Floyd Mayweather had a troubled childhood, to say the least. The former 4-division had to face a lot of hardships during his childhood and was subjected to an environment of poverty and violence. This was mostly due to his father, who wasn’t part of his life until he started to train.

His father’s lack of consideration towards him was displayed fully as he once used Mayweather Jr. as a human shield to protect himself from getting shot. In an interview with the BBC back in 2015, Mayweather Sr. explained how he used his son to defend himself.

He stated that Money’s maternal uncle Baboon once wanted to kill with a gun over a drug beef. However, using his son as a shield resulted in Baboon shooting him in the leg instead of killing him. ”

“I used my man (baby Floyd) because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here today. I was still shot in the leg. What would you do with a gun on you? Floyd was my only shield, and I got shot with him in my hand. Baboon shot a big old hole in my leg, and I’m telling you that it would have been in my head or my chest,” said Mayweather Sr.

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Although this might have saved him from getting killed by his brother-in-law, using his own son as a shield is certainly not what a good father would have done. Moreover, this could have even resulted in Mayweather Jr. getting shot robbing everyone of one of the greatest boxers to ever step in the ring

The harsh childhood of Floyd Mayweather

The violence and hardships surrounding Mayweather in his childhood shaped him to become a boxer. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan in a neighborhood riddled with drugs. His mother was a drug addict while his father spent most of his time in jail. Due to the lack of parental guidance, Mayweather began living with his grandmother.

Here he would devote all his time to boxing, dropping out of high school to become an amateur boxer. Moreover, his father was also released from jail and started training him with his uncle Roger. The knowledge that his father and uncle shared with him made him into a great boxer. He then went on to hone his skills, eventually overcoming all odds to become the icon he is today.

Do you think Mayweather Sr’s actions were justified? Let us know in the comments.

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