Floyd Mayweather Jr: A Story about Money (part 1)

The Welterweight champion is rated by many the best pound-for-pound boxer.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a five-division world champion who happens to be undefeated. Also, he happened to have won 10 world titles including the linear championship in four different weight divisions. He’s been rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer by Ring, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Fox Sports. Mayweather has also won the Best Fighter ESPY Award six times out of the past eight years.

• Mayweather was voted Forbes magazine’s highest paid athlete in the world.
• Mayweather credits his Grandmother for seeing his boxing potential first.
• Boxing was used by Mayweather to cope with is illiteracy and Father’s absence.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is also rich. Considered to be the wealthiest fighter in the sport, he’s been at the top of Forbes magazine’s list of 50 highest-paid athletes for the last three years straight. Known in US gambling news, Mayweather reached a new high this year as Forbes Magazine’s highest paid athlete in the world. Afterall, Mayweather does go by the nickname “money.” Let’s find out why.

Mayweather was born and raised around boxing

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 24, 1977 with the rarity of boxing lineage few have ever received. His father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., was a professional welterweight. Floyd’s uncles, Jeff and Roger Mayweather were also professional boxers. Floyd Senior once fought legend Sugar Ray Leonard and Roger Mayweather won two world championships.

Young Mayweather never had the opportunity to think of any serious alternatives to boxing. Despite being constantly in the presence of profession critique, Mayweather Jr. has always considered his grandmother to be the first to notice is true potential as a boxer. “When I was young, I told her ‘I think I should get a job’ and she said ‘no, just keep boxing.’”

Growing up in the Southwestern Michigan town of Grand Rapids, Young Mayweather saw himself in an impoverished environment. It wouldn’t be long before the family moved to New Jersey amidst equally meager conditions. Arriving home from school to used heroin needles in his yard a common occurrence. Mayweather Jr.’s mother had a drug addiction as well as his aunt who died of AIDS.

Known to many, are involved in online sportsbooks in the US, is the early economic struggles, Mayweather’s family experienced. Young Mayweather can still recall the time when he slept night in a single room on a single bed with five other people often without electricity. “When people see what I have now, they have no idea of where I came from and how I didn’t have anything growing up.”

Mayweather’s father and his influence on boxing.

The influence of Mayweather’s father was mostly around taking him to the gym as a boy and working with him according to Mayweather Jr. “I don’t remember him ever taking me anywhere or doing anything that a father would do with a son, going to the park or to the movies or to get ice cream. I always thought that he liked his daughter better than he liked me because she never got whippings and I got whippings all the time.”

According to Mayweather’s father, his relationship with his son was more involved. Although Mayweather’s father sold drugs, he claims to have taken care of Floyd and his other children. “The drugs I sold, was a part of it. He had plenty of food. He had the best clothes and I gave him money. He didn’t want for anything. Anybody in Grand Rapids can tell you that I took care of my kids.”

Mayweather couldn’t recall his father taking him to bad places or around any unscrupulous characters. His father hustled at night, while taking him to the gym during the day. Although his father’s jail time affected him, Mayweather claimed that he raised himself and his grandmother “did what she could.” Mayweather was able to focus and not get caught up in drugs or gambling that wasn’t in accordance to US gambling laws.

Mayweather took on the goals of taking care of his family so he dropped out of high school and pursued boxing. In addition, boxing served as a way for Mayweather to cope with his father’s absence and his illiteracy. “I knew I was going to have to try to take care of my mom and I made the decision that school wasn’t that important at the time and I was going to have to box to earn a living.”