George Floyd funeral: Private service to be held in Houston on Tuesday

Sporting figures from around the world have spoken out in condemnation of Floyd's death in May

Image: The family of George Floyd will family will hold a private funeral service in Houston on Tuesday

Floyd Mayweather is expected to be among the mourners at the funeral of George Floyd, whose death has sparked worldwide protests against racism, inequality and police brutality, on Tuesday.

The retired boxing champion offered to cover the funeral expenses, which the Floyd family reportedly accepted, with family and friends set to be joined by political, religious and civil rights leaders at the private service in Houston.

Figures from the world of sport, including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Lewis Hamilton have expressed their condemnation at the death of Floyd, an unarmed black man, in May, with many showing their solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement amid ongoing protests.

Six-time NBA champion Jordan described the death of Floyd as a "tipping point" for African Americans, after making a $100m donation to organisations supporting racial equality.

Heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua described racism as a "pandemic" while he addressed protesters at a Black Lives Matter march in his hometown of Watford on Saturday.

More than a dozen NFL stars have united to send a passionate video message on racial inequality to the league, who say they know they 'need to do more'

That message was echoed by England and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling as he backed protests taking place across the UK, amid government warnings to avoid mass gatherings because of the threat of coronavirus.

"This is the most important thing at this moment in time because this is something that is happening for years and years," Sterling, 25, told BBC's Newsnight programme.

On Saturday, all 22 outfield players from both Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin took a knee to support the Black Lives Matter movement prior to the kick off of their Bundesliga fixture.

This came a week after England international Jadon Sancho was among a number of players to send a message of solidarity to protesters as he revealed a 'Justice for George Floyd' T-shirt after scoring for Borussia Dortmund.