Mayweather in the eye of another storm

MANILA, Philippines - Once again, the long arm of the law has caught up with the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.

This time, though, as compared to the previous instances, Mayweather is reportedly facing a prison term for charges stemming from domestic violence involving his former wife, Josie Harris.

Mayweather was taken in by Las Vegas police Friday and stayed briefly in jail before posting a bail of $3,000. According to reports, the 33-year-old native of Michigan left without speaking to reporters.

Mayweather smiled for his police mug shot when deep inside he should be grumbling.

The former pound-for-pound champion landed in jail months after failing to land a superfight with Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao. It’s a fight that could have made both boxers richer by at least $40 million.

Now, Mayweather will have to spend a lot of time wriggling out of the case which cropped up after Harris, with whom the boxer has three children, called the police at around 3 a.m. saying she was attacked.

Mayweather, however, will remain innocent until proven guilty, but when he left the Clark County Detention Center he carried with him felony charges in that Harris’ IPhone was missing after the incident.

Harris is the same woman who threw charges of domestic violence against Mayweather in 2003, but two years later testified that it was all because of jealousy, and described Mayweather as a “teddy bear.”

Mayweather had faced four assault convictions in the past, but according to a report by Michael Marley, they were all misdemeanors.

Under Nevada laws, a misdemeanor or petit larceny can lead to a jail term of up to six months, but if the felony charge involves property amounting from $250 (such as an IPhone) to $2,500 then the prison term could get as high as five years.

Mayweather lawyer Richard Wright was quoted as saying that “there was no grand larceny” because the only thing that was missing is an IPhone. He could be right, and if he is, Mayweather may soon get off the hook.

Still, it’s not the kind of publicity anyone of Mayweather’s status would need.

A few days ago, the former pound-for-pound champion threw verbal shots at Pacquiao, and drew the ire of the boxing community.

Mayweather later apologized to Pacquiao, saying he was “just having fun.”

“Josie can’t find her iPhone. We’re attempting to find it or replace it. He did not commit grand larceny. We expect that to be resolved,” Wright said.

The lawyer said Mayweather will cooperate with the police if he is indeed charged with domestic violence.

A prison term could mean the beginning of the end of Mayweather’s career because at his age, wrote Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, being idle for quite some time is the last thing he needs.

Iole also recalled that MIke Tyson was only 28 when he got out of an Indiana prison in 1995 after serving three years for a rape conviction. Still, the former heavyweight champion made $100 million in his next three fights.