Ikenna Okafor
Floyd Mayweather was reduced to tears during his International Boxing Hall of Fame induction speech on Sunday. The undefeated former professional boxer took two minutes to compose himself on stage before starting his emotional speech.
“I don’t really know what to say,” said Mayweather, as seen in the FightHub TV’s video of the event. “I told myself I wouldn’t cry, but this is something beautiful. This is one of the best days of my life.
“I want to say thank you to everybody for your support. I want to tell all the fighters — thank you, you guys are remarkable. There wouldn’t be no me without you guys.”
A teary-eyed ‘Money’ Mayweather went on to thank his father and trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., who introduced him to boxing when he was a child. Floyd was crafted into one of the greatest boxers of all time by his dad alongside his late uncle Roger Mayweather, and Floyd remains thankful to this day.
“I want to thank the International Boxing Hall of Fame for giving me this”, Mayweather continued. “This right here is going to my dad because he deserves it. Bernard Hopkins said it best, ‘You’ve got to earn it,’ and my dad earned this ring.
“I love my dad because, without him, this wouldn’t be possible. He’s the best trainer ever. There will never be another trainer that’s better than my dad.”
Mayweather finished his career with a perfect professional record of 50-0 and is the highest-paid boxer of all time with reported career earnings of over $800 million. Mayweather also currently sits at No 1 on the BoxRec all-time pound-for-pound list.
Boxing Hall of Fame:Mayweather inducted, weeps