Floyd Mayweather has insisted he has a "good heart" despite being portrayed as the bad guy ahead of his WBC welterweight showdown with Ricky Hatton on Saturday, December 8 in Las Vegas.

His loud, brash attitude and constant trash-talking has won him few fans in the UK over the past couple of months, however Mayweather claims it is all part of the act.

"Everybody is entitled to judge a person how they want to do - but I've got a good heart. I never did anything illegal and all I did was go out there to dedicate myself to the craft of boxing," Mayweather told Sky Sports.

"People portray you as they want to portray you. But I conduct myself like a gentleman. I'm not out there pushing Ricky Hatton off the stage or shoving him. I'm just saying I believe in my skills.

"Each fight has to have a good guy and a bad guy. When I fought Oscar de la Hoya, I was the bad guy, but when I fought Zab Judah I was the good guy - because he was even worse than I was.

"That's the hand you're dealt and you have to deal with it. You fight through everything.

"Everything is a struggle - but you don't let anything break your confidence and just stay focused and just be you."