Mayweather Got Three Major Movie Offers, Ellerbe Claims

by David P. Greisman

Floyd Mayweather’s expansion into the mainstream saw him branch out beyond boxing years ago, with the future Hall of Famer competing on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007 ahead of his fight with Ricky Hatton and then appearing in a WrestleMania match against The Big Show in 2008 during one of Mayweather’s short-lived retirements.

He now says he’ll be hanging up his gloves for good. But according to longtime Mayweather executive Leonard Ellerbe, there will still be opportunities for the retired fighter to remain in the public consciousness.

“Just over the last week I received three major movie offers,” Ellerbe said during a Sept. 2 media conference call featuring Mayweather ahead of his Sept. 12 pay-per-view fight with Andre Berto. “So we fully expect Floyd to be heavily, heavily involved in the entertainment industry, because this is what he does. I know for a fact that with the significant entertainment offers coming our way, that’s definitely something that’s going to occupy a lot of his time.”

Interestingly, Mayweather didn’t sound overly excited about the possibilities — well, frankly, he didn’t sound very excited about much of anything in his half hour of fielding questions from the press — though he also said he’d be involved if he had the opportunity.

“I’ve been approached on numerous occasions, but I’d rather be behind the scenes,” he said. “I just feel like I had my time to shine in the sport of boxing. We just never know what the future holds. I just keep my fingers crossed. If that comes my way, then we’ll take full advantage of it.”

Mayweather said he hasn’t taken any acting classes, but his daughters have.

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com