Floyd Mayweather Comments on Retirement and Potential 50th Fight
Floyd Mayweather has reiterated his desire to remain retired, insisting he is happy playing a much more significant role in promotion rather than thinking about a landmark 50th fight.
The undefeated American was speaking on Premier Boxing Champions: Toe-to-Toe Tuesday on Fox Sports 1 and insisted he will not be making a return to the ring following his final fight against Andre Berto (h/t Jake Donovan of BoxingScene.com).
“I'm not coming back, but…” teased Mayweather when quizzed on the prospect of one more bout by Mauro Ranallo, who was on the broadcast panel. “I'm just happy to be on the other side.”
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The 38-year-old has little to prove at this juncture. His final fight against Berto was hopelessly lopsided and it was a bout that wasn’t befitting of his immense talent, but the 48 that preceded it allowed Money to forge a reputation as a defensive master. Indeed, beating outstanding fighters like Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao is a measure of his quality.
Tom Craze of Bad Left Hook doesn’t think Mayweather has any more worthy foes to go up against anymore and should stay away:
Still, there are few who think Mayweather has genuine intentions of walking away from the sport for good. After all, it was clear against Berto that Money is still in remarkable shape, still possesses incredible instincts and could feasibly fight on for a lot longer yet. So it’d be peculiar if he didn’t step back into the ring one more time at least.
ESPN’s Skip Bayless certainly can’t foresee a permanent retirement, as he revealed in the aftermath of Mayweather’s win over Berto:
The incentives for Floyd to return are huge too. Currently he stands level alongside the great Rocky Marciano with a career record of 49-0. If he could surpass that standard, Mayweather would have a potentially more legitimate claim to being one of the greatest fighters of all time, a mantle he claims he holds already, but few really agree with.
In addition, although Floyd may not be to everyone’s taste, he’s a huge figure in the sport and a massive character. Laceupboxing thinks a lot of fans will miss his presence more than they anticipate:
Mayweather has done this dance before, having claimed to have retired after beating Ricky Hatton in 2007, before returning 21 months later to go up against Juan Manuel Marquez. Granted, Floyd is older and wiser now, with a lot more fights under his belt, but there’s something not quite right about the 49-0 mark.
The man himself will surely agree and the lure of the 50th fight, accompanied by the prestige it would bring and the lucrative sums involved will surely be too tantalising to turn down. Fans will be divided on whether or not they want to see Mayweather lace up the gloves again, but should he fight a credible opponent, there are few who love boxing that’ll decide not to tune in.
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