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Promoter Don King says he and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are 'hanging out to see what happens'
BY Tim Smith
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/mo...e_what_ha.html
BY Tim Smith
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
LAS VEGAS - Promoter Don King and welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. have been hanging out in Florida for the past five days, and depending upon your perspective, that's either good news or bad news.
Mayweather has been on vacation since he beat Shane Mosley on May 1. He didn't participate in or even acknowledge negotiations for a proposed match with Manny Pacquiao. And now his cozying up to King is an indication that he's not too happy with Golden Boy Promotions, the company he has worked with for his last four fights, or his advisers, Al Haymon and Leonard Ellerbe.
"We're hanging out to see what happens," King said by telephone Saturday morning. "He's been here for five days. We've gone out to dinner. We went to a comedy show in Miami. We're going to have a barbecue at my house (Saturday)."
King said Mayweather called him a couple of weeks ago and suggested that they meet for dinner.
"We've been talking about his future and where he wants to go and what he wants to do," King said. "Right now he's not sure what he wants to do."
And King is more than happy to lay out a road map to further riches for Mayweather, the most talented boxer and the biggest Pay-Per-View attraction in the sport.
King said Mayweather doesn't feel as if he is getting the proper respect from his representatives, which is difficult to believe considering he was recently ranked as the No. 2 highest-paid athlete, after Tiger Woods, by Forbes Magazine with $65 million in income this year.
"For him it's all a matter of the disrespect that he's feeling and them not listening to him," King said. "It's all about pride and dignity. I understand him completely because we share a common background as rising from the ghetto.
"He wants his dignity, his respect and his pride to remain intact and he wants to get paid. That's where I come in. I'm the mix master."
It isn't the first time that King and Mayweather have had a flirtation. Each time it has ended with Mayweather returning to the people who were representing him before he connected with King.
At a National Association of Black Journalists sports task force forum in Las Vegas a few years ago when Mayweather, King and promoter Bob Arum were on the same panel, Mayweather revealed that King had once tried to secretly steal him away from Arum, who was promoting him at the time.
Because Mayweather is a promotional free agent and technically doesn't have a manager, he is free to sign with King now. He has been working with Golden Boy Promotions on a fight-by-fight fee basis. He also has his own promotion company, Mayweather Promotions, which has been partnering with Golden Boy on his most recent fights.
Mayweather has been on vacation since he beat Shane Mosley on May 1. He didn't participate in or even acknowledge negotiations for a proposed match with Manny Pacquiao. And now his cozying up to King is an indication that he's not too happy with Golden Boy Promotions, the company he has worked with for his last four fights, or his advisers, Al Haymon and Leonard Ellerbe.
"We're hanging out to see what happens," King said by telephone Saturday morning. "He's been here for five days. We've gone out to dinner. We went to a comedy show in Miami. We're going to have a barbecue at my house (Saturday)."
King said Mayweather called him a couple of weeks ago and suggested that they meet for dinner.
"We've been talking about his future and where he wants to go and what he wants to do," King said. "Right now he's not sure what he wants to do."
And King is more than happy to lay out a road map to further riches for Mayweather, the most talented boxer and the biggest Pay-Per-View attraction in the sport.
King said Mayweather doesn't feel as if he is getting the proper respect from his representatives, which is difficult to believe considering he was recently ranked as the No. 2 highest-paid athlete, after Tiger Woods, by Forbes Magazine with $65 million in income this year.
"For him it's all a matter of the disrespect that he's feeling and them not listening to him," King said. "It's all about pride and dignity. I understand him completely because we share a common background as rising from the ghetto.
"He wants his dignity, his respect and his pride to remain intact and he wants to get paid. That's where I come in. I'm the mix master."
It isn't the first time that King and Mayweather have had a flirtation. Each time it has ended with Mayweather returning to the people who were representing him before he connected with King.
At a National Association of Black Journalists sports task force forum in Las Vegas a few years ago when Mayweather, King and promoter Bob Arum were on the same panel, Mayweather revealed that King had once tried to secretly steal him away from Arum, who was promoting him at the time.
Because Mayweather is a promotional free agent and technically doesn't have a manager, he is free to sign with King now. He has been working with Golden Boy Promotions on a fight-by-fight fee basis. He also has his own promotion company, Mayweather Promotions, which has been partnering with Golden Boy on his most recent fights.
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