MANILA, Philippines – Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White slammed the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for granting American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. a license to fight despite his impending jail sentence.
Last February 1, the NSAC unanimously ruled in favor of granting Mayweather a one-fight license, which allowed the boxer to push through with his May 5 fight date. He will be facing Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand.
In an interview with ESPN, White criticized the decision as “crazy” given some of NSAC’s rulings regarding UFC fighters.
“I don’t know what to say. I’ll just be honest about it. Holy (expletive). That’s crazy,” White said.
ESPN cited the case of UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, who failed a post-fight drug test for the second time in Nevada after testing positive for marijuana following his loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143.
Diaz will most likely be suspended for one-year and fined, which was the same sanction on professional boxer Matt Vanda. Vanda also twice failed a drug test, according to ESPN.
“The boxer guy, who smokes marijuana a second time, is not going to jail. He gets a year suspension and they take 40% of his purse,” White said.
“Floyd Mayweather is going to jail. It’s been put off so he can fight and then he gets licensed to fight? Am I the only guy on this planet who thinks that’s crazy?” he added.
Mayweather was initially supposed to report to jail on January after pleading guilty to a 2010 domestic violence charge. But a Las Vegas judge eventually postponed his sentence to June to give way for Mayweather’s May 5 fight.
The Mayweather camp argued that the fight will be beneficial to the economy of Las Vegas, but White said the NSAC “royally kissed Mayweather’s (expletive).”
“This guys is going to jail, but the judge is allowing him not to go to jail until he has to fight,” White said.