Boxer Mayweather named Indy 500 starter
Mayweather, a world champion in five weight classes, will wave the green flag to send the field of 33 drivers in action on the famous 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The race will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. (ET) on ABC Sports, the IMS Radio Network and XM Satellite Radio.
“To be asked to wave the green flag at the Indianapolis 500 is an incredible honor," Mayweather said. “I’m extremely excited to be a part of this event and to see the best drivers in the world perform on the biggest stage in all of sports."
Mayweather, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., has a 39-0-0 record as a fighter, including high-profile, masterful victories in 2007 over Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton that earned him the 2007 Fighter of the Year award from the Boxing Writers Association of America. Mayweather is the current WBC welterweight (147 pounds) world champion and also has held world title belts at junior middleweight, light welterweight, lightweight and super featherweight divisions.
1996 Olympic bronze medalist Mayweather is universally recognized as the best pound-for-pound fighter. He has been ranked No. 1 by The Ring magazine, considered the bible of the sport, since July 2005 and has appeared in The Ring’s top 10 pound-for-pound rankings for a staggering 486 weeks, more than double the length of any other fighter currently on that list.