Columnist Dean Juipe: Mayweather in land of TV exile

Dean Juipe

Thursday, June 8, 2000 | 10 a.m.

Dean Juipe's boxing notebook appears Thursday. His sports column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

The Floyd Mayweather Jr. saga has taken another twist, and, like many of its predecessors, this one has its negative connotations.

Mayweather, the World Boxing Council junior lightweight champion and a Las Vegas resident, has had his estranged father evicted from his Summerlin home. He has also reclaimed a 1998 Ford van that was in his father's possession.

The father, Floyd, had been given the van and the $116,000 home but relinquished both to his son this week. He reportedly called his son a "gangster" and lamented his son's associations with non-boxing personnel.

Mayweather, 22, turned pro in 1996 and two years later won the WBC title he still owns. But he has fought only once this year and has nothing scheduled, having turned down a $12.5 million contract extension with cable network HBO.

"He's put himself in exile," said matchmaker Bruce Trampler of Top Rank, which has Mayweather under promotional contract. "Everything related to Floyd is at an impasse right now and Top Rank is caught in the middle of it."

HBO hasn't rescinded its offer to Mayweather, although it isn't pursuing it either.

"I don't think HBO is going to budge," Trampler said Wednesday. "It's imperative to Floyd's career that he mend fences with HBO. He needs to say 'I'm sorry' because if he's going to disrespect them, they'll certainly go on without him."

With HBO and cable rival Showtime paying far and away the best money in boxing and with Showtime exhibiting no interest in Mayweather (or vice versa), Top Rank's options with Mayweather are limited.

"At Floyd's level he should be on HBO, Showtime or pay-per-view," Trampler said. "It's difficult to pay him what HBO thinks he's worth, let alone what he thinks he's worth.

"HBO isn't holding a date for him the rest of the year, so, as of right now, we have no TV deal for him and nothing in front of him. We could keep offering him ESPN-level fights, but the initial idea was to build Floyd into a pay-per-view attraction.

"What he doesn't realize is that it's a shrinking TV market and you have to take advantage of what's offered. Fighters like Oscar (De La Hoya), Roy Jones and Fernando Vargas have their deals with HBO and Showtime and then have their bigger fights on pay-per-view."

Mayweather, 23-0, was using his father as his manager and trainer until earlier this year. At a reconciliation dinner in April, the two had words and only added to their hostility.

Mayweather is utilizing a rap music promoter, James Prince, as his business manager.

"I haven't seen Floyd in a couple of months," Trampler said. "Nothing has changed as far as I can tell, other than his relationship with HBO deteriorating and now this thing with his father.

"I know James Prince knows the boxing market, so it's really up to the Mayweather camp to make the next move. Everyone seems to be just sitting around and we at Top Rank are feeling like our hands are tied."

A De La Hoya vs. Arturo Gatti bout is in the discussion stages and could be held Sept. 9 in Las Vegas. "We're close to consummating the deal," said Main Events promoter Gary Shaw, who handles Gatti. ... The Orleans has announced its June 16 main event: Steve Forbes vs. Ernesto Zepeda. Forbes, a Las Vegan with a 15-1 record that includes four knockouts, will be facing the man who served many years as a sparring partner for Julio Cesar Chavez. Zepeda is 25-3-2 with 20 KOs and will meet Forbes in a 12-round fight at 147 pounds. The semi-main event has Julio Sanchez-Leon, 18-12, taking on Freddie Neal, 15-0-1, in a middleweight pairing. Four other matches are scheduled.