Floyd Mayweather once claimed he was a Tupac murder witness?!

It may not be on the level of bigfoot, or JFK assassination theories, but one of the more enduring conspiracies in the celebrity realm revolves around the death of rap icon Tupac Shakur.

Murdered in a drive by shooting in 1996, rumors and legends continue to circulate that the artist actually faked his own death and has lived a life of quiet anonymity for the last 27 years. The subject of numerous lawsuits and criminal cases while he was alive (and himself the victim of a shooting in 1994), many fans have theorized that Shakur faked his own death to escape threats on his life and the other pressures of fame. Alleged inconsistencies in Shakur’s death certificate and his cremation shortly after his killing only added more fuel to that fire.

Tupak Shakur with Janet Jackson in 1993. Ronald Grant Floyd Mayweather Jr. claims he was there when Tupac Shakur was killed

Don’t come to undefeated former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. with any ideas about Tupac Shakur still being alive though.

Earlier this month, Nevada police executed a search warrant on 60-year-old self proclaimed longtime gang member Duane Kieth Davis—who has made public statement that he was in the car that executed the drive by on Tupac. Police were apparently trying to find corroborating evidence to recent statements Davis had made in interviews about his involvement in the still unsolved killing and seized a number of electronics including several ipads, laptops, and a desktop computer, along with portable USB drives.

With Tupac’s death back in the news, a clip that appears to have first surfaced way back in 2014 is once again making the rounds. In it modern boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. details how he witnessed the rapper’s death.

“The car pulled up and shot Tupac,” Mayweather told a small group of people while out walking in Vegas (tanscript via Fox News). “Car pulled right here and shot Tupac at this light. Car went that way. I was living right here in 1996 when Tupac got killed. Right here. I ain’t never told nobody. Only the close people with me know.”

Mayweather on Tupac’s legacy

Back in 2017, director Benny Boom delivered a bio-pic of Tupac’s life, entitled All Eyez on Me, Mayweather was in attendance for the film’s premiere and gave his thoughts on Tupac’s music and what it’s meant to him over the years.

“Tupac was a great artist, had great music. I loved his music,” Mayweather said. “Inspirational; and he was a genius.”

“Great film,” Mayweather added, speaking of the bio-pic. “It’s gonna take you on a roller coaster ride, but it’s a great movie.”

Obviously, most of this is all water under the bridge at this point. But if police are still interested in pursuing leads in Tupac’s death then maybe ‘Money’ will find himself on the witness stand one day.

Mayweather’s exhibition career continues

Back in the boxing world, even though he retired from professional competition back in 2017, after picking up a TKO victory over UFC superstar Conor McGregor, Mayweather has remained an active figure in the ring, with a number of mid-to-high profile exhibition fights. Most recently Mayweather faced off against mafia scion turned celebrity combat sports competitor John Gotti III. The fight was ruled an official ‘no contest’ after both men turned the showcase into a trash talk exhibition in the 6th of 8 planned rounds.

A brawl between corners started after the fight and things got pretty nasty over social media in the days that followed. However Gotti has recently claimed that he’s currently in talks with Mayweather for a rematch.

“We’re in talks right now, actually, to do something,” Gotti revealed speaking of a second fight with Mayweather. “So, we’ll see where it goes. From what I understood, after the fight, it was the most Googled thing in the whole world. Floyd’s a businessman, Floyd wants to capitalize on that and he wants to make money. Listen, they wanna do it again I’ll be here. I promise you this time I’m gonna come out guns blazing as soon as that bell rings. We’re gonna fight now.”

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About the author

Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer, and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. He has worked with the website since 2013, taking on a wide variety of roles. A lifelong combat sports fan, Zane has trained off & on in both boxing and Muay Thai. He currently hosts the long-running MMA Vivisection podcast, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015, as well as the 6th Round podcast, started in 2014. Zane is also responsible for developing and maintaining the ‘List of current UFC fighters’ on Bloody Elbow, a resource he originally developed for Wikipedia in 2010.

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