Floyd Mayweather is the WWE's new version of the Million Dollar Man

Sports Column

Last week, we told you about Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s decision to hop into the wrestling ring after breaking the Big Show's nose in a gimmick. Well, the match is signed and officially official. At Wrestlemania XXIV on March 30, it will be the Big Show and Money Mayweather hooking up at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. But Floyd doesn't come cheap. Mayweather will earn a cool $20 million for his night's work with the WWE. They don't call him "Money" for nothing.


The one-fight deal, which is believed to be the largest single purse for a pro wrestling match, was finalized in January by Mayweather's advisor, Leonard Ellerbee.

"I had approached the (WWE) about a year ago but it didn't fit into our schedule," said Ellerbee after a news conference at Staples Center. "We sat down with them again about a month ago and they made an incredible offer and me and my business partner Al Heyman sat down with them and we cut the deal. It's an eight-figure deal worth $20 million just for this one fight."

Mayweather is 39-0 in the ring, but the wrestling match will have a slightly more skewed tale of the tape than the 5-foot-8, 150-pound boxer is used to. Wight comes into match standing 7 feet tall and weighing 430 pounds.

"I weigh three times as much as he does. It's not fair, but I'm a businessman and I see an opportunity for business," said Wight, punctuating his statement by flinging the wooden podium to the floor. ...

I'm not just any ordinary fighter," said Mayweather, who earned about $20 million for his 2007 fight against De La Hoya, which was the richest boxing match ever, generating revenue of $120 million.

"I dance with the stars, I play in NBA celebrity games; you just never know what Floyd Mayweather will do next. Next year I could be playing for an NFL team or an NBA team. You just don't know.

We don't know what he'll do next, but we know it's going to put gobs of money in his account, whatever it is.