Former pound for pound number one boxer Floyd Mayweather has been hounded for a comeback in recent years but hasn’t helped things himself in some regards.
Ever the PR genius, Floyd knew the value of threatening comebacks and leaving things open ended in retorts to questions about whether or not he’d be coming back for one last fight.
Like so many boxers have done before him.
Moves that rarely ever end well, to be honest.
Fighters like Joe Calzaghe, Lennox Lewis and Andre Ward in recent years who’ve got out and left the sport on top and on their terms are far and few between.
As for Floyd, like many a crafty American businessman before him, he knows the power of the response ‘I don’t know’ when it comes to responding to questions about his future plans.
Plans that could change in an instant, on a daily basis, never committal and always remaining flexible without ties — when one observes Floyd’s career path over the years.
He knows the power of unpredictability and I’d expect him to keep his options fully open in the coming years as regards whatever endeavors he gets involved in.
But as for his professional boxing career he has now made a final decision.
Well, so he says.
Speaking to Sky Sports he’s ruled it out once and for all now by saying:
“My health is my wealth.”
Powerful words.
Particularly from a man who’s whole persona and moniker over the years has been Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.
Sure, he could make shed loads of money by fighting on but in the end — the truth came out in his words above.
You can’t put a price on your health.
At any rate, he’s made plenty of money and can do so in the future without getting punched in the face.
Now, does that mean we might see him still come back in exhibition-type bout again in the future?
I’d imagine we will.
But as for a legitimate, professional boxing contest against top-level competition in the sport?
Forget it.
He’s not going to risk that at this point and I don’t blame him.
A smart move by one of the sport’s great fighters.
From a boxing perspective, I’d like to see him get more hands on and involved with his fighters at his promotional company though.
He has gotten a bit lazy in this regard in recent years.
Not just giving advice outside the ring to his fighters but crucially — more inside the squared circle to his fighters.
This recent video suggests that he could be giving more food for thought towards passing on some of those intuitive sweet science gifts he possesses to the next generation:
As for now, Mayweather’s main fighter in his promotional stable that he is promoting as his next big star is Baltimore’s Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
25-year-old Davis at this particular time holds a professional boxing record of 22-0-21 KO.
