By Raj Parmar: The Nevada State Athletic Commission will bring in pound for pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr in for questioning after reviewing footage shown in the All Access series that previewed Mayweather’s rematch with Marcos Maidana. The commission did not look too fondly on the sparring sessions Floyd staged in his gym along with some images of him with marijuana in his immediate vicinity.
“On Sunday, I watched the [All Access] episodes when they were sent to me by another commissioner,” NSAC chairman Francisco Aguilar told espn.co.uk, “I was watching the part with the sparring sessions. Our main concern is the health and safety of the fighters and not just on fight night, but also in sparring and in training.”
The NSAC chairman is referring to the sparring session in which amateur Donovan Cameron beat down a young and over-matched Sharif Rahman, who is a son of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. Sharif’s older brother Hasim Rahman Jr. was upset about the one sided beating and challenged Cameron to fight him too. Cameron accepted and they sparred for over 30 minutes non-stop before Cameron declared he could not go on.
“There were situations in sparring sessions that we need to talk about,” Aguilar explained, “One thing is to talk about making sure you have two equally paired fighters and that you’re not putting one fighter in danger. The other is the round that went 31 minutes.”
In addition to the unsafe sparring conditions, the commission is also disturbed about the presence of marijuana in the Mayweather household as the title fight with Maidana neared. A few of Mayweather’s female friends were seen on All Access smoking marijuana however Floyd himself clearly did not participate in the activities although he encouraged it. Aguilar is not as worried about the marijuana situation but will address it as some of his commissioners were deeply troubled by it.
“There is also the marijuana situation in there and some commissioners are upset about it. I think that’s a minor issue compared to the sparring situation,” Aguilar said. “I understand the value of TV and drama, so the marijuana part was not a major concern for me, but is of other commissioners. My priority is the health and safety of the fighters.”
Mayweather will appear before a panel this upcoming Tuesday to explain these circumstances to the concerned Nevada commission.
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