From the MGM Grand to homes across America, boxing fans rained boos on Floyd Mayweather over the weekend — but the only sound the welterweight champ could hear was the ka-ching of cash registers.
With Saturday night’s fight making him the highest-paid champ in boxing history, Mayweather hardly seemed to notice he was also one of the most reviled.
“The check’s got nine figures on it, baby,” Mayweather bragged Sunday, as he waved the $100 million check he earned for beating Manny Pacquiao in a unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
“No pictures, though,” he warned reporters. “Don’t want any pictures of it.”
His total take could go as high as $180 million once pay-per-view revenue is tallied, experts said.
That would be by far the largest purse ever earned by a fighter.
But the welterweight title holder has also earned the ire of boxing fans, who are less impressed by his 48-0 record than they are repulsed by his constant bragging, his selfishness and his history of assaults on women.
Mayweather, who had a net worth of more than $300 million before the fight and the nickname “Money,” has gained a reputation for extreme greed.
Once he gave a radio interview in which he said people sometimes ask him why he hasn’t “given to Africa.”
“Well, what has Africa given to us?” he said.
“You hear people talking about, ‘Well he should give that to charity’ . . . No, I should donate to Floyd Mayweather.”
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