Floyd Mayweather's training plan: How to train like a boxer

"You really have to enjoy boxing because it’s hard and sometimes punching elbows or skulls means that fighters get injured, even Floyd, who has had hand issues," says Terry Chapendama, a professional boxing trainer at Fitzroy Lodge in London. "Getting punched in the head is not a joke."

As fight night nears, Mayweather will be reaching the pinnacle of his training, which in itself can be brutal. The gruelling regime, known as a ‘camp’, is designed to push the boxer to his limits. Camps are aimed at three different levels of boxer and are either 10 or 12 weeks long depending on the individual.

The first level is a development training camp, taking novice boxers up through the world rankings, to around 6th, 7th or 8th. Then there’s a level two camp, where boxers who have already reached that point and know well the fundamentals spend time drilling the sport into their mind until it becomes second nature. Finally, there’s Mayweather’s level, otherwise known as a reactivation camp, where boxers in their late 30’s or early 40’s go to train.

"Mayweather will be trying to reactivate his muscle memory as well as any dormont nerve impulses and his instinctive responses", says Chapendama. "That’s why when fighters retire they tell you they realised in camp they didn’t have it anymore: they couldn’t reactivate what they used to have at their peak."

Chapendama believes Mayweather, who’s a notoriously hard trainer and stays close to his fight weight, will choose a ten week camp leading up to August 26th, ensuring that he won’t burn out. Those ten weeks will be meticulously planned, with two rest days each week and time given to conditioning, strength and power, and technical exercises.  

Chapendama stresses that camp isn’t for the light hearted and has seen world champions end sparring sessions with a bloody nose from an amateur. "Camps are notoriously fraught, they’re not nice places. It rarely goes smoothly, you’ll get bust ups, people get fatigued, people break down. As a trainer, you have to really know your fighter, so if he’s not performing in a way that you know him to, then you then need to dial things down. Or, if you feel he’s not pushing himself, you need to dial things up."

Bad days, though rarely spoken of, seem to be a rite of passage for most champion boxers. "If you hadn’t had a bad day you’ve probably had it too easy," smirks Chapendama. "There will be times when it's hard and it didn’t go your way and the important thing is that you come back the next day with a clear mindset."

Think you’ve got what it takes to give it a go? Chapendama believes that camp is good for one thing in particular: weeding out those who can’t cope. To be a champion you’ll have to get through week eight: the tipping point for all great boxers. "That’s when the sparring gets hard. You’ve been through all these weeks of camp, you’re away from home, you’re on a controlled diet to keep your weight down, you’re being worked incredibly hard and you might have a sparring session that doesn’t go well. It's easy to completely lose your enthusiasm for the fight and start to doubt yourself. That’s the point where people will crack.’" 

Good fighters like Mayweather can compartmentalise and understand that everyone has bad days. "You don’t need it to go smoothly, you just need everything to be ready for fight night."

Mayweather’s reactivation camp: week eight

Monday

Monday’s are loaded up, beginning with cardio of no more 40 mins, where Mayweather might run five or six miles.

Mid-morning Mayweather will hit the gym for at least two hours working on sparring, technical work and pads with his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather. Lastly, he’ll finish up with four rounds of bag work and then loosen up by doing some skipping.

In the evening, he might return to the gym to do sit ups, neck work, pull ups and other old school strengthening exercises.

Tuesday

The second day will start to ease up a little bit, starting with a 30 minute swim. "Swimming at a reasonable pace lets the muscles work without taxing your joints," explains Chapendama.

Back at the gym, Mayweather will spend his time going through his technique, speed and sharpness as well as some bag work, before doing a light circuit to keep his conditioning strong.

Wednesday

The week works in waves so by Wednesday Mayweather will be starting to lower his intensity. He’ll do some shadow boxing, light bag work and strength exercises. "As he’s fighting McGregor, who’s a larger guy, he has to be strong when they come in to it. So he’ll be working on his leg strength and hip strength," says Chapendama.

He’ll end the day with some active rest or yoga, which Chapendama often sees being used in camps for professional boxers. "Floyd used yoga for his fight against Manny Pacquiao and he’ll use varieties of it for this one especially because, due to his age, he’ll need to work with his connective tissue to minimise the risk of injury," he says.

Thursday

The first rest day of the week. Mayweather might find himself doing a light jog or some conditioning but will be sure not to do anything too taxing.

Friday

One wave down, the next to go. Mayweather will hit it hard with a tough day on the Friday, starting with a routine run. "He’s had his rest day, he’s refocused, now it’s time to get back to the bread and butter of things," says Terry.

After the run, the real work begins with some sparring, heavy bag work, work with the pad, skipping and finally ending on circuit.

Saturday

It’s would be easy to think that because Conor McGregor isn’t used to the boxing ring, Mayweather is in for a sure win; Chapendama is certainly placing his bets on the boxer. "Conor McGregor has to understand that that ring will look very very small when he’s up against someone who knows how to control it," he says. Despite this, Mayweather has to be sure to not let his guard down and will spend his Saturday figuring out movement patterns that might prove successful against McGregor’s southpaw stance.

"He’ll play through the fight round by round," says Terry, who regularly goes through scenarios with his own competitive boxers. "Where does he need to be? What does he need to do when the first bell goes? What is he doing in those first 15 seconds?  He’ll do a lot of that so when the bell goes, you’re straight in, you’re not feeling yourself in, you’re confident."

Sunday

After a week of intensive training, Sunday is a day of complete rest and focus. "On lighter days, all great fighters will do visualisation. You’ve done all the hard work now you’re just making sure that everything is bedded in and you’re focused on that first bell," says  Chapendama.