The list of realistic possible opponents may be so small as to discourage Mayweather from bothering to come back at all?
It?s hard to imagine that Floyd Mayweather would be content with sitting around his Vegas strip club all day, eating Twizzlers and supervising his crew as they post glowingly awesome ?Girl Collection? Yelp reviews at a third grade level.
That?s why the rumor of a return to the ring was not at all unbelievable when it popped up earlier this week.
Mind you, this word came from online gossip site TMZ via unnamed source?so, yeah, grain of salt. But, according to them, Mayweather had ?been training like a maniac in the gym? and that ?people close to Floyd say he?s still in fighting shape?ready to go? and ?kicking around the idea of another comeback.?
No opponent was said to be in the platinum encrusted crosshairs just yet, but realistically, we all knew that, at this point, only massive paydays would be considered against exhibition-level opposition.
However, shortly after the TMZ story began to circulate, Mayweather, himself, squashed the rumors of him returning to the ring under any circumstances and for any price. But fight fans know better than to rule out any comeback in this sport.
So, let?s take a look at who Mayweather could face if he should decide to return for one more moment of glory.
The perfect fit would be a part two with Conor McGregor, who made for a mega-lucrative late summer pay-per-view hit this past August. Mayweather?s carrying of the UFC star for several rounds before lowering the boom was perhaps less magnanimous gesture and more about shrewd role playing to create the impression that McGregor was competitive early on in the bout. The illusion of competitiveness could be enough to sell a return bout to many of the same casual fans and curious onlookers who purchased the event the first time.
Among active fighters, only Manny Pacquiao and Saul Alvarez could deliver Mayweather the kind of payday that might pique his interest for a comeback. Neither rematch, however, may fit in the mold of a quick, easy score for Mayweather?s purposes. A dark horse candidate could be faded warhorse Antonio Margarito, who Mayweather was accused of ducking for years after splitting from Bob Arum and Top Rank Promotions. A battered, virtually one-eyed Margarito won?t deliver much salability as a B-side, but a one-sided schooling of the ?Tijuana Tornado? might be a nice ego boost on which to finally end Floyd?s career.
A favorite in the race for potential ?Money? comeback foe has to be Oscar De La Hoya, a fellow retiree who has never stopped stewing over his loss 2007 split decision loss to Mayweather. ?The Golden Boy? has been pining away for revenge for over a decade and takes swipes at Floyd and his legacy whenever the opportunity presents itself (mostly since Mayweather stopped working with Golden Boy Promotions in pursuing B-sides for his PPV dates). The 44-year-old promoter has already talked about being in ?secret? training for a possible comeback (against McGregor), but he?d likely jump at the idea of stepping back in the ring with Mayweather for a potential eight-figure check. Mayweather, on the other hand, may not be so happy to grant a big payday to someone who has been trying to undercut him for years.
The list of realistic possible opponents for another Mayweather comeback is small. And it may be so small as to discourage Mayweather from bothering to come back at all?which, really, is not a bad thing.
At this point, the five-division former world champ may better serve humanity as a hands-on strip club owner.
