BOXING: CONFIDENT MAYWEATHER TO DEFEND HIS TITLE.

Byline: Daily News and Wire Services

Floyd Mayweather Jr. had toned down his ego-driven rhetoric since remarks he made earlier in his career turned the world against him.

Now, as he prepares to defend his WBC junior lightweight championship against Carlos Hernandez tonight in his home town of Grand Rapids, Mich., he appears to have toned the rhetoric back up.

``I'm the best athlete in the world, hands down,'' he said. ``Athletes like Kobe Bryant, he can have an off night and still be the great Kobe Bryant. Tiger Woods can lose 10 golf tournaments in a row and still be the great Tiger Woods.

``... But in boxing, you can't have an off night. In boxing, if you have an off night, they'll dog you, they'll eat you up, they'll destroy you. Your payday drops, you lose your contract. But right now, I'm dominating everyone they put in front of me and doing it with ease, guys like Genaro Hernandez, Angel Manfredy, Diego Corrales.

``I'm not bragging or boasting. It's the truth.''

Mayweather (25-0, with 19 knockouts) probably isn't the best athlete in the world. However, he has never failed to back up his prodigious mouth.

And Hernandez (33-2-1, 21 KOs), a solid but limited contender from Los Angeles, probably doesn't have the tools to contend with the remarkably quick champion. Hernandez reportedly is an 18-1 underdog.