Boxing icon Floyd Mayweather likens himself to LeBron James, addresses ticket sales for fight

Boxer great Floyd Mayweather says a documentary about his career will be released this year and has defended ticket sales for his UK exhibition fight by matching his performances with the ticket-shifting power of the likes of LeBron James, Michael Jackson and Chris Brown compares.

After his sixth exhibition match, when he faced Aaron Chalmers in the British TV star’s second boxing match at London’s O2 Arena, Mayweather – one of the most lucrative pay-per-view earners of any athlete in history – reflected extensively on his career and the different appetites he says US and UK fans have for tickets.

“We have so much footage,” the former champion said of the story of his rise to the top of the sport, “GOAT,” which will cover a pro career that officially ended in 2017 with a perfect record 50 fights.

“Twenty-seven years have passed since 1996. I had my first pro fight in 1996. I had my first amateur fight in 1987.

MORE: Floyd Mayweather vs. Aaron Chalmers results, highlights as legend takes on tough-as-nails rookie

“All the behind-the-scenes footage of Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather — well, it was ‘Pretty Boy’ and then it became ‘Money’ Mayweather.

“We want to give you something this year that you’ve really never seen before. My documentary will come out this year.”

Mayweather had the unusual experience of boxing in an arena that was far from full at the 20,000-seat venue where he faced Chalmers, and he suspected the many empty seats had to do with fan attitudes could.

“When you buy tickets here, you don’t really want to spend money,” he suggested, talking about some of the most successful ticket sellers in the history of music and basketball.

“In America we don’t mind spending money if we want to go to an event. No matter what the price, we like to spend money.

“In the UK, I don’t mind performing for you guys. When I do a show, it’s like Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James – everybody. Usher, Chris Brown. When we put on a show, we want to get paid for what we do.”

The fight between Mayweather and Chalmers was announced pretty much exactly a month before the event.

“We did that in four weeks and we had a crazy time,” Mayweather said. “I think the tickets should have gone on sale much quicker but my new team is still learning.

“I take my hat off to them; it is not your fault. When we fight in the US, tickets go on sale as soon as we announce the fight.

“Here we announced the fight and the tickets didn’t go on sale until a week or two later. I don’t want to say, “It’s his fault and his fault.” We work together as a team.”

Mayweather is known for flaunting his lavish lifestyle and said he had an entourage of 137 when he made his first UK appearance.

“It’s not cheap to have private jets – I put an ‘s’ after it,” he explained. “It’s not cheap to have 42 houses. It’s not cheap to have 100 vehicles.

MORE: Floyd Mayweather vs. Aaron Chalmers: The checkered history of boxing shows

“I retired from boxing; Boxing didn’t retire me. I have a $100 million house in Beverly Hills. Just imagine the taxes on it. I can easily pay for that.

“But if I’m happy, my kids are happy and the rest of my family is happy, let me live my life the way I want to. My team is not cheap. It costs. There are many heavyweights in my team.”

Mayweather backed one of the opponents likely to feature in his documentary, Ricky Hatton, for his own recent return in an exhibition at the Manchester Arena against former two-weight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera.

Hatton’s unbeaten professional record ended in one of Mayweather’s most anticipated fights in Las Vegas in 2007.

“His weight had come down, but it came back up,” Mayweather said. “His weight has come down and he put on a great show and I’m proud of him.”

Another hugely popular British fighter, Naseem Hamed, received even more praise from Mayweather, saying: “He doesn’t get the props he really deserves

“A lot of people in Britain forget him. We need to start giving him his flowers. Unbelievable – one of the best fighters from Britain, if not the best.”