U.S. boxing expert Kevin Iole says Floyd Mayweather Jr’s jail sentence will delay his career, as might the Nevada Athletic Commission – but not if it knows what’s good for itself.
Floyd Mayweather’s 90-day jail sentence will delay, but not necessarily end, his boxing career. Mayweather, who remained atop the Yahoo! Sports rankings for a second consecutive month and narrowly edged rival Manny Pacquiao for the top spot, could return to the ring by late spring or early summer, if he chooses.
But calling the Clark County Detention Center home until sometime in late winter is no way to get ready for the biggest fight of one’s career.
The only stumbling block to a return to boxing following his release will be gaining a boxing licence. When Mayweather is released, he’ll need to reapply for a licence. Boxing licenses expire at the end of the year, so in 2012, Mayweather will be an unlicensed fighter.
He’ll almost certainly fight in Las Vegas, if he chooses to fight again. He has fought his last seven bouts in his hometown and hasn’t competed outside of Nevada since November 19, 2005, when he stopped Sharmba Mitchell in Portland, Ore.
Mayweather should be licensed without question if and when he applies in 2012, but the Nevada Athletic Commission frequently likes to make grandstand plays. As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the commission attempt to make an event out of it.
There is no question that Nevada will license Mayweather. His fights pour massive revenue into the state coffers – just one fight generates enough to fund the commission’s budget for a year. For one of the most cash-strapped states in the country, that is hardly insignificant.
The question will be whether Nevada will attempt to turn it into a circus and require Mayweather to hire an attorney and appear in front of the commission to plead for his licence.
That’s likely to happen, though it would be a ludicrous decision if it did. Mayweather has done nothing in boxing that would put his fitness for a licence in question. And by the time he applies, he will have served his time for his domestic violence-related conviction.
He should be able to walk quietly into the office, fill out the paperwork and receive a licence like every other fighter. Members of the commission, though, could force him to appear for a hearing in order for them to get a bit of international attention.
They would look like fools for trying to run him through the wringer, however, as there is no chance that there will be even one dissenting vote on his application.
Hopefully, Mayweather learns his lesson about domestic violence while he’s in his jail cell. And hopefully, the five NAC members use that time to reflect upon the fact that it would be nothing more than a carnival sideshow if they chose to drag Mayweather in for a licensing hearing when they know full well he totally complies.
Before we get to the updated ratings, which have been shuffled a bit in light of Andre Ward’s victory over Carl Froch in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, I’d like to welcome Jake Donovan of BoxingScene.com to the voting panel.
With that, it’s on to the latest top 10:
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
2. Manny Pacquiao
3. Sergio Martinez
4. Juan Manuel Marquez
5. Andre Ward
6. Nonito Donaire Jr.
7. Wladimir Klitschko
8. Timothy Bradley
9. Lucian Bute
10. Vitali Klitschko