Police: Mayweather uncle arrested in Vegas scuffle

By KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP)—Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, was arrested at a Las Vegas apartment in an attack on a female boxer he once trained, authorities said Tuesday.

An aide to Clark County District Attorney David Roger said criminal charges were pending following the Sunday morning arrest of Roger Mayweather.

Mayweather, 48, was arrested on felony coercion and battery-strangulation charges and later freed from the Clark County jail on $13,000 bail, said Detective Ramon Denby, a police department spokesman. A date for an initial court appearance was not immediately available, and it was unclear if Mayweather had a lawyer, police and court officials said.

According to a police report, an officer responding to a disconnected 911 call found Mayweather fighting with a 25-year-old woman at the apartment in northwest Las Vegas.

The woman told police she had been punched in the ribs and hit Mayweather with a lamp during a struggle. She was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to a Las Vegas hospital for treatment of injuries that included redness around her throat, police said.

Mayweather had injuries on the head and the side of his face. It was not clear if he required medical treatment before he was taken to jail.

The report says Mayweather formerly trained the woman, and had been following her since she severed their business relationship and went to another gym.

It said Mayweather owns the apartment and was upset that his tenant was letting the woman live at the apartment. The tenant was not home at the time of the alleged attack, police said.

A spokesman for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and officials at Golden Boy Promotions, his promoter, declined immediate comment.

Roger Mayweather boxed under the nickname “Black Mamba,” winning 59 of 72 fights, including 35 knockouts and two boxing titles in different weight classes, before becoming his nephew’s trainer.

He made headlines in 2006 when he burst into the ring during a Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight against Zab Judah in Las Vegas, sparking a melee that led to fines and the temporary revocation of licenses for Roger Mayweather and others.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., 32, is considered a pound-for-pound boxing king, having won six world boxing championships in five weight classes. He is undefeated in 39 fights, and is scheduled to fight a welterweight bout Sept. 19 against Juan Manuel Marquez

Mayweather-Marquez rescheduled for Sept. 19

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

Floyd Mayweather’s return to boxing is back on, although the new date won’t make things any easier for him against hard-hitting Juan Manuel Marquez.

The former pound-for-pound king, who was slated to fight Marquez next month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, issued a statement Friday that said he’s been cleared by doctors following a rib injury and the fight will go off Sept. 19— the weekend after Mexican Independence Day.

“I am relieved to be cleared to fight,” Mayweather said. “Trust me, September 19 is a great weekend for boxing, and all of my fans—of which there are many Mexicans too—can certainly hold on to their hats and sombreros when I get back in to the ring.”

Mayweather, who is coming out of a brief retirement, damaged cartilage in his ribs during training two weeks ago. He was committed to rescheduling the fight, even though more lucrative opponents like Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao became available.

Ticket sales reportedly had been slow for the pay-per-view event, but they should get a significant boost because of the new date. Mexican Independence Day is Sept. 16, and the bout will follow that Saturday—a weekend that had long belonged to Oscar De La Hoya.

The “Golden Boy,” whose promotional company handles Marquez, retired earlier this year.

“This particular fight did extremely well on ticket sales. Several price categories sold out,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told The Associated Press. “When the fight was announced to be postponed, we were over $5.6 million in ticket sales and it was shaping up to be one of the largest non-heavyweight fights in the history of Las Vegas, not involving Oscar.

“We were ahead of what Pacquiao and (Ricky) Hatton did with the same amount of time to promote.”

Schaefer, who was busy with this weekend’s 140-pound title fight between Victor Ortiz and Marcos Maidana, said he was initially concerned Mayweather might be out longer.

“We were hoping it would be OK to be medically cleared for September, because it’s the biggest day every year for pay-per-view in the United States,” Schaefer said. “Almost like the Super Bowl weekend—you just knew that in September there’s a big fight.”

Mayweather, the former five-division champ, hasn’t fought since knocking out Hatton in December 2007, when he was still reveling in his breakthrough victory over De La Hoya. His unexpected retirement last year came in a statement issued by his publicist, just as he was gaining mainstream attention with appearances on “Dancing with the Stars” and at WrestleMania.

His aura seemed to have dimmed over the past year, though, and there have been reports that Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) has been having financial hardships. On top of that, Pacquiao has risen to become boxing’s best all-around fighter and most compelling attraction.

That alone may have been enough to lure “Money” Mayweather back into the ring.

His handlers began fielding offers for fights several months ago—few believed that Mayweather would stay retired—and he eventually settled on Marquez, who’s ranked highly on most pound-for-pound lists but is a relative unknown among mainstream sports fans.

Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs), who has fought to a draw and close split-decision loss against Pacquiao, is coming off riveting knockouts of Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, which earned him the vacant WBO lightweight title in February.

He’ll be moving up to fight Mayweather at a catch weight of 143 pounds, eight more than Marquez has ever fought and the lightest Mayweather has been since 2005.

“I am happy that Mayweather has been cleared to fight and we can get down to business,” Marquez said. “This weekend is not just an important weekend for boxing, but even more so for all of the Mexican and Mexican-American people I will be fighting for.

“(They) will have a great reason to celebrate my win over Mayweather, which will be for all of the people and for the entire country of Mexico that night.”

Mayweather injured rib cartilage, can’t train

By OSKAR GARCIA, Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP)—Floyd Mayweather Jr. has damaged cartilage in his ribs and will stop training for his comeback fight until a doctor says he can resume.

Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, told The Associated Press on Monday that Mayweather has been in tremendous pain since suffering the injury during training on Thursday.

“He tried to work through it. He really did not want to postpone the fight, but it came to the point where he could barely sit,” Schaefer said. “He could not train, he could not move and there was really not much of a choice.”

Mayweather(39-0, 25 KOs) was scheduled to fight Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Schaefer said both fighters have committed to rescheduling and a September date has been mentioned. But promoters and the fighters won’t agree to a date without the OK of doctors.

Mayweather’s ribs are not broken, and the former five-division champ plans to see a doctor this week, Schaefer said. He said he did not know exactly how Mayweather damaged his cartilage.

“Right now he cannot go and train, he cannot work out, he cannot run, he cannot hit the heavy bag and the speed bags and jump ropes and all these kinds of things,” Schaefer said. “He definitely will need some additional training but again, Floyd is such an amazing athlete— and really on top of his game— that I think it will be relatively easy for him to get right back into it.”

Cartilage connects the ribs to the sternum, and can tear away after direct blows to the chest, other trauma or particularly violent coughs and sneezes.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo injured his rib cartilage during the team’s season ending game at Philadelphia last year, a disastrous 44-6 loss in which Romo fumbled, was sacked and benched. Coach Wade Phillips said a flare-up of the pain caused Romo to collapse in the shower afterward.

Mayweather and Marquez were scheduled to fight at a catch-weight of about 143 pounds, eight more than Marquez has ever fought and the lightest weight for Mayweather since 2005.

Mayweather hasn’t boxed since knocking out Ricky Hatton in December 2007. He was slated to fight a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya but instead abruptly retired last June, while still considered the sport’s pound-for-pound king.

Now, many believe Manny Pacquiao holds that title after he beat De La Hoya and Hatton in fewer rounds than Mayweather.

It’s possible that Mayweather and Pacquiao will eventually meet in the ring if Mayweather beats Marquez first.

But promoter Bob Arum also wants to set up a Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight in November, the earliest Cotto can get back into the ring after the welterweight’s win over Joshua Clottey on Saturday.

Cotto won by decision but left Madison Square Garden in New York with a big gash over his left eye that required six stitches.

Associated Press writer Adam Goldman contributed to this report from New York.