We Went to Floyd Mayweather’s Strip Club Before His Big Fight

Ahead of Saturday's bout with Conor McGregor, Mayweather promised he'd hit the club every night so fans could ask him anything. Did he oblige?

Floyd Mayweather Belgium Club 2017 Getty
Getty

American boxing legend Floyd Mayweather JR visits Belgium and goes to party at the Carré Nightclub in Willebroek on March 12, 2017 in Willebroek, Belgium, 12/03/2017

Floyd Mayweather Belgium Club 2017 Getty

LAS VEGAS — You’re Floyd Mayweather. It’s roughly 12 hours until you weigh-in for the most lucrative fight in boxing history. What are you doing in the strip club at 3 in the morning?

Chilling. Blowing off steam. And sticking to your word.

This isn’t the first story written about Mayweather hanging at Girl Collection, the jiggle joint (hat tip New York Post) he owns just off the Las Vegas Strip. If you want to read dispatches from The Ringer, Yahoo Sports, and others, google it. Some of them are pretty good.

But on Friday morning, with the clock ticking toward the moment when he would have to stand on the scale and make sure he isn’t a fraction over the 154-pound limit, we ventured to the gentleman’s club Mayweather opened earlier this year to see if he would be there as promised. One of the greatest boxers of all time, all of 40 years old, with the sleeping habits of a vampire, boasted that he’d be at Girl Collection every night leading up to Saturday’s fight with Conor McGregor.

At 3:10 a.m. Friday, Mayweather kept his word.

He rolled in with almost no entourage but protected by two massive bodyguards. Fresh from the gym and neatly pressed in a white short-sleeve button-down and black TMT hat, Mayweather was received like a conquering hero. “The champ is here!” blared the DJ. Mayweather shook hands with his boys, hugged his family, and took a selfie with one opportunistic fan before retreating to his upstairs VIP lounge.

And that’s where he’d stay. Unlike Wednesday morning, when Mayweather held court with a few reporters he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Declining an interview opportunity through a club representative, Mayweather was left to enjoy the night. Water was his drink of choice—he doesn’t touch booze—and he was surrounded by his people and the beautiful girls who followed him to every corner of the club.

Girl Collection is smaller than you’d expect, especially from the outside. But it got poppin’ starting at 2 a.m. with the women—all shapes, colors, and sizes represented—seemingly outnumbering the men, many of whom were sporting TMT hats and T-shirts. Some were making it rain. Others were sippin' and observing the impressive performances on the stage's two poles. Nary a McGregor fan could be found. Not that they wouldn’t be welcome—but the side-eyes would have been exponential.

Of course Saturday’s fight, which could easily net Mayweather $200-plus million, was top of mind at the club. Screens were promoting all things Mayweather, showing scenes of the 49-0 legend riding in a private jet, zooming down the highway in some ridiculously expensive car, and, obviously, knocking out his opponents. Then there was a friendly reminder about Saturday’s after-party. It starts at midnight, only a few hours after Mayweather expects to have dispatched McGregor. Floyd has said he’ll be at Girl Collection and wants everyone and anyone who can make it to join him.

As he proved to us in the early morning hours of Sin City, doubt him at your own discretion.

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