Floyd Mayweather’s not going to win any more fans for this move.  The morning of the Mayweather-Pacquaio fight two prominent sports media personalities – Michelle Beadle of ESPN and Rachel Nichols of Turner Sports – said they were banned from attending tonight’s fight in Las Vegas.

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Why would Mayweather’s people not want Beadle or Nichols present?  Both have been outspoken with regards to Mayweather’s domestic violence past.  Nichols tweeted out this interview with Mayweather from last fall:

And Beadle sent these tweets last year when she took a second look at her past involvement with the controversial fighter:

Mayweather’s history with domestic violence has caused many individuals to boycott tonight’s fight.  The fact that his camp is now actively blocking credentials of two of the most popular women in the sports media world who have dared to bring that to light is only going to intensify the backlash against him.

How the Mayweather camp could think this is a good idea is truly astounding.  It gives the appearance that Mayweather and his handlers are trying to shut down two prominent women in the sports media world and will only embolden his harshest critics.  Does Mayweather’s camp think that by blocking Nichols and Beadle from the arena tonight it’s going to make all of his problems go away?  Please.  It’s one of the most short-sighted and narrow-minded decisions in a long time.

UPDATE: It’s boxing, so this situation has to get weird.  See if you can follow along with the latest developments…

Publicist Kelly Swanson tweeted that neither Nichols nor Beadle’s credentials were pulled, denying what the two reporters tweeted:

Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reports that in addition to Mayweather and Beadle, USA Today’s Martin Rogers was declined a credential:

And to add to the quagmire, there are multiple reports that Beadle’s situation is being resolved and she will have a credential for the fight:

For her part, Beadle says her credential was pulled and then re-approved.  She says she won’t be covering the fight tonight and focusing on her beloved Spurs facing off against the Clippers.

We’ll continue to update as more details come in.

UPDATE II: ESPN’s Jeremy Schapp files this report, which seems like the most logical way this all played out – that Beadle and Nichols’ credentials were messed with, decisions were reversed, but the reporters chose to take a stand.

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