Did Floyd Mayweather Ban Female Journalists?

On Saturday, hours before what may arguably be the biggest fight of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao's careers, two female journalists, CNN's Rachel Nichols and ESPN’s Michelle Beadle, Tweeted that Mayweather's camp had allegedly barred them from covering the big fight. Both Nichols and Beadle have previously criticized Mayweather, whose history of domestic violence is well-known; Nichols was involved in a tense interview with Mayweather last year in which she suggested women should boycott his fights. Bustle has reached out to Mayweather's team for comment, and Mayweather's publicist, Kelly Swanson, denied via Twitter that Mayweather's team was involved.

Tweeted Beadle on Saturday afternoon: "I, along with @Rachel__Nichols, have been banned from the MGM Grand Arena for the fight tonight by the Mayweather camp. #TheFightGame." Nichols retweeted her, adding: "No fight for me or @MichelleDBeadle. Mayweather's team told my producer the camp was blocking my credential."

Nichols then tweeted a YouTube link to her interview with Mayweather last year, in which she told the boxing world's No. 1: "You've even been for jail for [domestic violence]. Why should fans root for you with this kind of history?" Mayweather responded that all instances of domestic abuse were "allegations." "There's been documentation," Nichols hit back. "Are we really supposed to believe all these women were lying? Even when there were witnesses — like your own kids?"

"Everybody's entitled to their own opinion," Mayweather said.

Beadle, too, has been vocal about her opinion of Mayweather, retweeting this on Friday:

She also tweeted on Friday:

Deadspin reports that reporter Martin Rogers has also been barred.

Mayweather's publicist, Kelly Swanson, hit back on Twitter.

You can watch Nicols' interview with Mayweather below.

Image: CNN