By Dean Berman: Superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he’s not going to be making a comeback, but he will be doing more lucrative exhibition matches from time to time. The 42-year-old Mayweather states that he wants to protect his health and for that reason he won’t be returning to resume his career.
There are a lot of fans that have been asking Mayweather to come back to fight rematches against Manny Pacquiao and Saul Canelo Alvarez. Those are two fighters that Mayweather defeated during his 21-year-old pro career, but he has no interest in facing them again despite massive paydays he’d get against either of them.
Mayweather says his “heath is my wealth”
“I’ve got calls to get back into the ring, but my health is my wealth,” said Mayweather vis skysports.com. “Boxing is a very, very brutal sport. In the last few years a lot of fighters have died inside that squared circle,” said Mayweather.
Mayweather last fought two years ago in defeating UFC star Conor McGregor by a 10th round knockout in a boxing match on August 26, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. At 40, Mayweather looked slow, rusty and not nearly the same fighter he’d been two years earlier when he last fought against Andre Berto in an easy 12 round unanimous decision in 2015.
Mayweather made $300 million from the McGregor fight, which is a massive amount against a novice boxer making his pro debut. Conor made $100 million.
McGregor had never fought in a boxing ring before, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission still sanctioned the fight as a professional match. With the win, Mayweather surpassed former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record with his 50th victory. It wasn’t the ideal way for Mayweather to break Marciano’s record, obviously, but his victory still counted as a professional win.
Mayweather will still do exhibition matches
“You have got to know when to hang it up. I had a great career.”I’ll still travel and do exhibitions,” said Mayweather. “I make great money doing exhibitions – between $10 and $30million.
The chances are high that Mayweather would lose to Pacquiao and Canelo if he were to return to the ring to face either of them. Those fighters are still performing at a high level, and unlike Mayweather, they’ve stayed active with their careers. They’re not just fighting exhibition or facing MMA guys with zero experience in boxing.
Mayweather fought 11 months ago in defeating Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa by a 1st round knockout in an exhibition match on December 31 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. For beating Nasukawa, Mayweather earned $9 million.
Interest in Mayweather’s exhibition matches could die off
Mayweather might not be able to continue to enjoy getting big money for fighting exhibition matches like he earned against Nasukawa. By failing to remain active with his career, Mayweather is slowly killing it, as he’s not seen enough by boxing fans for them to keep up interest.
At this point, it would be unlikely that Mayweather would get between $10 million to $30 million to face another MMA guy in a boxing match.
Those types of fights have diminishing returns, especially for an against fighter likely Mayweather who isn’t active with their career. At some point, fans aren’t eager to see a guy in his 40s beating the brakes off of a fighter with no experience in boxing.
There are fights that fans would like to see Mayweather take part in, but unfortunately for him, they’re against active fighters like Canelo, Pacquiao and Gennadiy Golovkin. With Mayweather’s new stance on wanting to protect his health, he’s not going to fight those guys.
Watching Mayweather beat up hapless non-boxers in exhibition fights is something that has a short shelf life. The further Mayweather gets from his former professional boxing career, the fewer fans will want to watch him. The newer fans of the sport only know Mayweather from his mismatches against MMA fighters Nasukawa and McGregor.