Floyd Mayweather Jail Term Delayed Due to Boxing Obligations

(Reuters) - A judge granted a request from boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to postpone until June his three-month jail sentence for domestic battery so the welterweight champion can compete in an upcoming bout, prosecutors said.

The ruling by Las Vegas Judge Melissa Saragosa on Friday came on the same day Mayweather was originally scheduled to turn himself in and begin serving his term.

We opposed the request and felt he should surrender as originally planned, said Tess Driver, a spokeswoman for the Clark County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case.

Mayweather, 34, a flamboyant boxer regarded as the best defensive fighter of his generation, is scheduled to battle an undetermined opponent on May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

An attorney for World Boxing Council welterweight champion Mayweather asked the judge to postpone the sentence so he could train and compete for that May 5 fight, Driver said.

Some in the boxing world have speculated the bout could pit Mayweather against World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, which would be the most highly anticipated fight in years.

But the Filipino Pacquiao's promoter has made comments to the media casting doubt on whether that match-up will occur.

The jail sentence Mayweather faces stems from a case in which he pleaded guilty last month to one charge of felony battery and no contest to two counts of harassment stemming from a 2010 attack on his ex-girlfriend Josie Harris and verbal threats against two of his children with Harris.

Mayweather was sentenced to six months for that outburst, but the judge suspended half the jail term.

The judge's decision to delay the jail term was also expected to benefit hotels and businesses that typically profit from a major prize fight, which can generate $10 million to $15 million in non-gambling revenue, said Jeremy Handel, spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

An attorney for Mayweather declined to comment on the postponement.