By Edward Chaykovsky
WBC/WBA welterweight and junior middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. was scheduled to tour Australia this week, where several functions revolving around his visit were set to be staged. The tour was canceled after Mayweather's visa request was denied - which government officials told reporters was due to Mayweather's past domestic abuse charge and the brief jail stint that followed.
Celebrity publicist Max Markson, who was handling Mayweather's tour in Australia, spoke to local newspaper The Age and broke down the boxer's perk requests - which Markson found normal for any celebrity.
The paper said there was a contract clause which punished the event organizers with a "steep fine" if they breached any of the requested conditions.
Mayweather's rooms in Melbourne and Sydney had to be stocked with Cristal champagne and a bottomless supply of gummy bears, M&Ms, fresh fruit and juices.
Mayweather demanded that both hotels have a barber skilled in cutting African-American hair available 24-hours-a-day. He also wanted a butler, chef, makeup artist and a women's hairdresser on call.
Mayweather's 31-person entourage – which included a Miss Universe winner, personal DJs, a mascot, agent, security guards, personal assistant and others – required a full floor of rooms.
The promotional tour was supposed to include gala dinners at Crown's Palladium in Melbourne and Darling Island Wharf in Sydney, where fans would pay $200 to $1000 to be in the presence of the 10-time world champion. Mayweather reserved the right to refuse to take photographs with anyone other than selected top-paying VIPs.
All questions during an audience question-and-answer session would have had to be vetted and approved in advance.
The music at nightclubs Studio 3 and The X-Studio would have had to be chosen by Mayweather's personal DJs – DJ Jaybling and DJ Efeezy - for the entire time he was there.
