De La Hoya vows to provide muzzle for Mayweather Jr.

If he's looking for a career after boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. always could be a motivational speaker.

Mayweather is undefeated inside the ring, and outside of it, he's one of the all-time great talkers. And the more he talks, the more he seems to motivate Oscar De La Hoya.

"I don't see this fight going the distance," De La Hoya said of their WBC super welterweight title bout Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.

De La Hoya vowed to silence his opponent as he spoke calmly and confidently during Wednesday's news conference at the MGM Grand.

De La Hoya, who said he has lost all respect for Mayweather because of his trash talking, promised to take an aggressive approach in the fight.

"I'm willing to go out there and die that night, I want the fight so bad," Mayweather said, adding his 37-0 record is in no jeopardy of being blemished. "Accept me for who I am. I'm the best in the sport.

"I make fighters pay for their mistakes, and guess what, every fighter is going to make a mistake. Oscar's mistake is getting in there with me."

Mayweather is not downplaying anything. He was wearing $1 million in jewelry, he said, including a $500,000 diamond watch.

The day's most awkward moment came courtesy of Roger Mayweather, Floyd's trainer and uncle, who rambled about various topics until some in the audience shouted at him to sit down.

"I was going to say something else, but I forgot what it was," Roger Mayweather said at one point.

Freddie Roach, De La Hoya's trainer, was more to the point, saying, "Don't miss this one. It might not be too long."

De La Hoya's company, Golden Boy Promotions, is putting on the fight with HBO. It promises to be the largest-grossing event in boxing history, probably surpassing $100 million in revenue.

After complimenting Mayweather's skills, De La Hoya said it's crucial for the sport that they put on a good show.

"Floyd is always in tremendous shape. I'm expecting the best of the best, so we prepared for that," De La Hoya said. "I want to make sure we give all the fans an incredible fight. All the attention will be on boxing May 5, and now it's up to us two fighters to fight as hard as we can, and I don't expect any less."