Message to Floyd Mayweather: Be careful what you ask for

If Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants to play the villain in a proposed fight against Manny Pacquiao, there are better ways of going about it.

Clark County District Attorney David Rogers added three more felony counts to what started as a domestic violence case that already had Mayweather charged with theft. 

If convicted on all charges, Mayweather could get up to 34 years in prison. It's highly unlikely that he does anywhere close to that many years, but it could put a significant dent in his aspirations to become the greatest boxer of all time.

Making matters worse was Mayweather's racist, profanity-laced rant against Pacquiao that was caught on video last week.

Mayweather isn't the first boxer to go down the wrong path.

Mike Tyson began his career as a phenom, but ended up a villain. How'd that work out for him? It derailed what could have been an immortal, hall-of-fame career. As it stands now, there is a debate among boxing writers if Tyson will even get into the hall of fame.  

Mayweather is in danger of becoming just another talented athlete who ran afoul of the law.

Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth, who's serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted on a murder-conspiracy charge and the aforementioned Tyson, who did a three-year stint for rape, are just two examples of athletes ruining their careers for no good reason.

Many athletes have made mistakes, but have resurrected themselves in time to salvage their careers. Bernard Hopkins did seven years in prison, but dedicated himself to boxing upon his release and hasn't looked back.

It's a shame that it has come to this for Mayweather, who has already begun to transcend the sport. He still has a chance to keep himself on the positive side of things, but the clock is ticking.

His appearance on WWE, his mega-fight with Oscar de la Hoya that drew over 2.4 million pay-per-view buys his commercial with A&E Channel journalist Bill Kurtis and HBO's acclaimed series 24 / 7 made Mayweather a household name.  That could be all out the window in short order if he doesn't clean up his act outside the ring.

Boxing fans have always been attracted tot he fighter who portrays the "bad-boy" image. But some have taken it too far.

Hopefully Mayweather finds some clarity and can see the thin line between entertainment and reality before it's too late.