Floyd Mayweather Comments on Gennady Golovkin, Coming Out of Retirement

Just six months into his retirement, Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues to deflect questions about a return to the boxing ring and a potential matchup against the undefeated Gennady Golovkin.  

Speaking to Ben Thompson of FightHype.com in a story published Thursday, Mayweather said there are two things Golovkin needs to do to earn the right to challenge him: "When you hear stuff about Triple G, like I said before, I told Triple G what he had to do if he wants a fight with me. He's gotta call out Andre Ward, beat Andre Ward, and then I'll fight him. I haven't seen him call out Andre Ward yet."

Golovkin is scheduled to fight Dominic Wade on April 23 in California. Abel Sanchez, Golovkin's trainer, told Jenna J of On The Ropes Boxing on March 19 that Mayweather is planting seeds for a potential matchup against Triple G in the future: 

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I think you lay the ground work, you say things to see how people react, you say things to see if it’s something that the public wants and he’s gauging that. We’ve always known that Floyd was a great businessman, so it’s all part of a plan for him. There’s nothing that he says or does that is not calculated.

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Per Thompson's report, Mayweather responded to those comments by Sanchez about his plans for possibly stepping back into the boxing ring:

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Listen, if I want to fight someone, believe me, I'll call you up. As of right now, let me rest. All I'm saying is let me rest. Let me rest. Please let me get 365 days of just rest. 'When you gonna fight again? When you gonna fight again?' All I want to do is just enjoy being retired. It's crazy, I told them when I leave, they still gonna miss me. 

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Mayweather went on to say the only person he would consider fighting if he did make a comeback is Danny Garcia because "he's undefeated and he's a world champion."

In February, FightHype.com captured video of Mayweather saying a fight with Golovkin would be tricky because of the weight difference before adding he would easily defeat the 33-year-old (h/t Allan Fox of Boxing News 24): "I can barely make 147, so how am I gonna fight at 160? Triple G, not being disrespectful, but he's straight up and down, no special effects. That's easy work. With the [Manny] Pacquiao fight, you know, 10 rounds to two, that was a blowout."

Sanchez is right about Mayweather never saying anything that isn't calculated. Even before he retired, the undefeated former champion would always put feelers out to make sure there was a mass market for his fights that would draw big numbers on pay-per-view. 

No retirement is ever forever in boxing. Mayweather doesn't say that he intends to fight again, but he did throw out an opponent he would take on in the event of a comeback, so the door hardly seems closed. 

Golovkin, who is also undefeated with 31 knockouts in 34 career fights, has a lot of momentum on his side. Mayweather just wants to control the path in which he takes if a bout between the two were to ever happen.