Mayweather freed from jail

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was released from a Las Vegas jail early Friday after serving two months of a three-month sentence in a misdemeanor domestic battery case.

The undefeated boxer walked out of the Clark County Detention Center beneath the glow of street lamps and glare of TV cameras to resume a boxing career that his lawyers and personal physician warned in court documents might be at risk. They said that jail food and water didn't meet Mayweather's dietary needs and that lack of exercise space in a cramped cell of fewer than 98 square feet threatened his health and fitness.

Mayweather looked fit as he donned a leather Miami Heat cap, pulled a gray hooded sweatshirt over his head and shared hugs with about 20 family members and friends, including his 12-year-old daughter, Iyanna Mayweather, and his co-manager, Leonard Ellerbe.

He said nothing to the media as he got behind the wheel of a blue Bentley sedan with several friends inside, including rapper 50 Cent, and drove away.

A lot has happened in Mayweather's world since he was jailed June 1.

With no television in his solo cell, he couldn't watch archrival Manny Pacquiao lose his WBO welterweight title June 9 to Timothy Bradley.

Mayweather, who goes by the nickname "Money," wasn't around to celebrate last month when Forbes magazine named him the world's highest-paid athlete for 2011.

He wasn't able to attend the ESPN network ESPY awards to accept the best fighter award.

And he missed fiancee Shantel Jackson's private birthday bash last week at a Las Vegas steakhouse with friends, including 50 Cent. Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke noted that Mayweather sent diamonds.

But while his next opponent is not immediately clear, Mayweather is now a free man.

Ellerbe declined to comment outside the jail late Thursday, where he waited with friends, including Mayweather adviser Sam Watson and several others.

Kelly Swanson, Mayweather's longtime publicist, said Friday she had not yet had a chance to talk to the fighter but hoped to do so and set up a teleconference with boxing reporters in the next few days.

"We'd like to do it all at once if possible," Swanson said. "A lot of people want to interview Floyd. But ultimately, he's the one who decides when and if he wants to talk."

Promoters for Pacquiao plan a fight Nov. 10 at the MGM Grand Garden arena in Las Vegas, Nevada Athletic Commission executive Keith Kizer said. Pacquiao's opponent hasn't been named, but Mayweather wasn't thought to be on the list.

Pacquiao, who earned $62 million in fights and endorsements last year, ranked second on the Forbes richest athletes list behind Mayweather and his
$85 million in fight earnings.

To fight in Las Vegas, Mayweather will need a new license from the Nevada Athletic Commission, Kizer said Thursday. His last one, for the May 5 bout against Miguel Cotto, was for one fight only.

If Mayweather applies, commission Chairman Raymond "Skip" Avansino Jr. could decide to grant approval administratively or summon Mayweather for a public hearing, Kizer said.

There were reports on Twitter on Friday that Mayweather would not fight his next fight in Nevada because he was incarcerated there and he refuses to allow the state to make money off of him. But those tweets did not come from Mayweather himself or any member of his camp.

Mayweather and 50 Cent also have started their own promotional company, TMT Promotions, which stands for The Money Team. Already licensed in New York, they are said to be applying for a promoters' license in Nevada.

"We're still waiting on their application," said Kizer, who said they haven't asked to be placed on an agenda for a future commission meeting.

Mayweather received about 30 days off his 90-day jail sentence for work time and good behavior.

Review-Journal reporter Steve Carp contributed to this report.