Floyd Mayweather looks likely to lose the WBO 147-pound welterweight title belt that he won by defeating Manny Pacquiao on May 2. ESPN’s Dan Rafael revealed on Twitter that the 38 year old would be stripped of the title due to “a lack of compliance.” Reports say that Mayweather refused to pay the $200,000 sanctioning fee for the title by the July 3 deadline. He is also said to have refused to relinquish the WBA and WBC junior middleweight titles, as required by the ruling that forbids boxers from holding world championships in multiple weight classes.
According to @WorldBoxingOrg Floyd has not complied with the rules by today's 4:30 pm ET deadline. Likely to be stripped of 147 on Monday.
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) July 3, 2015
Initially, in the aftermath of his defeat of Pacquiao, Mayweather seemed willing to vacate his titles:
“I don’t know if it will be Monday or maybe a couple weeks. I’ll talk to my team and see what we need to do. Other fighters need a chance. Give other fighters a chance. I’m not greedy. I’m a world champion in two different weight classes. It’s time to let other fighters fight for the belt.”
However, it appears that Mayweather has since had a change of heart. He refused to relinquish the title for last week’s interim welterweight title bout between Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas, with his lawyer, John R. Hornewer, saying that WBO’s desire to put on the match without seeking Mayweather’s blessing was “extremely disappointing for him and his team”.
However, ultimately it appears that Mayweather will have little say in the matter. Since he has not followed the WBO’s regulations he will have no choice but to vacate the title.
