Mayweather offers to cover funeral costs for George Floyd

Boxing - Floyd Mayweather v Tenshin Nasukawa - Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan - December 31, 2018 Floyd Mayweather during a press conference after the fight [Photo:Reuters]

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather has offered to cover the funeral expenses for George Floyd, the 46-year-old African-American man whose death while in police custody in Minneapolis prompted protests across the United States.

The former five-division world champion’s promotional company, Mayweather Productions, confirmed on Twitter that he had made the offer, and several local media reports have said the family have accepted.

Mayweather Productions and the boxer’s agency have yet to respond to a request for comment.

Derek Chauvin, the 44-year-old Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd, has been arrested on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Three other officers involved in the arrest have not been charged.

The incident has prompted an outcry across the United States and abroad, with numerous pro athletes and leagues speaking out, including NBA great Michael Jordan and golf’s 15-times major champion Tiger Woods.

Steve Bisciotti, the owner of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, pledged $1 million for social justice reform and said a group of former and current players would decide which organisations benefit.

"We must all discover new ways to unite. We must all work to break the cycle of systematic racial injustice," Bisciotti said in a statement.