Bob Velin

USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather Jr., the world's top pound-for-pound boxer, said Tuesday that he and some other investors would be seriously interested in buying the embattled Los Angeles Clippers from Donald Sterling, who was banned for life by the NBA for racist comments and may soon be forced to sell the franchise by NBA owners.

"I can't come in here talking about Mayweather only going to get 3% or 4%," Mayweather, a huge Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers fan, said at the MGM Grand. "I got to get a solid percentage.

"But do we want to buy the Clippers? Yes we do. We're very, very interested in buying the Clippers."

Asked if he would then move the Clippers to Las Vegas, Mayweather said, "No, we'll leave the Clippers right where they're at. Actually when I'm not boxing, I'm at the games all the time anyway, because I can walk to the games (from his Los Angeles home)."

The undefeated fighter, who faces Marcos Maidana on Saturday in a Showtime pay-per-view event reiterated, "Me and my team want to buy the Clippers. And we can afford the Clippers."

Mayweather said the worst part of buying an NBA franchise is that he would have to stop betting.

He also defended Sterling, whose racist comments were documented in an audio released over the weekend and ultimately led to his ban and a $2.5 million fine from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

"I don't have nothing negative to say about the guy," Mayweather said. "He's always treated me with the utmost respect, he has always invited me to games, always. And he always says, 'Floyd, I want you to sit right next to me and my wife.' "