LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. seemed poised on becoming a big star until he broke up with his father, joined up with a rapper and turned down a $12.5 million fight offer as a "slave contract."

	Floyd Mayweather hardly stood still for a moment of his news conference Thursday.

He's still estranged with his father and rap music mogul James Prince remains his manager. But Mayweather gets a second chance Saturday against unbeaten Diego Corrales to resurrect his once promising career.

Mayweather defends his WBC 130-pound title against Corrales in a fight he needs to regain the lost momentum of a career that once seemed to have no limits. He is a 7-5 favorite in the fight, which will be shown on HBO.

The winner gets a guaranteed six-fight deal worth some $15 million with HBO, and this time Mayweather isn't likely to turn it down.

"He not only has to win, but in great fashion," promoter Bob Arum said. "He threw everything away when he could have been establishing himself as a big star."

Mayweather (24-0, 18 knockouts) meets the big punching Corrales (33-0, 27 knockouts) in a scheduled 12-round fight that features two unbeaten fighters who have both held 130-pound championships.

Mayweather will get a nice payday -- some $1.7 million -- but it is nowhere near the type of money he thought he was worth when he turned down an HBO offer of $12.5 million for six fights more than a year ago.

"If I was greedy I'd have taken the $12.5 million," Mayweather said. "I've got lots of cars, lots of houses. It's not about money."

It is about pride, though, and Mayweather's desire to be known as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. His reputation has slipped some in his last two fights, though, when he struggled against mediocre opponents while battling outside the ring with his father and others.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. had trained his son, but the two had a falling out over accepting the contract offer and Floyd Jr. later threw his father out of one of his houses.

"I love my father and he's one of the greatest trainers out there," Mayweather said. "But I've got to make decisions for myself now."

Mayweather now is being trained by his uncle, Roger Mayweather, a former champion himself.

"Don't blame me, I'm not Floyd's father," Roger Mayweather said. "I'm Floyd's trainer, but Floyd has a mind of his own. He's been around boxing since he was a baby."

Mayweather brought a large entourage of bodyguards and followers into the final pre-fight press conference Thursday, while Corrales was there only with his trainers.

The two are as much a contrast outside the ring as in, where Mayweather is a defensive technician and Corrales is a puncher. Corrales was soft-spoken and relaxed at the press conference, while Mayweather excitedly made his points.

"This is what you'll see in the fight, very calm and very poised," Corrales said. "You don't see me running around with an entourage. But I guess he needs the ego boost."

Corrales faces charges for allegedly beating his wife in California, and Mayweather's camp hasn't let him forget it. Prince said 20 tickets were bought for battered women to come to the fight, and he has offered a ringside seat to Corrales' estranged wife.