Floyd apologizes for racist tirade

Floyd Mayweather Jr. took to the Internet again on Friday, this time to apologize for a profanity-filled racist rant against Manny Pacquiao that he recorded on uStream.com Thursday.

Mayweather continued to mispronounce Pacquiao’s surname, repeatedly referring to him as “Pooch-ee-ow.” But a day after making racist and homophobic comments on uStream, Mayweather offered an apology to those who were offended.

“I do want to apologize for what happened the other night,” Mayweather said. “I want to apologize to everybody. They felt it was a racist comment that came from me. I don’t have a racist bone in my body, you know. I love everybody. Some of my guys are Muslims. Some of my guys are Jews. Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans, whites, it doesn’t matter. There is nothing but love in my heart, you know what I’m saying?

“I heard this from a few people. The only thing I want to say is, anybody who was offended by what I said the other day, I apologize as a man. I apologize. Forgive me for saying what I said. I was just having fun. I didn’t really mean it, nothing in a bad way. So let’s stay on this roller coaster ride and keep riding, baby. It’s all love.”

Prior to apologizing, Mayweather embraced two Asian women, who said they were Thai and Chinese. He asked one of them if she spoke Thai and kept asking her to “Speak some Thai.” As he embraced them, he promised them front-row tickets for a fight with Pacquiao.

Representatives of each camp twice in the last nine months attempted to make a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, but were unable to finalize a deal.

Mayweather also sent condolences to his former promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, with whom he has long had a contentious relationship. The body of Arum’s 49-year-old son, John, was discovered in the Cascade Mountains in Washington state Friday.

John Arum appeared to have fallen 300 feet in a hiking accident.

John Arum had been missing for several days and it’s not clear in the video whether Mayweather was aware the body had been discovered. However, he offered consoling words to Bob Arum.

“God bless Bob Arum and his whole family, because I heard that Bob Arum’s son had a bad accident,” Mayweather said. “Love to the whole Arum family.” —Kevin Iole, Y

source mb