In November, a month most boxing fans had hoped to give thanks for the long-overdue Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao mega-fight, expected to be the highest-grossing prizefight of all time, Mayweather instead will face another kind of battle — in a courtroom.
Mayweather and his uncle/trainer, Roger Mayweather, are scheduled to appear in court to face separate felony domestic violence charges that, if they're convicted, could land them in jail for a while. Roger, 49, goes on trial Oct. 25 on charges that he punched and choked a female boxer in a Las Vegas apartment.
Pacquiao is multitasking as a congressman in the Philippines, while training for a fight with Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 in Dallas. He said he does not need the Mayweather fight to complete his legacy. He also said he would be waiting for Mayweather when the undefeated fighter was ready.
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But that was before Mayweather spewed a racist rant about Pacquiao on the Internet (he later apologized), and before his latest brush with the law on Sept. 9.
Mayweather, 33, is keeping a low profile in Las Vegas since prosecutors slapped four felony charges on the fighter after a domestic dispute with his longtime on-and-off girlfriend and the mother of two of his children, Josie Harris, allegedly turned ugly.
According to the police report, Harris called police after Mayweather allegedly stole her iPhone (from which came the initial felony charge of grand larceny — in Vegas, anything valued over $250 constitutes grand larceny). Then, Mayweather returned a few hours later and allegedly assaulted her while she was sleeping and threatened to kill her. His anger stemmed from learning that Harris was seeing Chicago Bulls guard C.J. Watson.
The police have testimony from the 10-year-old son of Mayweather and Harris, who said in the report that both of their children witnessed the incident, and she filed a protection order in family court the same day the altercation was alleged.
Mayweather also faces a misdemeanor domestic battery and three harassment charges, and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 9 for his preliminary hearing. He faces up to 34 years if convicted on all counts.
Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, declined to comment, and his attorney, Richard Wright, was unavailable for comment, but has said his client is innocent of any wrongdoing.
Carlos Blumberg, a Las Vegas criminal lawyer not affiliated with Mayweather, says Wright is a "top-shelf attorney." He also said Mayweather's charges are excessive.
"In my opinion, he's been overly charged with these eight counts, (including) two felony charges for domestic violence," Blumberg said. "A lot of times prosecutors use this as leverage in negotiations. So if they overcharge, then he can plead to just a handful of misdemeanor charges. If they charge him with just one or two misdemeanors, they have no leverage."
Blumberg says the charges are serious. "Of course. He's looking at 30 years in jail. He's going to have his preliminary hearing coming up. They'll have to see the credibility of the witnesses involved and determine if those crimes did, in fact, take place."
In 2003, Harris claimed Mayweather had beaten her, and the boxer faced felony battery charges. Harris retracted her testimony in court and charges were dropped. That, Blumberg says, likely will affect her credibility with a jury.
Legendary promoter Don King, who has openly wooed Mayweather, says the fighter has been surrounded by too many people who care only about Mayweather's money.
"Floyd is a genius; he has taken nothing and made something out of it," King said. "What you have is nobody who cares about him as a human being. They care about him as a cash register. And when they raid the cash register and there's nothing left in the drawers, you won't see them. They will disappear, just like the money did."
"What I want to do is just be his friend. I don't need him to go out and make me some money — now because I say that, that don't make me altruistic; I am a capitalist."
King says his sources tell him Mayweather is planning another visit to South Florida soon — he spent several days being wined and dined by King in July. "If he does come with me, there ain't nobody alive — and I say this in all humbleness — nobody can generate more capital with him than I can, because I'm a people person. I'm a promoter of the people, for the people, by the people."
For now, though, the 79-year-old King says, "My hope is that he will get justice, and it will be fair, and then there will be some moves of redemption. … you can't continue to go on the same path with redundancy, and keep doing it over and over."
So, is a Mayweather-Pacquiao mega-fight still possible?
Says King: "Yes, and it would be bigger than ever if I'm involved. … It's a bright star, but if you don't know how to follow it, it's like a lost ball in high weeds."
HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg hopes so, since his network stands to make a lot of money on a Pacquiao-Mayweather matchup.
"Clearly, Floyd needs to deal with his legal and personal issues at the moment," Greenburg said Wednesday. "When he resumes his boxing career, our hope is that he will want to cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats and meet his top challenge: Manny Pacquiao. The sport needs it, and we remain hopeful this mega-fight can happen in 2011."
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