Ex-champ Mayweather to pay for Floyd funeral: report

Issued on: 02/06/2020

Los Angeles (AFP)

Retired ring great Floyd Mayweather will pay for the funeral services for George Floyd, Mayweather Promotions chief executive Leonard Ellerbe told ESPN on Monday.

George Floyd died last week after a Minneapolis policeman knelt on the 46-year-old man's neck for almost nine minutes. Floyd, who was handcuffed, became unresponsive after almost three minutes.

The death of the unarmed black man while in police custody has ignited violent reactions across America.

Ellerbe confirmed to ESPN that Floyd's family had accepted Mayweather's offer to pay for funeral services.

"He'll probably get mad at me for saying that, but yes, (Mayweather) is definitely paying for the funeral," Ellerbe said.

Mayweather "has done these kind of things over the last 20 years," added Ellerbe, who said that the former five-division world champion -- who retired in 2017 with a 50-0 record -- didn't want to talk about his gesture himself.

The lawyer for Floyd's family said Monday that a funeral will be held on June 9 in Houston.

Before that, the family will hold a memorial service in Minneapolis on Thursday and a memorial service on Saturday in North Carolina, where Floyd was born.

An official autopsy released Monday found that Floyd died in a homicide involving "neck compression."

Police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third degree murder and one count of negligent manslaughter in Floyd's death.