Judge rules Mayweather must stay in jail

Undefeated boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. will have to serve the time for his crime at the county jail.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa late Wednesday denied the boxer's emergency motion seeking house arrest after finding the request did not meet the criteria for modifying a sentence. Under the law, such changes can be made to correct an illegal sentence or modify one that was based on an untrue assumption or mistake of fact.

She dismissed claims made by Mayweather's attorneys that the boxer is experiencing physical deterioration caused by "inhumane" conditions at the Clark County Detention Center. Attorneys for the boxer, who is serving a three-month sentence for domestic battery, contend Mayweather is dehydrated, losing weight and unable to continue physical training.

"The Court finds the alleged dehydration of the Defendant to be self-induced as water is made available to him twenty-four hours a day," Saragosa wrote. "The Court further finds the estimated intake of only 800 calories per day is also self-induced as Defendant chooses not to eat the food provided."

As to the boxer's exercise options while in jail, Saragosa wrote: "The court finds that while the physical training areas and times provided to the Defendant may not be consistent with his prior regimen, he is indeed provided sufficient space and time for physical activity if he so chooses."

Prosecutors declined to comment on the ruling.

Mayweather defense attorney Richard Wright did not return a call requesting comment.

Saragosa's decision left the door open for further legal action from Mayweather: "To the extent that Defendant's motion suggests a civil rights violation or potential challenge to the conditions of his confinement, the Court finds such issues are outside of the jurisdiction of the Justice Court."

Saragosa heard arguments Tuesday on the emergency motion filed by Mayweather's lawyers, who wanted him to complete his sentence on house arrest. Mayweather had served 12 days of his sentence at the time the motion was filed.

The boxer pleaded guilty in December to domestic battery and no contest to two counts of harassment, all misdemeanors, for assaulting the mother of three of his children and threatening his two sons.

Wright argued the boxer is being treated differently because Las Vegas police have isolated him because of his celebrity status.

Wright proposed several sentence modifications, which included full-term house arrest or serving three days a week in the jail and the remainder on house arrest.

Mayweather lives in a 12,000-square-foot mansion in the ritzy Southern Highlands development, which sports a walk-in closet bigger than his jail cell.

"I'm not looking for special treatment for Floyd Mayweather. I'm looking for fair treatment," Wright said.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported Monday that Mayweather filed the motion detailing how his confinement conditions differ from that of other detention center inmates charged with similar misdemeanor offenses. Mayweather is segregated from the general population and confined to his cell 23 hours a day in a locked-down section populated by felony defendants.

The 35-page motion, which included an affidavit from Mayweather's personal physician, Dr. Robert Voy, said that if Mayweather remained in jail, it would threaten his career. The boxer had planned on fighting for at least two more years, according to the motion.

Voy, through a court order, examined Mayweather for 90 minutes on Friday while jail medical staff observed. He determined Mayweather is consuming less than 800 calories a day. He is eating fruit, bread and energy bars bought at the jail commissary.

Under his normal daily training routine, the boxer consumes between 3,000 to 4,000 calories.

"The propriety of the sentence is unaffected by the issues raised with respect to the conditions of confinement," Saragosa wrote in Wednesday's ruling.

She said that Mayweather had asked for residential confinement instead of jail during sentencing arguments but that the Court found a jail sentence "appropriate" because of factors such as the seriousness of the crime.

On June 1, Saragosa commended the boxer for his progress toward completing his court-ordered counseling and community service.

Mayweather was on the way to completing other portions of his probation when he began serving the jail sentence.

He finished 21 of the 54 counseling sessions, including one on May 5, the day of Mayweather's last fight, a unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto that ran his record to 43-0. He was guaranteed
$32 million for the fight.

Mayweather also completed 45 hours of community service with three local charities: Habitat for Humanity, Three Square food bank and the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.

In recent months, Mayweather has embarked on a good-will campaign.

In addition to his required community service, Mayweather has donated more than $100,000 to charities, including the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation and Habitat for Humanity.

Mayweather's scheduled release date is Aug. 3, according to jail records.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@review
journal.com or 702-380-1039.