Genius professional sports manager and adviser Al Haymon took Floyd Mayweather to the very top of boxing but someone else was there before Haymon.
Not many really know about that, that was in Mayweather’s Top Rank days where Mayweather was promoted by Bob Arum, that went okay but ultimately held Mayweather back as he made it to almost billionaire level years later.
The man in the beginning after his father and uncles managing him, before Al Haymon managed Mayweather, was music promoter and music entrepreneur James Prince.
Speaking to Andre Ward on the ‘All The Smoke Fight’ show, who Ward also worked with in his pro boxing career, James Prince opened up on managing his first well known professional fighter being none other than Floyd Mayweather:
“My first big fighter was Floyd Mayweather. You know, I remember being attacked by the feds, attacking my business every day. They were hating on me so badly back then that they went through my neighborhood and arrested over a hundred people, I think. That’s when I decided to diversify my portfolio. Instead of getting up every morning to be harassed—going to my office or my neighborhood only to be harassed—I decided to build a boxing gym in Fifth Ward, in my community. I always said that if I ever made it, I’d build a boxing gym in the community, and I did that. On the first, second, or third day, when I started going to that gym and witnessing those kids come in, I decided, “Yo, I love this, man. This is what I’m going to do.” That’s when I hit my knees—I remember I prayed for a champion. I worked out a plan, and I had a friend of mine call Mike Tyson. I said, “Let Mike Tyson know that I want to meet with him. I want to work with him.” I was that bold because I felt like, you know, I prayed for something, and all I had to do was step out on it, and it might come to fruition, right?”
That chance encounter turned into a reality, Prince would later say to Ward:
“I didn’t know the man; he didn’t know me, you know what I mean? But I said, “Let Mike know I want to meet him. I want to be in business with Mike.” Mike was the biggest back then. So, my friend Tom—Tom has since passed on—he knew Mike and made the connection. Mike accepted the meeting, and I came out here to Las Vegas, went straight to the gym. I had been going to Mike’s fights for quite a few years, so I was really excited to walk into a sparring session where they were really going at it. I’m like, “Whoa, they’re going at it.” I’m a fan, sitting there watching Mike trying to take this guy’s head off. In the midst of that, Floyd was in the gym too. He walked over to me on a couple of occasions and said, “Yo, I know about Deon to do Jay. I know you rap a lot—woo,” like, okay. I didn’t know him, right? I had no idea who this kid was. In my mind, I’m like, “Yo, man, I’m trying to watch this sparring, man.” But he came over again, saying, “Jay, if you decide to go somewhere tonight—woo, woo—here’s my number. Call me, I’ll come through and get you,” and all this kind of stuff, right? I’m like, “Cool, alright, little homie.” So afterward, I go to Mike Tyson’s house, and we have a conversation. I pitched my spiel to Mike: “Yo, I want to be on your team.” Mike was familiar with me—I didn’t know that. He was familiar with the Geto Boys and the whole movement, so he was impressed with me being able to do my independent thing. We had a conversation—one I thought was a great conversation. He even got his wife on the phone at the time, a lady out of D.C. he was married to, and told her, “I want Jay Prince to be a part of my team.” I left that meeting that night really excited, feeling like, “Oh man, God answered my prayer—I’m going to be with Mike, right?” But the next day, I reached out to call Mike and get back with him, and all the phones were disconnected. I couldn’t reach him. I’m like, “Man, what happened?”
It wasn’t to be on working with Mike Tyson, for Prince, but something else happened he said:
“It wasn’t him—it was these other powers that be, I believe. I couldn’t reach him, so I’m like, “Man, we tried all day, went by the gym—it’s locked down.” So, I’m left with that number in my pocket. I’m like, “Yo, who is this dude?” They said, “Oh man, that’s Floyd Mayweather. He’s the lightweight champion of the world.” A red light went off in my head—I’m like, “Whoa, I prayed for a champion.” So, long story short, within the next two weeks, I had done a contract with Floyd Mayweather and managed him for the next four years.”
Pretty cool, shows you how in boxing, business and life as one door closes often a new, better one opens.
Mayweather had a great career in the end.
Prince got to be part of that special story in boxing for four years.