Floyd Mayweather made his way to the top of the sport on a shocking diet of junk food, becoming boxing’s top earner in the process.
“Money” defeated over twenty world champions on his way to banking over one billion dollars in purses between 1996 and 2017.
Mayweather still takes home exhibition millions to this day, but how he made it as far as he did with how he fueled his body was unconventional, to say the least.
His skills were so elevated above the normal that Mayweather could eat what he wanted and still beat the best in the business.
According to right-hand man Leonard Ellerbe, who was consistently by his side for two decades, Mayweather never changed his diet for training camp.
Floyd Mayweather’s junk food diet
“This is the [McDonald’s] he ate all camp and never gained an ounce of weight. When he fought at 147, that’s what he walked around at. I’ve never seen someone’s metabolism like his,” said Ellerbe.
“I would know. I was with the guy twenty hours a day for twenty years. He worked his a** off in the gym and out [of the gym]. He always took his job very seriously, but he ate that BS all the time.”
On Mayweather staying in shape once he retired, Ellerbe added: “At the end of his career, he switched to eating better. I used to clown him daily.
“I always told him “How you do [eat] that?” his response was always “L, these boys are not [getting anywhere near] me. I’m beating these boys, eating candy, and drinking sodas. I’m the best at this.
“Floyd was beating these cats, eating candy, and drinking sodas all camp long.”
The news that Mayweather wasn’t eating boiled chicken and rice as many top stars do will be a challenging listen for his opponents.
Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, and Manny Pacquiao were just three legends famous for training hard and living the boxing camp lifestyle.
The fact Mayweather made them his victims while munching on fast food and candy will be a tough pill to swallow.
Training camps
Despite eating the diet throughout camp for Canelo in 2013, the first place Floyd Mayweather went afterward was to the local McDonald’s in Las Vegas.
As he prepared for his rematch with Marcos Maidana in 2014, Mayweather allowed Showtime to film him for an episode of ‘All Access.’
After watching the clip, one fan said: “Love it how Maidana is following a very strict, clean diet plan. Floyd is sitting in the back of the yoga studio, stuffing his face with two Big Macs. What a legend!”
When visiting Liverpool in 2017, Mayweather again couldn’t resist stopping at ‘Maccy D’s’ for a late-night snack.
The golden arches seem like the former ‘Pretty Boy’s’ go-to food despite going against everything a boxer should represent in camp.
