13 Causes Actually Worth $300 Million

In what is being hailed as the "Fight of the Century," Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally meet in the ring for the first time on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The winner will not only be the undisputed world champion, but also take home roughly $180 million of the $300 million purse. While boxing fans may be elated over this legendary bout, the fight is marred by one big stain that should keep it from being so revered: Mayweather's long history of domestic abuse. If fans are eager to see these two fight, fine, but there's a variety of causes more worthy of $300 million than keeping Mayweather wealthy.

Aptly nicknamed "Money Mayweather," the 38-year-old is the highest-paid athlete in the world. According to The Atlantic, Mayweather is guaranteed to make $50 million just for showing up to the fight. But being ludicrously wealthy is not the issue here; it's Mayweather's criminal record.

Over the course of 14 years, Mayweather has either plead guilty or been found guilty of battery five times. In 2002, he entered a plea bargain to two counts of domestic violence and one count of misdemeanor battery for hitting Melissa Brim, the mother of his daughter, with a car door, pushing her inside the car, and striking her repeatedly. Two years later, he was convicted of two counts of misdemeanor battery stemming from an incident in which Mayweather attacked two women, who were friends with the mother of three of his children.

In September 2010, Mayweather's ex-girlfriend Josie Harris filed a domestic battery report against him and he was charged with one count of misdemeanor domestic-battery and three counts of misdemeanor harassment for making threats against his own children. In December 2011, Mayweather pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor battery charge and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

In 2013, Showtime, which holds a contract with Mayweather, aired a documentary called 30 Days in May. In one scene, Mayweather downplayed the domestic violence against Harris and said that Harris and her children had lied about the battery. In response to these allegations, Harris alleged to Yahoo! Sports in an exclusive interview:

I was powerless. He was holding me down. I couldn't fight back. The kids were screaming and crying.... He could have hit me in the head in the wrong place.… I could have died.

It's no longer just obnoxious to know how filthy rich the boxer is — he flaunts a $25,000 mouth guard made with an actual $100 bill during fights — it's downright messed up. Instead of lining his already-deep pockets, how about putting that $300 million purse toward these causes instead?

• Relief for the victims of the Nepal earthquake
• Cancer research
• The Kids in Need Foundation
• Campaign donation for 2016 candidates (yes, even giving to Ted Cruz would be a better cause)
• Funding for law enforcement body cameras
• The GoFundMe campaign for this cute dog
• That absurd potato salad Kickstarter (remember that?)
• Relief for those affected by the ongoing situation in Eastern Ukraine
• The Children of Syria relief fund
• This Walking Dead town
• But perhaps the most appropriate recipient of the $300 million would be domestic violence organizations, shelters for battered women, and domestic violence education programs

Images: Getty Images (4)