Mayweather Jr. Will Avoid Jail Time Until Fight In May
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Undefeated boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Friday avoided jail time until June 1 in a Las Vegas domestic violence case involving an attack on his ex-girlfriend while two of their children watched in September 2010.
Mayweather, 34, had been scheduled to turn himself in Friday to begin serving a 90-day sentence imposed last month.
Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa said she weighed Mayweather's contractual obligations to a fight set for May at MGM Grand in Las Vegas against an as-yet unnamed opponent.
Mayweather's lawyer Richard Wright had pleaded with the judge to allow Mayweather to fulfill commitments regarding the fight, emphasizing the economic benefit to Las Vegas when Mayweather fights.
Mayweather pleaded guilty Dec. 21 to a reduced battery domestic violence charge and no contest to two harassment charges.
The plea deal saw prosecutors drop felony and misdemeanor charges that could have gotten Mayweather 34 years in prison.
Authorities say the case stems from a hair-pulling, punching and arm-twisting argument with Josie Harris, the mother of three of Mayweather's children, and threats to beat their sons in an argument about Harris dating another man. Harris, now 31, lives in the Los Angeles area with the couple's sons, now 12 and 10, and a daughter age 8.
Mayweather has earned upward of $20 million for his most recent fights against Victor Ortiz, which won him the WBC welterweight belt, and Shane Mosley.
Mayweather is generally recognized as one of the two best boxers in the world, sharing that spotlight with Manny Pacquiao.
Jail time is expected to limit training for a possible Cinco de Mayo date for a fight in Las Vegas, where Mayweather's management reserved a May 5 date at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for a possible fight.
