EXCLUSIVE: Floyd Mayweather cancels Walsall visit

Boxing superstar Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jnr will not be coming to Walsall, the Express & Star can reveal.

Floyd Mayweather was due to come to Walsall in November

The sporting superstar was set to come to the town as part of a tour of England, providing meet and greet sessions with sports fans.

Promoter Spencer Brown said he hoped to bring the multi-millionaire to Walsall Town Hall on November 3, which would have been a major coup for the town.

But last night, Mr Brown revealed talks with the 38-year-old’s promoters Front-Line Promotions had broken down and he had been forced to pull the tour.

As part of the agreement, which has saw £25,000 handed over to the star’s promoters, Mayweather tweeted to announce the tour.

He was also set to go to London, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Bolton, Paris and Belgium.

Each show was to cost the consortium bringing him over £100,000.

But a promised ‘video drop’, with Mayweather promoting the tour, never came. And after last-ditch talks on Monday with a 24-hour deadline given for the video, the show was pulled.

Mayweather recently announced his retirement unbeaten after 49 pro contests. He is currently on holiday in the French Polynesia.

Mr Brown, who represents Gold Star Promotions, said: “I spoke to them on Monday, told them if we didn’t have the video in 24 hours we would pull the show.

“We are very disappointed. The whole process has proved very frustrating – we just didn’t know who we were talking to.”

It comes a year after Mr Brown was involved in another failed bid to bring Mayweather to the UK.

Despite the setback, Mr Brown said he will not give up on bringing over the superstar. He added: “We won’t give up – we will go over to Vegas and hopefully bring him to the Midlands in the next 12 months.”

Walsall Council leader Mike Bird said: “It’s disappointing because any personality that comes to Walsall has a spend factor and when people come to see them they spend money in the town.

“It’s not the end of the world because Walsall has shown it can host big-name events such as the Elton John concert at the Bescot Stadium but I feel for the people who might be out of pocket due to the knock-on effect of this cancellation.”

Tony Wilson, who runs the Walsall-based West Midlands Boxing Academy, said: “He’s too big for Walsall. I never thought he would come in the first place.”

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have one last chance to arrange rematch

The chances of a Manny Pacquiao v Floyd Mayweather rematch could hinge on one last fight for either boxer after the Filipino announced he would probably retire next year fight to focus on a career in politics.

“I think I’m ready [to retire]. I’ve been in boxing for more than 20 years,” Pacquiao, 36, said in an interview on the local ABS-CBN television network. “I prayed to God for guidance and I am happy about it.”


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Pacquiao, a congressman since 2010, lost a unanimous decision in May to the unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather and announced this week he was bidding for a senate seat in national elections to be held in May next year.

“I will have to give up the other things that require my attention. If you are a senator, your focus should only be your job and your family,” he said in the interview reported by AFP.

Before the elections, Pacquiao said he planned to climb into the ring that has made him one of the world’s richest sportsmen for what would probably be one last time.

He has yet to pick his next opponent, and though he said he was not ruling out a rematch with Mayweather, the American has already announced his retirement. However, he is also expected to take one last fight next year in an attempt to break Rocky Marciano’s record of retiring with a record of 49-0.

Pacquiao pledged he would be a “serious” senator should he win in May. “I will not be absent because the whole country would be my responsibility,” he said.

He turned professional when he was 16 years old and has won 57 fights, including 38 knockouts while losing six, three of them knockouts. Two other bouts were drawn.