and I'm getting to do what I love."

■ NOTES - Las Vegas welterweight Jessie Vargas (18-0, nine KOs) is looking for a new opponent for May 5 after Alfonso Gomez pulled out of their 10-round fight after suffering from back spasms during training last week. No replacement has been named. ...

Only a couple of hundred tickets remain for the Mayweather-Cotto fight, according to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who said he thinks the live gate will exceed $12 million. ...

The Nevada Athletic Commission on Tuesday approved Shane Mosley for a boxing license, allowing the 40-year-old's fight with WBC junior middleweight champ Saul "Canelo" Alvarez to proceed as scheduled. Mosley-Alvarez is the co-feature to the Mayweather-Cotto title fight.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.