30 little-known facts about Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Whether you admire or abhor Floyd Mayweather Jr., he is, for better or worse, the most marketable and recognizable name in boxing. Here are 30 facts about the enigmatic and problematic Mayweather.

At this point in Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s career, it’s difficult to separate the “art from the artist,” especially after mainstream media outlets diligently rehashed his heinous history of domestic violence during the promotion of his mega fight against Manny Pacquiao.

There’s no middle ground when it comes to Mayweather, a fighter who has profited as much from those seduced by his gaudy record and lavish lifestyle as those who only splurge on his pay-per-view fights on the off chance that he’ll finally get iced. While no one would accuse Mayweather of being a rare intellect, he has shrewdly accomplished what almost no boxer has: smugly beating an often corrupt promotional system that takes advantage of fighters.

Yes, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is obscenely wealthy, and he loves to flaunt it. But listing his fleet of cars, mentioning how much he’s won gambling on sports or cataloguing his collection of jewel-encrusted watches has become tiresome — and mind-numbing.

What’s far more interesting about Mayweather — an inherently uninteresting athlete in terms of his persona and self-expression — is considering how he’s marketed himself, flaunted his celebrity and defied boxing’s conventional power structures to become the highest-earning athlete and rare pugilist who can fully control his destiny.

And then there’s Mayweather’s ominous family history, and the stark contrast between the dark elements of his personal life and the accolades garnered during an all-time great prizefighting career. When Floyd Mayweather Jr. fights Conor McGregor on August 26 in the most hyped sideshow in combat sports history, the media will again direct their gaze at the man who calls himself “Money.” Here are some things we know about him.