Pretty payday in different ring
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has participated in the two most lucrative boxing pay-per-view shows of the last year, victories against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.
As he takes a break before a September rematch with De La Hoya, Mayweather has found another pay-per-view vehicle to boost his celebrity: Wrestlemania 24.
World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon said he is paying Mayweather $20 million for his March 30 appearance at the annual event, which will be “fought” this year in Orlando, Fla.
No wonder, then, that the unbeaten welterweight champion was throwing an estimated $5,000 in cash to wrestling fans Monday as WWE held a promotional news conference for the event at Staples Center.
“We’re all about sports entertainment . . . I had to do something Madison Avenue could understand, and I paid for the attention Floyd’s going to get,” McMahon said. “Floyd is a national showman.”
Backstage at Staples after doing his best to hawk his scripted showdown against 7-foot, 420-pound Big Show, Mayweather said, “I’m not an ordinary fighter, I’m a risk taker. I’m always working. I’m the best athlete in the world.”
Mayweather’s manager, Leonard Ellerbe, said his boxer’s involvement with Wrestlemania is “about expanding his fan base. He’s a competitor, and a great businessman. It’s eight figures, and this company brings in 47 million viewers to its three shows a week. It’s great for us.”
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