10/08 — It’s not every day that one of boxing’s all-time top pound-for-pound fighters stops by for a Jets practice, but Floyd Mayweather was in attendance at today’s workout. The undefeated welterweight chatted for a few minutes on the sideline with both CEO Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum before exchanging a warm handshake with Rex Ryan.

"He just told me to keep my chin down, try to slip some punches and come back with a jab,” said the Jets head coach of the advice he got from Mayweather.

A winner of six championships in five different weight classes, the 5’7” Mayweather addressed the team at the conclusion of the workout and brought some levity into his speech when he spotted cornerback Drew Coleman.

“He saw me and said, ‘You play?' I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He was like, ‘Oh, man, you’re my size. Coach, get me some pads,’ " said the 5'9", 180-pound Coleman. "I guess he probably figured everybody would be big, tall. He didn’t know there was somebody his size in the NFL.”

“I told Drew he should have tackled his butt real quick,” added linebacker Bart Scott.

The visit from Mayweather, who pounded Juan Manuel Marquez by unanimous decision last month in a fight that sold more than 1 million pay-per-views, was something linebacker David “Hitman” Harris enjoyed.

“It was cool to see him. He and I are both from Grand Rapids and we went to the same high school even though he’s older than me,” Harris said. “We both went to Ottawa Hills and he’s a hometown hero. He’s done a lot of good things for the city of Grand Rapids. He’s a good guy.”

Having never met Mayweather before, the 25-year-old Harris actually recalled the 32-year-old Mayweather speaking to the students at Ottawa Hills. When Harris was at the team hotel the night before the Jets took down the Patriots, he purchased the Mayweather–Marquez fight for his family and then caught the replay himself later on HBO.

A controversial figure, Mayweather has his supporters and detractors, but nobody can question the guy’s work ethic.

“Just his hunger and his drive. You watch the HBO series ‘24/7’ and he puts in a lot of work outside the ring,” Harris said. “He’s very dedicated at his craft and takes pride in being the best. A professional is a professional, I guess.”

And even though boxing is a sport in which individuals are the spotlight, Mayweather interestingly delivered a team message to the 3-1 Jets.

“It’s a little bit of exciting at practice to see a guy like that come through,” said LB Vernon Gholston. “He just talked to us as a group for a minute, gave us words of wisdom about being a team. Obviously a lot of people think of his sport as a one-man person, but he was talking about how his team goes together with it, the training staff and all his other guys.”

Mayweather entered and left with a large entourage. He’s still unbeaten as a pro, carrying with him a 40-0 record and 25 knockouts. A lot of people would like him to fight the winner of next month’s Manny Pacquiao–Miguel Cotto battle or possible even “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

The world wants to know but Mayweather wasn’t giving any hints today. He threw the ball around a little bit with Mark Sanchez and wasn’t as accurate with the ball as he is with lightning-fast punches. An amazingly skilled man who very rarely finds trouble in the ring, Floyd has dropped the nickname “Pretty Boy” entirely for “Money.”

“Oh, no, it’s changed,” he told newyorkjets.com. “It’s Money, and the Jets have my favorite color.”