Floyd Mayweather Jr. jailed in Vegas domestic case -- Associated Press

By KEN RITTER, The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was jailed briefly Friday on a felony charge after his ex-girlfriend alleged he beat her and stole her cell phone during an argument in front of their three children.

Mayweather, 33, said nothing as he was released from the Clark County jail on $3,000 bail after being booked on a grand larceny charge. He could face up to five years in state prison if he is convicted of taking items valued at less than $2,500.

He is scheduled for an initial appearance Nov. 9 in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Mayweather's lawyer, Richard Wright, denied Mayweather was guilty of the criminal charges based on allegations by Josie Harris.

"He did not commit any grand larceny," Wright told The Associated Press. "Josie can't find her iPhone. We're attempting to find it or replace it. We'll cooperate in the investigation. We expect to get the matter resolved." An iPhone typically costs less than $500.

In a request for a Clark Court Family Court protection order, Harris said Mayweather threatened to kill her in a confrontation about 5 a.m. Thursday at a home she says is listed in his name in southwest Las Vegas.

She said he was angry about her a relationship with another man.

The document says Harris and Mayweather lived together for seven years and separated in May after 15 "on and off" years.

It says Harris sought another protection order five years ago and alleges that Mayweather battered another former girlfriend. The document does not mention an iPhone.

Harris also filed a police complaint Thursday. It has not been made public.

The nine-page request for a protection order alleges Mayweather pulled Harris's hair, punched her in the head and twisted her arm while she screamed for their children, ranging in age from 7 to almost 11, to call 911.

"He yelled and screamed that he was going to kill me and my boyfriend," Harris wrote. "Floyd has threatened to have other people do harm to me as well and if (there) is a way I can be protected from that please help me."

Police said Thursday that Harris was treated at a Las Vegas hospital for minor injuries.

A judge granted a 30-day protective order and Mayweather was served with a copy of the document when he was released from jail, Clark County courts spokeswoman Jillian Prieto said.

Mayweather is considered one of the sport's top performers, with a record of 41-0 and 25 knockouts. He goes by the nickname "Money" and earned more than $20 million in May from his fight in Las Vegas against "Sugar" Shane Mosley.

Mayweather made headlines earlier this month with an online video laced with expletives and sometimes racial rants against boxing rival and Philippine sensation Manny Pacquiao, who faces Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium near Dallas.

Fans have called for Mayweather to fight Pacquiao in what could be the richest fight in boxing history, but negotiations have stalled amid suggestions from Mayweather's camp that Pacquiao has used performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao responded with a defamation lawsuit that is still pending.

Mayweather said during the video that he's on vacation "for about a year" and would easily defeat Pacquiao after that.

Pacquiao dismissed Mayweather's video as an "uneducated message," and Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, labeled it "a really cheap low blow."

Mayweather has been arrested several times since 2002 in battery and violence cases in Las Vegas and in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich.

He was convicted in 2002 of misdemeanor battery stemming from a fight with two women at a Las Vegas nightclub. He received a suspended one-year jail sentence and was ordered to undergo impulse-control counseling.

He was fined in Grand Rapids in February 2005 and ordered to perform community service after pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault and battery for a bar fight.

He was acquitted by a Nevada jury in July 2005 after being accused of hitting and kicking Harris during an argument outside a Las Vegas nightclub.

Harris, then 25, recanted her allegations and testified that she lied to police because she was angry Mayweather left her for another woman.

Harris told jurors that Mayweather was a "teddy bear inside" and said she knew "no matter what I did, he would never put his hands on me."

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: google.com

Mayweather has 'got to get his life in order,' HBO executive says -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Friday arrest on a felony theft charge coming a week after he launched a racially charged, expletive-filled video attack on Manny Pacquiao are indications the unbeaten boxer has difficulty handling life away from his sport, say two of the most prominent businessmen in his career.

"He's got to get his life in order," HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg told The Times Friday after learning of Mayweather's arrest in Las Vegas on suspicion of grand larceny connected to the theft of his ex-girlfriend's cellphone, according to reports.

"This gives me pause. I've known Floyd for many years, and we've showcased him several times on [HBO's reality series] "24/7," with people engaged by his personality. Now people are repelled by his personality. I hope he can learn from these terrible mistakes. Someone has to do an intervention with him."

Mayweather, 33, has produced several compelling HBO pay-per-view events in the last four years, including the most lucrative bout of all time against Oscar De La Hoya in 2006, and the May 1 victory over Shane Mosley that generated 1.4 million buys. Sources close to Mayweather say he's earned more than $60 million in two bouts since last September.

But on the heels of Mayweather's video rant against Pacquiao, in which he accused the Filipino superstar of using performance-enhancing drugs, dismissed him as a future sushi chef and made other slurs, Greenburg said he felt compelled "to speak out. There's no place for that kind of behavior or that racist diatribe. I hope it never happens again, and that he's learned his lesson."

Mayweather did apologize, but on Thursday, his ex-girlfriend told Las Vegas police she was the victim of domestic violence committed by the boxer, and later reportedly filed a restraining order against him after being treated at a hospital for what police said were "minor injuries."

The Associated Press reported the woman's restraining order request read: “Please order Floyd Mayweather to not try and contact me. Floyd has threatened to have other people do harm to me as well and if [there] is a way I can be protected from that please help me."

The woman and Mayweather have been together for more than 10 years and have three children together.

The boxer's lawyer, Richard Wright, told AP that Mayweather is accused of taking an iPhone from the woman, Josie Harris.

“He did not commit any grand larceny,” Wright told the Associated Press. “Josie can't find her iPhone. We're attempting to find it or replace it. We'll cooperate in the investigation. We expect to get the matter resolved.”

Harris made a police complaint and sought a family court protection order Thursday alleging Mayweather pulled her hair, punched her in the head and twisted her arm while she screamed for their children, who range in age from 7 to almost 11, to call 911.

Richard Schaefer, the Golden Boy Promotions chief executive who has co-promoted Mayweather bouts since 2006, said elite athletes such as Mayweather can become a "target," urging reporters to "cut Floyd some slack," and "not engage in a witch hunt." But Schaefer added the boxer's trouble reveals "the price of fame."

"The spotlight is a glorious light at times, but it can be a hard light too," Schaefer said.

Schaefer was asked if Mayweather is showing that he can't handle life outside the routine of anticipating a fight. He currently has no bout scheduled and failed to agree to fight Pacquiao in a second round of failed talks during the summer.

"For many, their athletic environment is a kingdom, a real place to find refuge from outside influences -- their safe haven," Schaefer said. "The same is true for Floyd. He's a gym rat. Maybe he needs to get back in there and fight again so we can all enjoy his amazing talents."

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Floyd Mayweather Arrested in Las Vegas -- Fox LA

MyFOXla.com

(NewsCore) - Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. was arrested in Las Vegas Friday and booked for grand larceny related to an alleged domestic violence incident, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The report said Mayweather’s arrest was related to allegations he took personal items from the home of Josie Harris, the mother of three of his children.

He was released from jail later Friday and immediately climbed into a swanky Maybach car, the entertainment website TMZ reported.

Earlier Friday, TMZ said Harris filed a request for a restraining order against Mayweather Thursday, saying in accompanying documents that he came to her Las Vegas home that morning and awoke her by "pulling me by my hair and throwing me on the ground in my living room and began punching me in my head."

Harris also claimed Mayweather "continued to beat me in front of [the couple's three children]" and told them if they “ran or tried to call the police he would beat them the same way."

In addition, TMZ said, Harris alleged Mayweather began "dragging me on the floor and twisting my arm back ... in attempt to try and break it."

Harris was treated at a hospital and released, one of her family members told the Review-Journal.

Last week, Mayweather, 33, who is considered one of the top boxers in the world, made headlines for a racially-charged video that criticized rival Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather later apologized for posting the video.

Source: myfoxla.com

Boxer Floyd Mayweather in jail for grand larceny of iPhone -- Examiner

By Cheryl Phillips, Examiner.com

Boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr was arrested and charged with grand larceny on Friday. The charges reportedly stem from claims that Josie Harris, the mother of his children, is missing her iPhone. This after she made a domestic violence call to the Las Vegas police that Mayweather attacked her and threatened to kill her.

Mayweather can't stay out of the Google trends over the past week, and it's not for boxing. News of Mayweather's arrest comes just a week after he posted a video full of racist comments about Manny Pacquiao, keeping his name floating around in the media for days.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal: Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was been arrested and booked on charges of grand larceny. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center about 10:45 a.m. and held on $3,000 bail.

Reports indicate that Harris already has a temporary protection order filed against Mayweather. The couple have three children together. She claims, as reported to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that the boxer punched her in the head, pulled her hair and tried to break her arm after entering her home as she slept.

Mayweather's lawyer, Richard Wright, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the grand larceny charge was related to Harris' missing cell phone.

"Josie can't find her iPhone ... We're attempting to find it or replace it. He did not commit grand larceny. We expect that to be resolved," Mayweather's attorney told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Floyd Mayweather is expected to post bail and be released on Friday. Stay tuned for his next video. Perhaps he will record it on the reportedly stolen iPhone.

Source: examiner.com

Learning from greatness -- North Jersey

BY KEITH IDEC, NorthJersey.com

Glen Tapia plans to compete at boxing’s elite level one day.

Manny Pacquiao plans to teach him how to get there.

The undefeated Tapia, a fast-rising junior middleweight prospect from Passaic, has been hired as Pacquiao’s primary sparring partner for the Filipino superstar’s Nov. 13 fight against Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium. Tapia will leave today for Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., where they’ll train for several days until leaving late next week for Pacquiao’s training camp in the Philippines.

"I’m going to learn how one of the greatest world champions trains, how he fights, everything," Tapia, 20, said. "It’s a great opportunity for me."

North Arlington’s Carl Moretti helped establish the Pacquiao-Tapia partnership while discussing potential sparring partners with Roach, Pacquiao’s respected trainer, during a three-city U.S. media tour to promote the HBO Pay-Per-View fight last week.

"Freddie was looking to give Manny a different look in this training camp," said Moretti, vice president of boxing operations for Top Rank Inc., which promotes Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) and Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs, 1 NC). "He was looking for a young, aggressive kid to give Manny something to think about, so that it’s not the same old thing. Glen was the first kid that came to my mind. He’s built a little like Margarito. He’s right-handed, he throws a lot of punches and he’ll give it his all."

Tapia (7-0, 5 KOs) was supposed to meet Miami’s Edvan Barros (10-10-1, 7 KOs) in a six-round fight Saturday night in Las Vegas, but the fight was canceled two weeks ago. Tapia continued training at the Passaic PAL boxing gym, so he’ll head to Pacquiao’s homeland in good condition for at least five weeks of sparring.

Tapia expects Pacquiao’s training camp to be more challenging than the training camp he experienced with Ghana’s Joshua Clottey last year. Tapia was Clottey’s primary sparring partner for Clottey’s split-decision defeat to Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto 15 months ago at Madison Square Garden.

Pacquiao dominated Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs, 1 NC) in their welterweight title fight March 13 at Cowboys Stadium.

"Pacquiao’s going to throw way more punches than Clottey, and I throw a lot of punches," Tapia said. "So I think it’s going to be very explosive sparring. I’m very excited to see how the first sparring [session] goes. I’m not going to just stand there and take his punches. I’m going to go in there ready to go at it."

INVADING GERMANY: Samuel Peter is extremely thankful that Alexander Povetkin passed on a mandatory title shot and provided him with another shot at Wladimir Klitschko. He intends to prove it before 45,000 Klitschko-loving fans during their IBF/WBO heavyweight championship rematch Saturday in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Nigerian-born Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) knocked down Klitschko three times during their first fight, but Klitschko survived Peter’s power and won nine of the 12 rounds, 114-111, on all three scorecards nearly five years ago in Atlantic City. At least one of the knockdowns was questionable because Peter hit Klitschko behind the head.

The 6-foot-7, 245-pound Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs) is now boxing’s most dominant heavyweight since Lennox Lewis retired 6 1/2 years ago.

"This time around, I’ve got my referee and my judge," Peter, 30, said. "My referee is my right hand and my judge is my left hook. So no question about it this time around. He will not get up from my hook."

Ukraine’s Klitschko, 34, hardly has lost any of the 73 rounds he has started in nine straight bouts he has won since Peter tested him at Boardwalk Hall. Klitschko’s safety-first style has frustrated American premium cable executives, however, to the point that they’ve stopped paying large license fees to televise his fights in the United States.

His rematch against Peter, his most dangerous fight since the first time they met, won’t be televised live in the United States. It will be available live at 5 p.m. on ESPN3.com, a subscription-based web site, and will be broadcast on ESPN on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

COMPLETELY COMMITTED: Peter’s shoddy conditioning has cost the former WBC champion in many of his title fights, but his new trainer believes he has learned from merely relying on his power to win fights.

"I think the dedication has been the big difference that I’ve seen in Sam," said Abel Sanchez, Peter’s trainer since May 2009. "I’ve been able to keep him in the gym six, sometimes seven days a week. … I think in the past he has allowed outside influences to contribute to his lack of dedication, his lack of commitment. The discipline, this time, has been there, for me, anyway."

Peter has knocked out each of the four opponents he has faced since Sanchez started training him, but none of them were world class-caliber heavyweights.

E-mail: idec@northjersey.com Blog: northjersey.com/ringposts

Source: northjersey.com

Manny Pacquiao What Do You See When You Look in the Mirror? -- Ringside Report

By “Bad” Brad Berkwitt, Ringside Report

How does it happen? Is it greed? Bad business or maybe a combination of both? On November 13, 2010, the number one Pound for Pound boxer in the sport today Manny Pacquiao, 51-3-2, 38 KO’s goes against known cheater Antonio “Hands of Plaster” Margarito, 38-6, 27 KO’s at the Cowboys Stadium for the vacant WBC Light Middleweight Title.

This fight is a sham! By far the worst thing that has happened to boxing in a long time and that includes bad decisions, ridiculous sanctioned title fights and shame on the WBC who is allowing this fight to be contested for their strap. What did “Hands of Plaster” do to deserve a title shot? He was destroyed in nine rounds against a faded Sugar Shane Mosley without his “Special Weapon”. In his most recent appearance this past May, he was taken the distance by a nondescript opponent named Roberto Garcia who when there was no Plaster of Paris applied to his wraps, he couldn’t stop him going the full ten rounds.

Manny Pacquiao was all that was good in boxing. A man who rose from the depths of poverty and hooked up with a Class Act in Freddie Roach. This was the manuscript for a great movie. Where did it all go wrong and why? Greed! A greedy promoter, a boxer who allowed money to taint what would have been the right thing to do and that was turning down the fight. Face anybody that deserved a shot, but not a fighter that beat up your fellow boxers by cheating.

Pacquiao can say all that he wants or to pretend this fight is acceptable, but deep down, he knows in his heart how wrong this is for him to take the fight and the long lasting black eye it will leave on a sport that has endured so many black eyes over the years. I still feel Manny is a good man, but money does crazy things to some people. It’s too late for him to call of the fight, but a “Call to Arms” is mandatory whether a boxing fan, or a fan of just Manny Pacquiao, you must tune out on November 13th to show Bob Arum and Manny that they made a really bad business decision.

Manny Pacquiao when you look in the mirror what do you see?

Source: ringsidereport.com

Floyd Mayweather Sought in Potential Domestic Violence Case -- FanHouse

By FanHouse Staff

As if his recent homophobic tirade against Manny Pacquiao wasn't enough, boxer Floyd Mayweather is apparently under suspicion that he beat up the mother of his child.

TMZ reported that Las Vegas police arrived at Mayweather's home there early Thursday morning after receiving a call from Josie Harris, the mother of Mayweather's child.

TMZ cited law enforcement sources who said they couldn't find Mayweather and were looking to speak with him before determining whether to charge him. According to Officer Barbara Morgan, the 33-year-old Mayweather wasn't at a southwest Las Vegas house when officers responded to the woman's complaint a little after 5 a.m. Thursday. Morgan says the woman alleges Mayweather hit her during an argument.

Harris accused Mayweather of punching and kicking her while the two were in a Bentley in 2003, but the charges were subsequently dropped two years later when Harris testified that she lied because she was upset that Mayweather had left her for another woman.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Police: Floyd Mayweather Jr. being sought in domestic violence incident -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Unbeaten boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is being sought for questioning in Las Vegas after a domestic violence report was given by his former girlfriend early Thursday morning.

The woman, Josie Harris, who Las Vegas Metropolitan Police say has children with Mayweather, summoned multiple police cars at 5:03 a.m. to a southwest Las Vegas home and reported the boxer attacked her. Domestic violence investigators were at the scene, police spokesman Bill Cassell told The Times. The spokesman said Harris was treated at a hospital for "minor injuries" and released.

"At this point, Mr. Mayweather is a suspect in a domestic battery violence case, and we would very much like to speak with him," Cassell said.

Mayweather's spokeswoman had no information about the alleged incident, and attempts to reach his adviser were not immediately successful.

Cassell said details such as what prompted the alleged incident and Harris' specific injuries were "part of the investigation." Asked if Mayweather would be arrested, Cassell said only that, for now, the boxer is a "person of interest."

Mayweather, who last fought May 1 and won a lopsided decision over Shane Mosley in Las Vegas, apologized this week after unleashing a racially charged, expletive-filled video attack on his possible future opponent, Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather's uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, faces a coming criminal trial for allegedly beating a female boxer.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Outrage to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s racist rant still missing -- USA Today

By Mike Lopresti, Gannett

One week. I've waited one week for the outrage to pour down on all the verbal trash a boxer named Floyd Mayweather Jr. had to say about another boxer named Manny Pacquiao. And so far, the silence has been deafening, not to mention sad and telling.

Let's be bold and take a wild guess that many of you don't wake up each morning eager for the latest boxing headlines. Vanishing faster than pay phones are Americans who can tell you the name of the heavyweight champion of the world — however many versions there are.

But these are two of the hottest names in the sport, supposedly destined to one day meet in a super fight that would make Las Vegas glow, if they can ever stop bickering about the contract. So you might have heard some of the excerpts from Mayweather's profane and racist Internet video rant about his Filipino rival.

You might have noted this for example: "As soon as we come off vacation, we're going to cook that little yellow chump."

Or this: "Once I stomp that midget, I'll make that mother-(bleeper) make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice."

Or this: "We're going to cook that (bleeper) up with some cats and dogs."

Throw in calling Pacquiao a "whore," along with generous usage of a derogatory F-word normally aimed toward gay males, and you get the general tone.

This was like making a 911 call to the sports precinct of the PC police. Certainly, it rose to the level of Don Imus calling the Rutgers basketball team "nappy-headed hos."

Absolutely, it matched Fuzzy Zoeller's bad joke about Tiger Woods not putting fried chicken and collard greens on the Masters champions dinner.

Positively, it could stand aside Howard Cosell referring to a small Washington Redskins player as "that little monkey."

Imus was fired. Zoeller, once among the most gregarious figures in golf, retreated into the shadows and never quite recovered. Cosell, despite being a stalwart defender of Muhammad Ali in the stormy Vietnam years, was savaged by critics. They all apologized, as Mayweather did, but that did not save them from having reputations burned at the stake.

So I waited for the volcano of indignation. One week. And mostly … nothing.

Nothing from the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who led the charge after Imus and said after the radio host was summarily sacked, "It's a victory for public decency."

Nothing from the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said of Imus: "We cannot afford a precedent establishing that the airwaves can commercialize and mainstream sexism and racism."

The loudest and lonely cry came from the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, which was probably appalled not only by the mean spirit of the words but the errant idea that sushi is regarded as a Filipino dish.

Imagine a major league pitcher talking about Ichiro Suzuki: "My fastball is going to cook that little yellow chump."

Or a defensive end in the NFL talking about Donovan McNabb: "Once I stomp that midget, I'll make him make me fried chicken."

Think there'd be some, ah, ramifications? It'd be headlines and talk show fodder for days. But for whatever reason — plenty to choose from — this vanished like a shooting star.

Is it because nobody cares about boxing? Most Americans can't find the Philippines on a map, so why bother to be offended? The ugly underbelly of the Internet makes us numb to inane ramblings? An African-American athlete is not held to the same standard of sensitivity?

Only a couple of conclusions can be made.

One more time, boxing has given us a reason to dismiss it as a sport that's turned into grimy carnival act.

And many who portray themselves as tireless guardians of the boundaries of decency in discussion on race appear to have very selective criteria for where the line might be.

Source: usatoday.com

Shane Mosley: Boxing Needs the Big Fights -- FanHouse

By Michael David Smith, FanHouse

At age 39, Shane Mosley knows that most of his boxing career is behind him. He also knows that in his lifetime, boxing has fallen, and fallen hard.

But Mosley (46-6, 39 knockouts) still believes that he has a few good years left in him, and in those years he says that there's one thing that can cement his own legacy and energize the sport: Make the kinds of big, exciting fights that can bring back the fans who have drifted away through the years.

Mosley's next fight, September 18 against Sergio Mora (21-1-1, six KOs), doesn't exactly have the sports world buzzing the way his last fight, against Floyd Mayweather, did. But Mosley insists that he's going to put on a show in front of his hometown fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"This should be a great fight. Sergio Mora is definitely a competitor and he's coming to fight," said Mosley. "He's the right opponent right now because he's tough, he's bigger than me, it's in LA and fighting at the Staples Center in front of 20,000 people is exciting. It's very important for me to fight there and give the hometown fans a chance to see me up close, and I'm predicting a knockout."

Talk to Mosley and you'll hear him say that all of his focus is on Mora. But in the next breath he talks about the big fights he thinks he has ahead of him against bigger names.

"I think I have about three or four more years left in me," Mosley said. "Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather, Antonio Margarito -- those are the four top fighters right now and those are the guys people want to see me fight. Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran all fought each other in round robins and we should be the same way. That's what people want to see, that's what boxing needs right now. We have to give the fans what they want: Great fights."

Great fights are absolutely what the sport needs. The refusal of Mayweather and Pacquiao to fight each other has been a dark cloud hanging over boxing in the last year, and Mosley knows that everything -- even his own fights fall short of the firepower that Mayweather vs. Pacquiao would provide.

"Mayweather and Pacquiao need to get together and make it happen," said Mosley, who is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. "But I don't think either one of them's going to budge."

And so Mosley tries to push his own fights as the ones boxing fans want, and insists that even at 39 he has plenty of good fights left in him.

Asked if being 10 years older than his opponent in Mora (pictured at right) is a problem, Mosley said, "We'll find out when we get in the ring but I don't think so. I've been in the ring with a lot of younger guys. Age doesn't cross my mind when I get in the ring. When I'm in the gym it definitely doesn't cross my mind because I'm doing so well with 21-year-old, 25-year-old kids. I'm holding my own."

If Mosley can do more than just hold his own against Mora, he'll have more big fights ahead of him. even as he heads into his 40s.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com