Justin Bieber is reportedly set to walk Floyd Mayweather Jr. into the ring this Saturday, along with others.
The 36-year-old is out to defend his WBA World light-middleweight title while gunning for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s WBC belt, in what will be the most lucrative fight of his life to date.
But win or lose at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Mayweather gets a guaranteed purse of $41.5 million , and there’s a good chance he will win given that he remains unbeaten in 44 fights and has been the world’s highest-earning sportsman since 2011.
This will be the second time Justin will flank “Money May.”
Last May, the then 18-year-old — along with the rappers Lil Wayne and 50 Cent — made for an interesting entrance to Mayweather’s face-off against Miguel Cotto.
At the time Bieber carried two of the boxer’s championship belts into the ring and the trio of music stars were part of Mayweather’s winner photo-ops with his championship belt, partying together afterwards.
Biebe r has known the Mayweather family for at least a year, possibly longer.
The boxer’s daughter Iyanna is a massive fan of the singer.
The then 12-year-old famously received a kiss from the the “Baby” star at his Las Vegas Believe tour show in Sin City last September, which she delightedly tweeted about the day after.
@moneyyaya : Me and my husband @justinbieber at his concert it made my whole day when he kissed me on the cheek!! pic.twitter.com/uJaU8iwb
— Iyanna Mayweather (@moneyyaya) October 1, 2012
This May, before his ill-fated boo-accompanied appearance at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, the 19-year-old dropped in on Iyanna’s thirteenth birthday celebrations — earning the gratitude of her father.
Nothing but the best for my daughter @moneyyaya . Thank you @justinbieber . Welcome to Las Vegas. [pic] — https://t.co/UKBZaEJATe — Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) May 19, 2013
Previously, Justin compared life atop the pop charts and boxing championships titles as a similar grind, to the extent that there’s always someone waiting in the wings.
“Yeah, I mean, when I was coming up, trying to get to where I am now, people were so happy (for me). They were rooting for me,” the teen said in the February 2012 issue of V Magazine.
He added , “Now that I’m on top, everyone wants to bring me down. Everyone’s trying to tug at me and take my spot. And that’s how it always is, everyone wants you to be on top, and as soon as you’re there — like Floyd Mayweather, he’s the best boxer in the world. Now he is a champion.
Justin continued, “Every time he goes to a fight now, people are like, ‘He’s going to lose this time,’ and then he wins… Every time he wins. And people aren’t ever going to know that he’s a champ.”
Considering how apoplectic TMZ are over Bieber’s affiliation with a stack of sports stars and their mutual liking for the singer, not to mention the fuss made by the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins ; we’ll say this for the pop prince:
If he does make it to Vegas to walk Mayweather into history on Saturday, he’s got some balls.