Mayweather to pay medical bills for ailing infant

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is paying the nearly $50,000 hospital bill for a 11-month-old, Austin York, of Gardnerville, Nevada, who born with a rare heart abnormality, according to the fighter's assistant, David Levi, of Mayweather Promotions. 

"I went to go to work this charity event, and I found out that they were raising money for someone in the organization's nephew, who lived somwhere in Nevada," said Levi of the Fight Night charity fundraiser that was organized by UNLV on March 15. "The child had had a heart abnormality and the family had racked up a huge bill at the hospital."

Levi said that the total cost of York's medical bills will add up to "a little more than $49,000."

"The family was unable to afford paying for the three major surgeries that Austin had had since he was born, on May 23, 2011," said Levi.

"When I spoke with Floyd, he tried to swing by the event, and he asked me what the charity was for. I told him, and he said, 'just let them know that I'll take care of all of the medical bills.'"

When former two-time junior lightweight champion, Genaro Hernandez, died on June 7 of last year at the age of 45 following a three-year battle with cancer, Mayweather paid for his funeral in East Los Angeles.

Mayweather (42-0, 26 knockouts) dethroned Hernandez (38-2-1, 17 KOs) as WBC junior lightweight beltholder by eighth-round knockout in October of 1998 for his first crown.

Mayweather,  the WBC's current welterweight beltholder, will rise in weight to face WBA junior middleweight beltholder Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs), against whom he will pursue his eighth title belt over five weight classes on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Photo by Tom Hogan, Hogan Photos-Golden Boy Promotions

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com