Mayweather: I have no temptation to get win No.50

By Boxing News - 09/13/2015 - Comments

Floyd Mayweather WinsBy Tim Fletcher: After his victory last Saturday night over former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (30-4, 23 KOs), Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) announced his retirement from boxing, saying that he’d accomplished all there was to accomplish after 19 years in the sport.

Mayweather, 38, says he’s not tempted at all to continue his career in search of win No.50 to break Rocky Marciano’s 60-year-old record that he set in 1955. Mayweather says he’s more concerned with leaving the sport right now while his mind is still intact, and his health good.

Mayweather says he’s worried about taking punishment if he decides to fight on in his career.
While Mayweather likely could win his 50th victory easily, he would be facing great pressure to fight better fighters than Berto, guys like Amir Khan, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia or Tim Bradley.

Those aren’t easy outs even for someone like Mayweather. He would have to take a certain amount of punishment in beating one of those fighters to get his 50th win of his career. Mayweather couldn’t cherry pick another fighter at Berto’s level without making a mockery of own legacy in the sport.

It’s bad enough that he equaled Marciano’s record facing Berto instead of a quality fighter at 147, but it would be a lot worse for Mayweather if he picked out someone along the same levels to break the record.

“It’s over. I dropped to my knees and thanked God. It’s over!” Mayweather said to ESPN.com about him now retiring from the sport of boxing after 19 years as a pro. “I’ve had a great career. I’m older. After each of my fights my hands are steadily breaking down. My body is breaking down. It’s not breaking down from taking punishment, but from the hard work. So it’s time for me to hang it up. I had a great career. I want to leave the sport sharp, smart with all my faculties. But I’m very, very happy with how my career played out. No temptation at all [to comeback for win No.50].”

It remains to be seen whether Mayweather will actually stay out of the sport without making a comeback. You’d have to assume that with Mayweather’s huge entourage, with his gambling and spending habits, he’ll burn through his fortune in no time. Even in one year out of the sport, it wouldn’t be surprising for Mayweather to have spent a huge chunk of his fortune. For that reason, we could see Mayweather back either in 2016 or 2017, when or if his cash flow starts dipping to dangerously levels where it needs replenishing. The thing is the longer Mayweather stays out of the sport the harder it will be for him to get the big money that he’s been receiving. That’s why it’s always important for fighters to be careful with their money when they retire.

“I look forward to watching football tomorrow and probably bet big money on one of the teams,” Mayweather said. “I was a lot younger before [when Mayweather stopped fighting from 2007 to 2009], and it was just a vacation. I needed time. I needed a break, but now I’m knocking at the door. I’m almost 40, and I had a great career, an immaculate career. Floyd Mayweather was an amazing fighter inside the ring, and he’d even smart outside the ring,” Mayweather said.



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