Advertisement

Boxing-Roger Mayweather, mentor to nephew Floyd, dead at 58

March 17 (Reuters) - Roger Mayweather, trainer to nephew and champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, has died at 58, U.S. media reported on Tuesday.

Before becoming a legendary cornerman, the Grand Rapids, Michigan native was a champion in his own right.

"The Black Mamba" held the WBA and lineal super featherweight titles in the mid-1980s and the WBC light welterweight title later that same decade.

He held the IBO light welterweight title and IBO welterweight titles in the mid-1990s and finished with a 59-13 professional record.

He first began working with Floyd in the late 1990s and over 12 years helped shape him into one of the best pound-for-pound boxers of all time, amassing an unblemished 50-0 record.

No cause of death has been released.

The loss of Roger is the second major blow to Floyd this month.

Last week his ex-girlfriend and the mother of three of his children, Josie Harris, was found dead inside a car in her driveway in Valencia, California.

Floyd responded by posting a series of photos of the couple on Instagram as a tribute to her. (Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)