Aside from being a highly skilled fighter, pound-for-pound boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. increases fan interest in his pay-per-view bouts by offering glimpses into his training camps and life outside the ring. To hype his Sept. 13 rematch with Marcos Maidana, Mayweather and his handlers appeared on the Showtime reality series 'All-Access.'
The show was entertaining, controversial and very believable. But there was one major problem: It was completely fake. The marijuana smoking? The high-stakes betting? The half-hour long sparring session? All of it was staged, Mayweather said Tuesday at a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing.
Why would Mayweather, the world's highest-paid athlete, set out to fool potential buyers of his fights?
"I don't want to just sell a fight," Mayweather told NSAC, according to The Associated Press. "I want to sell a lifestyle.
"It wasn't real marijuana. It's all about entertainment."
Floyd introduces Leonard as CEO of Mayweather Promotions
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) September 23, 2014
While the show proved to be a ruse, its ability to increase fan interest in the rematch was very real. According to numerous reports Mayweather-Maidana II generated nearly 1 million PPV buys. And Mayweather was the biggest benefactor, earning a guaranteed $32 million for the bout.
"It's a new generation, a young generation," Mayweather said. "We believe in going outside boxing and doing something different. Because we did something different we got better pay-per-views this time around."
Floyd Mayweather: “My whole life is fake and doesn’t need to be investigated by anyone.” — Scott (@scottchristBLH) September 23, 2014
Of all the stunts Mayweather and his team pulled during the reality show, the 30-minute long sparring session, supposedly without breaks, proved to be most disturbing. It moved NSAC to conduct the hearing.
Mayweather said each participant took the required break after every three-minute round of sparring.
"We do take breaks when we spar. I make sure," Mayweather said. "I'm not going to let anyone get hurt because safety is very important to boxing."
NSAC officials expressed satisfaction with Mayweather's testimony and it is unliekly that he will face any disciplinary action.
Mayweather defeated Maidana by unanimous decision to retain his WBC 147-pound and WBA 154-pound title belts. He improved to 47-0 professionally.
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