Floyd Mayweather Jnr, the unbeaten US boxer, has been called before the Nevada State Athletic Commission to answer questions about unsafe training conditions at his Las Vegas gym, and for condoning marijuana use seen in the All Access show to promote his successful defence against Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas last weekend, a pay-per-view event.
During the episode footage was seen showing amateur boxer Sharif Rahman, one of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman’s sons, being dominated by amateur Donovan Cameron. Mayweather, a licensed promoter with the Nevada Commission, was watching the sparring session.
Hasim Rahman Jr., Sharif’s older brother, then challenged Cameron to get into the ring with him. While members of the gym lined up wagers, they fought for 31 consecutive minutes until Cameron could not go on and Rahman was declared the winner. Mayweather was present, cheering wildly.
Mayweather, 37, said of the intense sessions: “The doghouse ? the rules are you fight till whoever quits. Guys fight to the death. It’s not right but it’s doghouse rules.”
The commission are now raising issues over health and safety for the boxers.
“Our main concern is the health and safety of the fighters and not just on fight night, but also in sparring and in training,” NSAC chairman Francisco Aguilar told ESPN.com. “I was watching the part with the sparring sessions.
“The point of asking [Mayweather] to come to the meeting is not to accuse anyone of anything. We want to get a clarification about what happened on All Access. There were situations in sparring sessions that we need to talk about. One thing is to talk about making sure you have two equally paired fighters and that you’re not putting one fighter in danger. The other is the round that went 31 minutes.”
Aguilar said Mayweather is facing scrutiny because he is a licensed promoter, and told ESPN.com that Mayweather will be reminded “of the importance and obligations that come with holding a promoters license or there could be a disciplinary action”.
Other commissioners had also raised concerns with a scene in the same episode in which Mayweather watched as several girlfriends rolled marijuana joints and smoked them in his house. Mayweather did not smoke, but had asked an assistant to go out and buy more rolling papers because the women had run out.
“There is also the marijuana situation in there, and some commissioners are upset about it. I think that’s a minor issue compared to the sparring situation,” Aguilar continued. “I understand the value of TV and drama, so the marijuana part was not a major concern for me, but is of other commissioners. My priority is the health and safety of the fighters.”
