Floyd Mayweather, Jr. at his home in Las Vegas on April 30. Mayweather prepares for his fight against Roberto Guerrero on May 4, 2013. (Photo: Ronda Churchill For USA TODAY Sports) LAS VEGAS — For Floyd Mayweather Jr., independence is paramount. The man they call "Money" has discovered that enormous wealth is indeed secondary. Freedom holds a lot of new possibilities for the undefeated welterweight champion, 36, as he puts the finishing touches on preparations for his title defense against Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It's Mayweather's first fight since last May. Despite becoming one of the world's richest athletes, he has averaged one fight a year over the last six years. Recently, Mayweather signed a lucrative, mega-fight deal with Showtime, potentially worth $200 million; he has reunited with his estranged father, trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., 60, who is suffering from sarcoidosis (an incurable lung disease); and the reality TV star is receiving nibbles about a potential foray into acting after he retires, probably by 2015. MORE: Go inside Floyd's money closet It is quite a counterpunch from his life nearly a year ago. Last June, with the world seemingly at his feet, Mayweather pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor battery domestic violence, and no contest to a pair of harassment charges. The case involved a violent struggle between the fighter and former girlfriend Josie Harris as two of their children watched in September 2010. Mayweather is the father of four. Mayweather was sentenced to 90 days and found himself incarcerated with convicted murderers and other serious offenders in Clark County Detention Center. With the exception of attorney contact, he spent 23 hours a day alone in his cell in maximum security. The detention center deemed it in his best interest for safety, said attorney Shane W. Emerick, who did not represent Mayweather in the case but visited him every day at the behest of the fighter's legal team and manager Al Haymon. Mayweather believed the location of his incarceration was unjust, Emerick said, but his request to be added to the jail's general population was turned down. Mayweather's bid for house arrest also was denied. He served from June 1 to Aug. 3. "Was being in jail very bad, very rough for me?" Mayweather told USA TODAY Sports as he sat this week in the expansive living room of his $9 million, 22,000-square-foot mansion overlooking the city. "There is nothing cool about saying, 'I've been to jail,' or 'I've been to prison.' That's a place I won't go back to." 'It's about being classy' Raised in a dysfunctional, drug- and alcohol-saturated home, Mayweather had been arrested numerous times during the last decade for violence-related cases in Nevada and Michigan, his home state. But he always seemed to avoid serious punishment, receiving suspended jail sentences and fines. In 17 years as a professional fighter, Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) has never tasted losing. This time, it felt as if Judge Melissa Saragosa landed one to his jaw. He also received community service and was ordered to complete one year of domestic violence counseling. He attended a session on the same day of his May 5, 2012, fight against Miguel Cotto. "What I learned from my jail experience was that freedom is very, very important," he said. "You can have money but no freedom. It's just like you're poor, you're broke. It's like you have nothing. I found out that freedom is more important than money." Wednesday, at the final major news conference to promote the Guerrero fight, Ruben Guerrero — father and trainer of the challenger — called out Mayweather. "We're going to beat up that woman-beater — the one that beat up his (ex-girlfriend) in front of his kids," Ruben Guerrero said from the podium. "He must have learned that from his dad. We're going to eat that woman-beater (and) see how he's gonna like it, and he's gonna get it from a real man." PHOTOS: FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. THROUGH THE YEARS No one from Mayweather's camp, including the champion, responded at that juncture. Later, the fathers of both fighters began jawing at each other and had to be separated. Mayweather Jr. kept his cool when asked about the name calling. "My thing is, I'm a lot older and I'm a lot wiser," he told Showtime analyst Steve Farhood. "If I did or didn't do a crime ... I served the time. It's about being classy. I was wild when I was younger." Those who know Mayweather well say confinement gave him a dose of reality, and that he is a changed person. They say he has made strides to become more introspective, show greater restraint and sought to be become less volatile in his personal relationships. He shares his home with fiancée Shantel Jackson. "Is Floyd Mayweather misunderstood? Absolutely," he said. "But, you know, that's life. You go through certain obstacles. Only thing I can do is continue to live and try to become a better person every day." Twice a week he was permitted to engage in a video visit with family or friends. At times, it was humiliating for the former U.S. Olympic star. "They strip-search you whenever they want — just because," Mayweather said. "This officer already was giving me a hard time. I took all my clothes off. You have to open your mouth (to be searched for possibly concealed items), lift your testicles and other things that are very flagrant — squat (and) cough. "After he searched me, I reached for my clothes. He said, 'Stop! Put them back.' Then the whole search (began) again. I'm like, 'Man, (are you) for real? Is this really worth it?' That's all I said." Emerick, a retired criminal attorney, told USA TODAY Sports, "In my 25 years in town, I've never heard of a misdemeanor inmate being held in administrative segregation in maximum security." Mayweather said he controlled any urge to become angry. "You have to stay mentally strong; I knew I was coming home," he said. "Why put yourself in a position where you have to stay longer? I conducted myself as a gentleman." An explosive person That hasn't always been the case for Mayweather, who was raised in a fractured boxing family, one that includes Roger Mayweather, a former world champion who is his uncle and ex-trainer. The Mayweathers not only challenged others but famously rumbled among themselves. From his youngest days growing up in Grand Rapids, Mich., Mayweather said his life was consumed with fighting, most of it done inside the ring. By the age of 3, his father, a former fringe welterweight contender and defensive specialist who was knocked out by Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978, had laced oversized sparring gloves on his son's tiny hands. "All I did was study boxing from day one," said Mayweather Jr., a high school dropout. "That's the first thing I ever knew. Before I knew anything about life, I knew about a boxing gym. I knew how to throw punches." To this day, Mayweather sometimes wonders how he managed to persevere through a difficult childhood environment. "I feel like I beat all odds being where I am today with my mother (Deborah Orr) being on drugs, my father going to prison (for drug trafficking), no stable home," Mayweather recalled. "At one time, (we) stayed in New Brunswick, N.J., (with) seven people in one bedroom." These days, the father and the son have repaired their relationship to a degree. They will reunite for the first time on fight night since the father worked his son's corner in 2000, shortly before he quit. "My son and I have had collisions," the elder Mayweather told USA TODAY Sports. "But since he got out of jail, I've seen a better change in him." "I always had a bond with my son but not like now," said the father. "He'll grab me and hug me; or I will grab him and hug him. He'll tell me that he loves me." While the elder Mayweather battles sarcoidosis, Roger, 52, has diabetes and is trying to fend off deteriorating vision. He is co-training his nephew but will not be in the corner on fight night. He also has served time relating to violence against women in battery incidents. Others have tried to fill the void as a male role model for Mayweather Jr. Some have been more successful than others. Al Mitchell was the head coach of the USA Boxing team at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, site of Mayweather's last defeat — a hotly disputed 10-9 decision to Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria. But despite the young amateur's talent, Mitchell, considered a no-nonsense coach, says, "I thought Mayweather probably wouldn't go anywhere (professionally) because of his attitude." Today, Mitchell can't help but beam when he looks at how Mayweather persevered. "Every year, I've seen him change and adjust," Mitchell said. "I pulled him aside (one evening) and said, 'Mayweather, you really surprised me.' He really has matured. He's not the same guy I knew. He's got smart people around him with Al Haymon and (adviser) Leonard Ellerbe. "People don't realize that to hold an explosive person like that in check is hard." Emerick made in-roads with the fighter during their many visits last summer. Despite his educational background, Emerick found he had more in common with Mayweather than the fighter initially suspected: He, too, had come from a broken home where he lived in public housing with his mom, a single mother of five. He later served as an Army helicopter pilot and as a public defender. "I was like anybody in the public in my view of Floyd Mayweather Jr., and what his reputation was. To me, it wasn't good," he said. "But after I got to know him, I realized he was smart, had a good heart and is an amazing person. "I do believe the incarceration had a profound effect on him. He really took it as God working in mysterious ways. He focused on his family. "After he was released, you could see a change in him. He knows what's important. I now see him as a very calm person. I think he is well on his way." Story Highlights
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Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2013/05/01/floyd-mayweather-boxing-arrest-robert-guerrero/2128153/