Will Floyd Mayweather post Suge Knight's $10M bail if he wins Saturday's fight?
Updated: Charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly running over two men intentionally in a Compton, California, fast-food restaurant parking lot earlier this year, former rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight has been behind bars since his arrest.
At one point, his bail was $25 million, since reduced to $10 million. But although a judge on Thursday refused a request by Knight’s attorney to cut the bail amount to $5 million, Knight’s release could be imminent, depending on the result of Saturday night’s Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight, according to the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) and Reuters.
Knight’s attorney, Matthew Fletcher, told the Times and the New York Daily News he expects Mayweather to post Knight’s bail if the boxer wins in Las Vegas this weekend.
“We think Mr. Mayweather is going to win the championship and then come champion the day again,” Fletcher told the Daily News. “They’re good friends, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t. And we believe that will happen.” He told the Times that Mayweather’s camp had reached out to him recently to discuss Knight’s bail.
“Suge said, ‘Man, I was really going to pull for him to win, but now I’m going to have to pray for him to win,’ ” Fletcher told the Times.
However, the newspapers did not speak directly to Mayweather’s team, and TMZ, relying on an unidentified source, says the fighter does not intend to post Knight’s bail.
The undefeated Mayweather, who is favored to win, will be paid over $100 million if he does prevail, in what is being billed as the fight of the century, according to Money magazine and the Telegraph.
Knight has pleaded not guilty, but a judge earlier this month refused to dismiss the case based on his claim of self-defense, the Associated Press reported.
“There’s no intent to kill,” Fletcher told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen at that time. “There’s an intent to survive.”
Related coverage:
CNN: “Suge Knight pleads not guilty to murder in hit-and-run case”
New York Daily News: “Suge Knight jailed under ‘outrageous’ restrictions worse than Gitmo: lawyer”
Updated at 4:15 p.m. to include information from subsequent New York Daily News and TMZ coverage. Updated again on May 1 to correct a sentence stating that Knight has been behind bars since his arrest.
