It’s Stormy Weather for the Mayweathers

It was a tender moment in the tough world of boxing.

There they were, father and son, hugging and crying ringside with the crowd and a national TV audience looking on.

The pent-up emotions of an ugly year of animosity flowed freely.

“I love you, Daddy,” said the son.

“I love you too,” said the father.

Happy ending?

Not quite. Instead, unfortunately, it was the end of an all-too-brief reconciliation.

It has been four months since Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Floyd Jr. were reunited moments after the son successfully defended his World Boxing Council super-featherweight title with a 10th-round technical knockout of Diego Corrales at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Tonight, Floyd Jr. (25-0, 19 knockouts) returns to the ring to defend against Carlos Hernandez (33-2-1, 21) at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. (7:15, HBO).

But if Floyd Jr., coming off his most impressive victory, wins easily as expected, don’t expect him to embrace his father again.

Floyd Sr. won’t be there.

A former welterweight now working as a trainer, Floyd Sr. is in Big Bear preparing Oscar De La Hoya for his June 23 match against Javier Castillejo.

But that isn’t the reason for Floyd Sr.’s absence.

“My son hasn’t called me since that night [when they hugged],” Floyd Sr. said. “He hasn’t put a foot in my house. I’m not going to beg him.”

At the center of their dispute is James Prince, the rap music producer who stepped in and replaced Floyd Sr. as his son’s manager.

When Floyd Sr. angrily questioned Prince’s competency and sincerity, the younger Mayweather sided with Prince. Relations between father and son became so strained, Floyd Jr. had an eviction notice put on the home he had helped his father purchase and repossessed a van he bought his father.

And so, one of the most talented fighters in the world and one of the best trainers in the sport found their differences bigger than their common interests.

With Floyd Jr. facing a huge challenge in Corrales, Floyd Sr. put aside his harsh feelings in order to come root for his son.

So how did that reconciliation come apart so quickly?

“Sometimes people do something at the moment,” Floyd Sr. said, “and then, 15 minutes later, they might feel different. I wanted to keep things going, but it’s up to him. I’m the father. I’m not going to chase my kid down.”

Floyd Jr. has minimized the differences with his father while preparing for the Hernandez fight.

And Floyd Sr. leaves no doubt about who he’ll be cheering for tonight.

“Something has happened between us,” he said, “but that’s still my son, that’s still me. That’s my blood.”

Floyd Sr. says that, while he would like to be a part of his son’s life, he still wants no part of Prince.

“That dude is a piece of [garbage],” Floyd Sr. said. “What has he done to earn 20% of what my son makes?

“I can forgive what my son did in going with him, but I can never forget. His name is Floyd Mayweather Jr. My name is Floyd Mayweather Sr. How can you disrespect me for another man?

“He kicked me out of my house, but I’m in a bigger house now. He took my car, but I’ve got a better car. I’m in a better place now.”

Those who watched father and son hug in January would disagree.

In the Other Corner

This will be the second title shot for Hernandez, a Bellflower resident. He fought Genaro Hernandez for the WBC 130-pound championship at the Olympic Auditorium in 1997, losing by decision.

Collision Course

It seems almost certain De La Hoya’s next opponent after Castillejo will be Fernando Vargas in a pay-per-view fall blockbuster.

“He’s in the cards,” said Floyd Sr. of Vargas. “When we shuffle the deck, he [Fernando] will come out on top.”

It would be costly for Staples Center to outbid the Las Vegas casinos for this match, but if ever a fight belonged in Southern California, it is this match between these bitter rivals, De La Hoya from East L.A. and Vargas from Oxnard.

King Holds Court

Most travelers making the long, wearying flight from the Chinese mainland to the West Coast would emerge from their plane too exhausted to talk.

Then there’s Don King.

The promoter, who’ll turn 70 in August, hit the ground talking earlier this week during a stopover at LAX on his way home to Florida after a tour of China. There was no jet lag in his hyperbole once he spotted reporters and cameras waiting for him.

King has plenty to talk about these days. After being the target of a federal probe into boxing and after having been shut out of the heavyweight picture, King is back on top. He is the promoter for Felix Trinidad, generally considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and, through Hasim Rahman and John Ruiz, King controls all three of the heavyweight titles.

King on former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who has sworn to never fight on a King-promoted card after claiming the promoter stole money from him: “I love the man. He is an urchin of the ghetto and I am an urchin of the ghetto.”

King on the story that he lured Rahman away from promoter Cedric Kushner by offering Rahman a stack of bills totaling between $250,000 and $500,000: “That’s not quite true, but there are a lot of similarities to the truth there.”

King on Rahman and Ruiz: “These are two journeyman champions, but, in a meritocracy, yesterday’s nobodies can be tomorrow’s somebodies.”