INDIANAPOLIS ,
IN, April 25, 2008 – Floyd Mayweather will serve as the
honorary starter of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on
Sunday, May 25, 2008. 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."
The event is the largest attended single day
sporting event in the world, and the race is broadcast live on ABC
to over 344 million homes in 203 countries worldwide. Mayweather
will wave the green flag in front of an estimated crowd of over
400,000 people.
Mayweather, a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan,
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 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.
"We're happy to welcome Floyd Mayweather to the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway to serve as the honorary starter of
the 92nd Indianapolis 500," said Joie Chitwood, IMS
president and chief operating officer. "The speed, power and
charisma that he has shown in the ring are a perfect match for the
excitement of 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.'"
His success in the ring has enabled Mayweather,
31, to transcend boxing to become one of the most recognized
sports stars on the planet. Mayweather competed on ABC's hit
"Dancing with the Stars" last fall along with two-time
Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, who won the
competition. Mayweather, nicknamed "Money," also participated this
spring in World Wrestling Entertainment's "Wrestlemania XXIV". He
has announced plans to fight Oscar de la Hoya this September in a
rematch of one of the biggest sporting events of 2007.
4-25-2008
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