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Money man Mayweather puts his impressive record on line against Pacquiao

Last Updated 27 April 2015, 18:17 IST

Floyd Mayweather, the world's highest-paid athlete and self-styled "Money Man," will hit the Las Vegas jackpot once again when he puts his unblemished record on the line to fight Manny Pacquiao on May 2.

"This is not my first dance. You got two future hall of famers and a mega fight. I have done record-breaking numbers before," the American said, in typically nonchalant -- many would say arrogant -- fashion.

Mayweather's team likes to portray the undefeated boxer as a man of the people -- someone you are just as likely to spot rolling up to a fast-food drive-thru at midnight -- as you are at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

The truth is the 38-year-old Mayweather is a much more complicated and polarizing figure than that.

Fans love him for the beauty of his fight game, his ability to dodge and weave and befuddle all that have faced him. But he has a darker side that has largely gone unnoticed in the frenzied build-up to the fight against Pacquiao.

Mayweather has multiple convictions for assaulting women over the past dozen years and served two months in jail for the most recent.

Unlike millionaire athletes in other sports, such as NFL star Ray Rice, Mayweather has never been suspended or sanctioned by one of boxing's governing bodies for his violent past against women. Mayweather, who often posts pictures of himself on social media surrounded by piles of cash, lives in a giant mansion. Million-dollar luxury cars sit in his garage that he has never driven and he surrounds himself with nine security guards.

"You might see Floyd pull up in the Taco Bell drive-thru in a half-a-million-dollar car tomorrow," said Leonard Ellerbe, chief executive of Mayweather Promotions. "That is just how he is. He wants to be in the hood. Where the most popular spot is. Where everything is happening."

Mayweather is routinely described as boxing's "pound-for-pound king" and according to Forbes Magazine he also dominates the money rankings in world sports. In 2014, he earned $105 million for his fight against Canelo Alvarez and has pocketed at least $25 million for each of his past nine fights dating back to 2007.

"An everyday car for him is a Rolls-Royce. He has 18 luxury cars. He has incredible homes in a number of major cities. He flies around on an aeroplane. He has made incredible investments," gushed Ellerbe. "When you go in the garage you see Bugattis, Ferraris and you see Lambos. You would think you are at a luxury car dealership but those are just his toys."

Boxing's two biggest draws will finally clash  on May 2 in what is the biggest boxing spectacle in recent memory. Both fighters are expected to make well over $100 million.

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(Published 27 April 2015, 18:17 IST)

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