Floyd Mayweather Jr. is used to dodging punches in the ring during boxing matches, but he was on the receiving end of multiple shots, albeit written ones, this week after he attended a political rally in Arizona with President Donald Trump.
The 50-0 boxer faced a cavalcade of criticism after he appeared alongside Trump on Wednesday, as the president spoke at the airport in Bullhead City, Arizona, to support Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections.
At one point during Trump’s remarks, he began praising the 49-year-old Mayweather before the boxer joined Trump on stage to deliver a statement of his own.
“A friend of mine, I’ve made so much money with this guy,” Trump said about Mayweather. “You know I had Mike Tyson [with me] last week. And somehow I like the fighting stuff. And I’ve been to a lot of fights. I’ve held a lot of fights. We had the greatest fight I think I’ve ever seen: UFC at the White House celebrating 250 [years of United States].”
“But [Mayweather is] one of the greatest fighters in boxing history, and I say with respect, unbelievable defensive fighter. Known as the greatest defensive fighter. That’s why he looks so good,” the president exclaimed.
Following the adulation from Trump, Mayweather then, at the request of the president, walked to the stage in order to address the crowd.
“America is the best country in the world,” Mayweather said. “If I died and came back a million times, I would always choose America. It was great to represent this country in the 1996 Olympic games. … We couldn’t have chose a better president, twice, than Donald Trump.”
Unfortunately for Mayweather, a majority of the country is likely not in agreement with his statement about Trump if you judge it off the president’s historically low approval rating in national polls.
“Floyd must broke BROKE,” X user @WUTangKids wrote about Mayweather, who earned the nickname “Money” during his career, appearing with Trump.
“Repeated blows to the head are detrimental to your health and thought process,” X user @HearusR added. “MAGA Floyd just wants tax breaks.”
“He must need a pardon,” X user @alluringmedia speculated about Mayweather’s motivation for staying close to Trump.
Back in March, the IRS filed a tax lien against Mayweather, claiming he owes $7,279,664.45 in unpaid taxes, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The IRS filing also said that the boxer was named as the defendant in four separate pending lawsuits, where Mayweather is accused of owing the plaintiffs involved at least $5.2 million combined.
In addition to those lawsuits, a company called CSI Sports Events revealed in June that it was suing Mayweather for breach of contract, per Ring Magazine. CSI allegedly paid the fighter cash advances totaling $4.65 million in order for exclusive promotion rights to an exhibition bout against Mike Tyson and rematch with Manny Pacquiao that were initially scheduled to take place this year before ultimately being postponed.
Mayweather is also currently facing two pending felony charges in Las Vegas stemming from him allegedly writing a bad check in order to purchase a $200,000 watch in December 2024. He was officially charged for that incident in April 2026 with “theft, value $100,000 or greater” and “draw or pass check with intent to defraud, value $1,200 or greater.”
Mayweather was represented at his first court appearance related to the Las Vegas case by his attorney in June, according to ESPN.
Mayweather earned an estimated $1.2 billion in the ring, not including outside endorsements, throughout a boxing career that began in 1996, per Sportico.
Trump was expected to continue his trek through battleground states on Friday by visiting Georgia ahead of next month’s Election Day. The president was joined on the trip by at least one other sports figure, former Georgia Bulldogs and NFL star running back Todd Gurley, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein.
