Los Angeles (AFP)
Former boxing star Floyd Mayweather will finance the funeral costs of George Floyd, the victim of a homicide committed by a white police officer during his arrest on May 25 in Minneapolis, one of its representatives announced.
The boxer "will likely get mad at me for saying that, but yes, he will really pay for the funeral," ESPN Leonard Ellerbe, president of Mayweather Promotions, said on Monday.
He added that the former boxer, world champion in five different categories and unbeaten in 50 fights, was in contact with the family of George Floyd, through a mutual friend, and that the latter accepted his offer.
One of the family's lawyers said his funeral would be June 9 in Houston, the city where Floyd grew up. Before that, two ceremonies are to take place Thursday in Minneapolis and Saturday in North Carolina where he came from.
The 46-year-old black man died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. The 44-year-old officer, who was dismissed the next day, was arrested on Friday and charged with manslaughter.
The drama outraged across the United States. From New York to Los Angeles, from Philadelphia to Seattle, tens of thousands of Americans have been demonstrating for the past week against police brutality, racism and social inequality.
These acts of violence sometimes degenerated into riots, leading several cities to mobilize the National Guard and impose curfews.
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