GRAND RAPIDS: Former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather has offered to pay for George Floyd’s funeral and memorial services, and the family has accepted the offer.

Mayweather personally has been in touch with the family, according to Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. He will handle costs for the funeral on June 9 in Floyd’s hometown of Houston, as well as other expenses.

Floyd, a black man, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck while Floyd was handcuffed and saying that he couldn’t breathe. His death sparked protests in Minneapolis and around the country, some of which became violent.

TMZ originally reported Mayweathers offer, and said he will also pay for services in Minnesota and North Carolina.

“He’ll probably get mad at me for saying that, but yes, he is definitely paying for the funeral,” Ellerbe told ESPN.com on Monday.

Mayweather, who lives in Las Vegas, has not met the Floyd family.

Mayweather, who retired undefeated after 50 fights, winning five division titles, also paid for the funeral of an opponent. Mayweather won his first world championship when he stopped Genaro Hernandez for the WBC super featherweight title in 1998. Hernandez died 13 years later of cancer, and Mayweather handled funeral expenses.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2020