Will Floyd Mayweather's Money Troubles Impact His Peformance in 2013?

There's an awful lot of smoke about Floyd Mayweather's finances.

Problems with the Internal Revenue Service, an obsession with sports gambling and a lack of investment income are the major financial issues that are associated with Mayweather outside the ring.

He has earned more than $40 million in a given night because of his incredible boxing talent, but it seems obvious that he doesn't know how to take care of his money.

Mayweather has made a point of tweeting out some of the larger bets he has made through the years. Mayweather is partial to sports bets on football and basketball, and he makes a point of letting fans know how much money he has won in a particular bet (source: Yahoo.com).

Occasionally, he will point out when he has lost a bet, but his winning bets have garnered most of the publicity.

It's very unlikely that Mayweather has won money over the long run on his sports bets. There are professional sports bettors who can make money by betting against the spread, but that requires the same kind of research and study that takes hours and hours.

Few sports bettors can stay ahead of the game by betting on whims, trends or their own dime-store handicapping efforts.

Mayweather and 50 Cent were in the process of promoting fights together, but according to the musician, Mayweather backed out

50 Cent told BadLeftHook.com that one of the reasons that Mayweather pulled out is that he doesn't have the money to invest because he follows a pattern of "fight, get the money, spend the money, fight."

Mayweather has also had issues with the IRS in the past (therichest.org).

Will financial issues have an impact on Mayweather's career in the ring from this point forward?

It's difficult for any individual to ignore financial issues when they crop up. When you go to work every day, or try to interact with family members, those financial issues can be difficult to escape.

As talented as Mayweather is in the ring, he is still a human being with problems and worries.

He may never admit them in public (or in private), but he wouldn't be human if he wasn't bothered by the mistakes he has made in his life.

Mayweather can't afford to be distracted when he gets in the ring. While he is acknowledged to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of his era, he can still be hit hard and he can still be hurt in the ring.

If Mayweather can't give his best effort while training because he is distracted by financial problems, he may not go into the ring at his best.

Mayweather's supporters may point out that he has always been able to rise above any distractions in the past and still maintain his undefeated record (43-0-0).

His training methods and his performance while getting ready for his fights have usually been stellar. When Mayweather puts his mind on his business, he is the best fighter in the world and difficult to hit.

But when distractions mount—especially of the financial variety—a stellar performer may no longer remain at the top of his game.