Floyd Mayweather is 38 years old. He has fought 47 times as a professional boxer, and 90 times before that as an amateur. He has won every title belt imaginable and ? new-car habit aside ? more money than he can possibly spend, especially after the $200 million he?s likely to earn from Saturday?s fight with Manny Pacquiao lands in his account.
So what, if anything, is there left for Mayweather to do in the ring? Will his long-awaited bout with Pacquiao be his last? If a cryptic, handwritten letter to his support staff is to be believed, it could be.
The Guardian?s Kevin Mitchell, who?s in Las Vegas for the fight, has the story:
Floyd Mayweather has sent a private, handwritten note to members of his staff, the intensely loyal people who service his every whim around the clock, the tone of which suggests the unbeaten champion has come to terms with saying goodbye to boxing at 38.
The farewell is scheduled for September, but Mayweather?s latest gesture will inspire speculation that he could make a call immediately after he fights Manny Pacquiao here on Saturday night, depending on the result and the performance in their unification world welterweight title bout.
?I cannot be your saviour forever, everything has to end some time,? he informed the disciples who adore him like a Messiah, from the man whose job during sparring is to insert chewing gum in his employer?s mouth when he rests, to the guy who washes his 38 luxury cars.
It sounded as if he were already assembling P45s for members of the ever-referenced Money Team, who will accompany him on 3am visits to a local hamburger chain or prepare his Bugatti for a midnight spin. Certainly the short note added substance to his earlier declaration: ?I?m close to the big four-oh. I?m very, very close.?
?It?s about that time for me to walk away,? Mayweather, who has one more fight on his contract with Showtime following the Pacquiao bout, said per The Post?s Rick Maese earlier this week.
Whether that will be a rematch with Pacquiao ? especially if Mayweather loses Saturday or the fight is close ? or a cake-walk send-off against a lesser foe remains to be seen. Or he could just bag it altogether. But one thing seems fairly clear: It?s looking more and more likely that Mayweather has very few fights left in him.
After spending the first 17 years of his Post career writing and editing, Matt and the printed paper had an amicable divorce in 2014. He’s now blogging and editing for the Early Lead and the Post’s other Web-based products.
