DC ExtraTime: Kailah Meets The Money Man

Following is an excerpt from a DCBLOG WRAP during The Challenge Invasion from 
earlier this year, reposted in the interest of readers who don't want to scroll down.

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

As Kailah awaits her fate in whether or not she goes into the first elimination after the merge with the Champions, another well-known luminary has pledged their support for the one who's become the least-liked person in The Challenge Oasis.
   As we told you here last year, she met songstress Halsey at the MTV Movie Awards, months before her collaboration with The Chainsmokers that brought them to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks in "Closer." That song just made history in spending the most ever weeks in the Top 5 of the singles charts, as Grammy winners Drew & Alex just became the third group in BB history to have three singles in the Top 10 at the same time: "Closer," "Paris" and their latest single "Something Just Like This" with Coldplay which they performed last weekend at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, for which they won five awards. Now, another one has Kailah's back - again, with visual proof.

IG @Kailah_Casillas

Back in our first AYTO 'Pulse in January, we mentioned on the side about the possibility that existed of a fight that's come out of nowhere to dominate the talk of those who follow fight sports. The buzz among them the past few weeks, and first generated nearly a year ago, has been of a much ballyhooed prize fight in the sport of boxing between its richest fighter, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and the UFC's biggest star, Conor McGregor. That fight has garnered a lot of talk among fans of boxing and mixed martial arts as its credibility as a legitimate match has garnered the ire of purists on both sides of the ring, notably UFC head honcho - and close friend of TJ Lavin - Dana White.

   Twenty-one years ago as an Olympian, the son of a former world champion, his father Roger, suffered his only meaningful loss in organized competition when Mayweather lost a controversial, close decision to a Bulgarian fighter in the semifinals of the bantamweight class at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. Since then - and when he turned professional shortly after, Floyd has never lost. The last time we saw him in the ring was in 2015 when he went 49-0 in what was his last fight...and don't make us talk about what happened in his previous fight earlier that year, by the way.

Over a week ago - while the stars were in Hollywood for what would be a most memorable Oscars in many retrospects, it was also Floyd's 40th birthday and he celebrated it down in Los Angeles over four days. The weekend included a small kick-off dinner gathering to begin the weekend on Thursday, a roller-skating party on Sunday, and a Showtime-televised boxing card at the Pechanga Resort & Casino on Friday in the Inland Empire, put on by his Mayweather Promotions company.
   The main event came on Saturday at the L.A. Live complex near the Staples Center, which was, as reported by the media, a "official star-studded Oscars-inspired birthday gala" which featured the lavish and over-the-top persona that best fits the man who made $1.3 billion in revenue from his years in the ring. It felt almost exactly like one of the many after parties and viewing parties that took place that weekend that had musical performances, first-class bar and catering, and a guest list that makes you think that this was the biggest party in town and not the Oscars.
   Floyd's BFF of sorts, Justin Bieber, was the most notable of the guest list along with Mariah Carey, Future, Marlon Wayans, Tyrese, Allen Iverson, Morris Chestnut, Fat Joe and Nicole Murphy. No word on whether the Burger King man eavesdropped on the proceedings, but Mariah did have the honor of singing "Happy Birthday" to the Money Man, adding on Instagram that she took an 18-hour flight just to celebrate with him. The cake itself was huge and features a suitcase of money, images of the retired (for now) boxer, a belt, and is topped by, of all things, a crown.

As Kailah has recently moved to Las Vegas, she was joined for the party by the multi-talented Mikey P. Some of you might know him more for his musical work, which he began while he was a teenager in performing alongside Pitbull, Rihanna, Flo-Rida, Jason Derulo and Trey Songz, among others at radio festivals, plus doing movie work in Standing Ovation. But reality TV fans know Mikey from having done a few of these shows, starting on MTV's From G's to Gents in 2008 featuring the most famous valet in hip-hop Fonzworth Bentley, then trying his luck on that testy course of American Ninja Warrior and most recently baring it all on the first season of VH1's Dating Naked.

   And while the big news that emerged from that weekend was of Pretty Boy Floyd's Las Vegas house being broken in while he was down in LA, Floyd and friends, with Kailah and Mikey too, all enjoyed the evening. Kailah tweeted, "We're at @FloydMayweather 40th bday & @iammikeyp is making me take pics with famous people & after I'm like "uh, who was that?" She would then post on Instagram, "thanks for having us tonight @floydmayweather & happy 40th birthday! 🎉", while Mikey added "Tonight was unreal! Thank you so much for inviting us to your birthday party champ! @floydmayweather ...such a fun night for me and @kailah_casillas !"

   If you happen to be one of those who've been invited by Floyd for one of his lavish parties, then you know that you are in the big time. And who knows? They may be there for the event of all events in fight sports should that fight happen. Stay tuned to see what happens there.

- I AM DC