Born on February 24, 1977, Floyd Mayweather Jr. competed as a boxer in multiple weight categories from 1997 to 2017. He retired with 15 major world championships and an undefeated record. He was also named the “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2010s by the BWAA.
That’s all well-known. But in this article, we’re going to talk about some less-known facts about Mayweather that will shock you—Or surprise you pleasantly, at the very least!
Mayweather’s Gambling Habits
Mayweather is a big gambling fan. One of his biggest bets was for a $1.1 million amount on the college football game between Arizona State Sun Devils and Oregon Ducks! He’s quite open about it on social media and actively boasts of his gambling wins.
It’s alleged that Mayweather also seriously considered placing a $400,000 bet on himself to defeat the UFC star, Conor McGregor. Bookies doubted the legitimacy of such a wager, so he likely backed off. But it’s well-known that his bet on UFC’s Dustin Poirier to beat Conor McGregor in UFC 264 was especially successful.
Poirier was the underdog or less likely to win, as per the oddsmakers. Mayweather’s whopping $50,000 bet ended up paying him off, and he won over $32,000 from his wager!
There are UFC odds even today that you can make use of. Though we don’t recommend betting on the underdog unless you know for sure that they can win, it’s still a solid way to make some money if you have reliable boxing knowledge. And if you happen to follow players closely, you can even bet on close matches where the odds are equal!
For example, if you open a reputable oddsmaker such as Bodog, you’ll find UFC odds for a myriad of matches to bet on. The Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler match is one of the matches fans are crazy about (and Mayweather might also be!) where the odds are in nobody’s favor (both are -110 favorites to win this one).
By the time the match approaches, you will be able to learn more about the players’ forms and place your bet on who you think is more likely to win, thus taking away a huge profit thanks to pure knowledge.
The Highest-Paid Athlete
Usually, professional athletes such as those playing in the NBA or the NFL make the big bucks thanks to the value that the team desires. That’s not the case in professional boxing, as there are no teams with a bunch of sponsors. Even then, at the peak of his career, Mayweather ended up making over $915 million in the 2010-19 period!
Forbes listed him as the world’s highest-paid athlete five times.
- 2012: #1 with a total of $85 million in earnings over athletes like Tiger Woods and LeBron James.
- 2014: #1 with a total of $105 million in earnings over Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Roger Federer.
- 2015: #1 with earnings totaling a whopping $300 million! The second on the list was another boxing champ Manny Pacquiao (who, by the way, became a boxer watching Mike Tyson’s fights in the 1990s).
- 2018: #1 with a total of $285 million with, more than three times the salary of Lionel Messi and nearly 5 times that of Cristiano Ronaldo!
- 2010-2019 combined list: #1 with a total earning of $915 million.
That’s a lot of money. When we think of star athletes, we often think of names like LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, Dak Prescott, Dustin Johnson, etc. Internationally, we might think of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer, Neymar, and so on.
To imagine that our Pretty Boy has bagged more money than all of them every year when he played is just mind-boggling—Especially when no other boxer has the same consistency or number of appearances.
Surprise Appearances
Did you know that Mayweather appeared in season 5 of Dancing with the Stars? His partner was the professional ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff, and they placed ninth in the competition.
And while he was performing on the show, he was preparing for his upcoming fight against Ricky Hatton!
In another surprise appearance, Floyd Mayweather appeared in WWE back in 2008. His match was against the formidable Big Show. This bout between the lightweight boxer Mayweather and a 7 ft. tall machine resulted in Mayweather breaking Big Show’s nose!
This, however, was pre-planned. WWE is known to be partly scripted.
Wrapping Up
Mayweather Jr. might be a loudmouth, too proud of his large betting wins on social media, or a subject of multiple controversies such as a defamation case, but his accomplishments are second to none.
Trained since childhood by the prodigious Floyd Mayweather Sr. and his uncle Roger Mayweather—He pioneered the art of professional boxing in lighter weights and has been loved by fans from all over the world.
