Boxing
superstar Floyd Mayweather walked free from a Las Vegas jail early on
Friday morning after serving two months for battering his ex-girlfriend
in front of their children.The undefeated five-division champion was
greeted by 20 family and friends, including rapper 50 Cent, as he
emerged from Clark County Detention Centre just after midnight.The
35-year-old remained silent as, in the darkness, he got into a blue
Bentley sedan and drove himself away the three months jail time he was
handed for a hair-pulling, arm-twisting attack on former lover Josie
Harris as two of their three children watched.And he is now free to
resume a boxing career his lawyers warned in court documents might be at
risk because jail food and water did not meet his dietary needs.They
also said his lack of exercise space in a cramped cell of fewer than
98sq ft threatened his health and fitness.
A lot has happened in
Mayweather's world since he was jailed June 1. With no television in his
solo cell, he could not see arch rival Manny Pacquiao lose his WBO
welterweight title on June 9 to Timothy Bradley. Mayweather, who goes by
the nickname 'Money', was also not around to celebrate last month when
Forbes magazine named him the world's highest-paid athlete for 2011.
And
he missed fiancee Shantel Jackson's private birthday bash last week at a
Las Vegas steakhouse with friends.Las Vegas Review-Journal celebrity
columnist Norm Clark noted that Mayweather sent diamonds. But Mayweather
is now a free man, even if his next opponent is not immediately clear.
Mayweather's manager Leonard Ellerbe did not respond this week to
repeated messages from The Associated Press. Promoters for Mayweather's
main rival, Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao, are planning a fight for
November 10 at the MGM Grand Garden arena in Las Vegas, Nevada Athletic
Commission executive Keith Kizer said. Pacquiao's opponent has not been
named but Mayweather was not believed to be on the list.
Pacquiao,
who earned $62million in fights and endorsements last year, ranked
second on the Forbes richest athletes list behind Mayweather and his
$85million in fight earnings. To fight in Las Vegas, Mayweather will
need a new license from the Nevada Athletic Commission, Kizer said
yesterday.His last license, for the May 5 bout against Miguel Cotto, was
for one fight only. If Mayweather applies, commission Chairman Raymond
'Skip' Avansino Jr could decide to grant approval administratively or
summon Mayweather before the panel for a public hearing, Kizer said.
Mayweather received about 30 days off his 90-day jail sentence for work
time and good behaviour.Nevada state law allows inmates to receive up to
10 days off per month for co-operating with jailers and working or
being willing to work. Las Vegas police administer the jail, and a
department spokesman said Mayweather was not required to work and did
not misbehave behind bars.
The plea deal allowed him to avoid trial
on felony charges that could have gotten Mayweather up to 34 years in
prison if he was convicted. Harris and the children have since moved to
the Los Angeles area.As a high-profile inmate, police say Mayweather was
kept separate for his protection from the other 3,200 inmates in the
downtown Las Vegas facility. Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melissa
Saragosa rejected arguments that Mayweather's accommodations were cruel
and unusual. The judge ruled June 13 that while Mayweather may not have
liked the regimen, he had sufficient space and time for physical
activity and the only reason he was not eating properly was because he
was refusing to eat the meals he was given. The judge earlier gave
Mayweather a break - allowing him to remain free long enough to make the
Cinco de Mayo fight against Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden arena in Las
Vegas.Mayweather won to run his record to 43-0 with 26 knockouts. Cotto
lost for just the second time in 38 fights
No comments:
Post a Comment