Floyd Mayweather Jr. and 90 days in jail
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was sentenced yesterday to 90 days in a Las Vegas jail after pleading guilty to a reduced battery domestic violence charge and no contest to two harassment charges. The 34-year-old Mayweather also was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $2.500 fine. The plea deal avoids trial on felony allegations that the undefeated prizefighter hit his ex-girlfriend and threatened two of their children during an argument at her home in Sep. 2010. Mayweather stood still in a striped olive vest and showed no reaction when the judge imposed the sentence and told him he must report to the Clark County jail on January 6.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Boxer pleads guilty to a reduced domestic violence charge in Las Vegas, putting in jeopardy a potential fight with Manny Pacquiao in late spring.
A Las Vegas judge Wednesday sentenced boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to 90 days in jail for his role in a 2010 domestic violence case involving two of his children and their mother.
Mayweather pleaded guilty to a reduced domestic-violence misdemeanor charge and no contest to two harassment misdemeanor charges in the Clark County (Nev.) courthouse.
The jail sentence complicates, and perhaps scraps, plans for a late-spring fight between Mayweather (42-0) and Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
“You don’t need to be a genius to count the days” – said a person in Pacquiao’s camp, who was unauthorized to speak publicly.
With Mayweather scheduled to report to jail January 6, his 90-day term would expire in early April. Clark County Court spokeswoman Mary Ann Price said: “He will likely spend approximately 65 days in custody,” based on receiving 22 days of “good-time [behavior] credit,” in addition to three other days of credit for time served.
Under that scenario, Mayweather would be released by March 11.
Mayweather had reserved May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for his next bout, but he typically requires eight weeks of training. Plus, a Mayweather fight requires a longer window for a full promotional schedule.
Although negotiations have not begun in earnest to stage the proposed fight, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, has said he is exploring a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in June at an outdoor 45.000-seat venue on the Las Vegas Strip. Arum on Wednesday declined to comment.
The anticipated fight between boxing superstars Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. may still push through in the end of 2012 despite the latter’s 90-day jail sentence, according to boxing analyst Chris Mannix.
Mannix, a columnist for Sports Illustrated, said the super fight could still take place but not on May 5, the date of Mayweather’s supposed next fight.
“(The fight) was put in jeopardy in the sense that it won’t happen in the first half of the year” – said Mannix in SI.com.
But he is confident the fight will still happen because of both camp’s willingness to arrange the bout.
“The fact is I think both of these camps were open to the possibility of this fight for the first time… they have not foregone the negotiations yet” – said Mannix.
Mannix said the negotiations between the two camps can resume after Mayweather’s sentence.
“The most likely possibility that we see the fight would take place towards the end of 2012” – he said.
Las Vegas Judge Melissa Saragosa sentenced Mayweather to 6 months behind bars for a 2010 attack on the mother of his children, but half of his jail term was suspended.
Mayweather, the WBC welterweight champion, pleaded guilty to 1 count of battery and no contest to 2 counts of harassment after reaching a deal with prosecutors, said Mary Ann Price, spokeswoman for the Clark County Courts.
The charges were part of a criminal complaint against Mayweather, 34, which originally included charges of robbery, grand larceny and coercion over an altercation at the home of his former girlfriend, Josie Harris.
Mannix said the camp of Mayweather Jr. was surprised by the 90-day jail term.
He said Mayweather’s camp believed that they would get off without the jail sentence in the boxer’s domestic battery case.
“I don’t think that he or members of his team felt this coming at all” – Mannix said.
“I think all along they believe they would get off without any meaningful punishment, when I say meaningful, I mean jail time” – he added.
Mannix said the 3-month jail sentence will effectively put Mayweather out of commission for the first half of 2012.
He, however, said the unbeaten fighter can still fight after serving the sentence.
“I don’t think he will fight in the fist 6 months of 2012… but he will be out in 90 days. He will be able to resume training, he will be still young enough to have several more years on his career” – said Mannix.