Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is facing two felony charges after allegedly using a bad cheque to purchase a $200,000 luxury watch from a Las Vegas boutique, according to Nevada court records seen by ESPN.
The 49-year-old, who retired with a perfect 50-0 professional record and earned an estimated $1.1 to $1.2 billion across his career, is charged with theft and intent to defraud following an incident at Gold and Beyond, a Las Vegas resale boutique, in December 2024. Mayweather allegedly wrote a cheque for $200,000 drawn on a Wells Fargo Bank account, but the account reportedly contained “insufficient money, property or credit” to cover the payment.
The theft charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, while the fraud charge could result in one to four years behind bars. Mayweather was not present at a court hearing on Monday, after Clark County prosecutors filed an initial criminal complaint on April 27. His attorneys have not commented on the charges.
Marc Cook, the attorney representing Gold and Beyond, told ESPN the boutique had given Mayweather considerable time to settle the debt before pursuing legal action. “The reason for the delay is that my guy trusted Mayweather and was trying to give him every opportunity to make good on that,” Cook said. “And it got to the point where he wasn’t getting responses and wasn’t getting money for a watch that Mayweather had for well over a year.”
The alleged bounced cheque sits awkwardly alongside Mayweather’s carefully cultivated public image as one of sport’s wealthiest self-made figures. He regularly posts on social media alongside stacks of cash, luxury watches and designer clothing, having generated an estimated $2.7 billion in global fight revenue throughout his professional career. According to sports business estimates compiled by Sportico, his inflation-adjusted career earnings sit at approximately $1.57 billion, placing him among the highest-paid athletes in the history of modern sport.
The watch allegation is far from his only current legal headache. Civil cases in four states allege he owes money to various plaintiffs, while the IRS recently filed a federal tax lien worth approximately $7.3 million tied to unpaid balances from fiscal years 2018 and 2023. Earlier this year, Mayweather also launched a major lawsuit against Showtime, the premium television network that broadcast many of his biggest fights, alleging that at least $340 million in pay-per-view and fight-related revenue was withheld, misappropriated or left unaccounted for under legacy contractual arrangements.
Mayweather is currently preparing for an exhibition bout against kickboxer Mike Zambidis in Athens, Greece, on 27 June.
