Floyd Mayweather gets N5bn for Las Vegas win

 

After rolling over most of his recent opponents and defying the aging process, pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather finally found himself in a fight last Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Fight week began with Mayweather talking retirement and buying the Los Angeles Clippers. By the end of the week, the fight was in jeopardy over a controversy regarding the Everlast gloves Marcos Maidana planned to wear.

The dispute was settled with too much money at stake for Mayweather to walk away.

When the fighters finally climbed into the ring at the sold-out MGM Grand, Maidana almost took the zero that Mayweather cherishes so much in his now 46-0 pro record.

Mayweather threw half as many punches as Maidana, but still managed to land more blows. Yet, the 221 punches Maidana landed were the most times Mayweather has been hit, according to data compiled by Showtime Stats from 38 of Mayweather’s previous fights.

Mayweather suffered a brutal cut over his right eye from a head-butt during the fourth round, but his cutman, Rafael Garcia, managed to stop the bleeding. Mayweather took some shots at Maidana after the fight for hitting below the belt, but was mostly gracious. ”It was a tough, competitive fight,” Mayweather said. “I gave the fans what the fans wanted to see. Normally, I box and move. Finally, I was in a tough, competitive fight. Tonight, I wanted to stand there and fight and give the fans their money’s worth.” Mayweather pocketed a guaranteed $32 million (N5bn), plus his share of revenue if the fight scores big on pay-per-view.

Saturday’s fight was so good that many were calling for a rematch for later in the year. “If the fans want to see it again, we’ll do it again,” Mayweather said.

Mayweather is expected to be back in the ring in September for the fourth fight in the six-fight, $200 million-plus blockbuster pact he signed with Showtime in 2013.

About Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (born Floyd Joy Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American professional boxer, currently undefeated as a professional. He is a five-division world champion, having won eight world titles and the lineal championship in three different weight classes.

Mayweather is a two-time Ring magazine ‘Fighter of the Year’ (winning the award in 1998 and 2007); he also won the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) ‘Fighter of the Year’ award in 2007 and the ‘Best Fighter ESPY Award’ in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013.

He is a known spendthrift

Floyd Mayweather has a strong passion for cars, and it’s a well known fact. His rich collection of cars includes Bentley Mulsanne, Lamborghini Aventador, Rolls Royce Phantom, Ford Mustang, and a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG model. Recently, the American Boxer purchased the latest model of Lamborghini Aventador. Painted in pure white, it’s one hell of a fast roadster that has the capability of reaching 0-100 km/h mark in just 2.9 seconds. The ‘toy’ cost him £400,000 (N107m).

Floyd Mayweather recently posted picture of his newly purchased Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG model. The full white coloured lavish sedan is all class and style. One amazing feature available in this new roadster from Mercedes is the AMG Ride Control sports suspension.

Because of the presence of this suspension, the electronically-controlled dampers are allowed to choose from the three different suspension settings available during driving. The car starts at a price range of $196,100 (N31m).

The Bentley Mulsanne is one of Floyd Mayweather’s favourite cars and the champion boxer is known to own at least two of these beauties. Inside the ring, Mayweather has a reputation for being a showman, while outside it, his life maintains the aura of a circus with a vast entourage of hangers on who must be ready at any minute to do whatever he desires, even if that means playing basketball at 2am.

Other facts about Mayweather’s spending habit

• He has a single bank account with $123m (N19.7bn) in it. He’s obsessed with cash.

• He travels with Ziploc bags of hundreds, and is known for his crazy shopping sprees.

• He has two fleets of luxury cars including a $290,000 (N46.4m) Bentley. All his cars at his Miami house are white, and the cars at his Vegas house are black.

• He only wears shoes once. He leaves them in hotel rooms for the staff when he’s done.

• He spends $6,500 (N1m) per year on boxers. He throws them out after wearing them once.

• He owns a Gulfstream 5 private jet, but doesn’t let his full entourage ride on it.

• His bodyguards travel on a separate jet because Floyd is afraid of having two much weight in the cabin.

• He is known for making insane, seven-figure bets on sporting events.

• There was even a rumour that he bet $5.9m (N944m) on the Miami Heat in the playoffs.

• His Instagram account is full of money pictures.

• He spends millions on necklaces, and once had $7m (N1.1bn) in jewelry stolen from his house.

• He spreads the wealth. He bought his on and off fiancee Shantel Jackson a diamond ring worth $10m (N1.6bn).

• He can afford all of this because of the eye-popping amount of money he earns from his fights.

• Floyd earned $90m (N14.4bn) in 2013 alone. He’s the highest-paid athlete in the world.

• He earned a record $41.5m (N6.6bn) for his fight against Canelo Alvarez in 2013.

• The money will keep pouring in. He’s currently one fight into a six-fight, 30-month deal with Showtime that’s rumoured to pay him $300m.

• Floyd doesn’t have a single endorsement deal.

• He has an apparel company called The Money Team, but no deals with Nike, Adidas or Reebok.

• His entourage also calls itself “The Money Team.”

• For all of his wild spending habits, Floyd has a reputation for having a maniacal work ethic.

• He’ll often wake up at 3am and go work out.

• He’s also considered one of the most tactical boxers ever. He is 44-0, and a massive favourite to beat Alvarez and keep the mystique of “Money” Mayweather alive.

• Mayweather’s 22,000-square foot home in Las Vegas requires $3,000 (N480,000) in monthly gardening maintenance.

Sources: forbes.com, businessinsider.com, bornrich.com, en.wikipedia.org