So, for at least the third time now, Floyd ?Money? Mayweather has decided to call it a career.
The welterweight champ and pound-for-pound king has made retirement vows before, but apparently this time he?s super-duper serious about it. A big-bucks fall rematch with Oscar De La Hoya is off, along with potential mega-matches against Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, et al.
Simple logic says the loss of Mayweather at 31 is bad for a sport lacking marketable names. Actually, it might turn out to be a break for boxing.
First of all, how excited were you about a Mayweather-De La Hoya rematch? The first one wasn?t exactly a thrill-fest, and Mayweather wasn?t likely to alter his elusive style in the return bout.
De La Hoya, who remains boxing?s most bankable star, still plans to fight twice more this year before retiring. With Mayweather out of the picture, maybe one of those matches will be fun to watch.
Mayweather (39-0) could make for fun fights if he were more willing to mix it up. Instead, he?s mastered a slick, slippery style that keeps him out of harm?s way and allows him to pile up points on the cards.
Can?t blame a guy for wanting to avoid punishment, but let?s face it: The main reason you wanted to watch a Mayweather fight was that you hoped he?d lose. His three biggest-grossing bouts ? against De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Arturo Gatti ? were each driven by his more popular opponents.
With Mayweather out of the way, more crowd-pleasing fighters such as Cotto, Manny Pacquiao, Joe Calzaghe, Kelly Pavlik and Israel Vazquez will vie for the top pound-for-pound spot. Meanwhile, Mayweather can lurk in the shadows the way Lennox Lewis still lurks over today?s heavyweights, the comeback rumors popping up every few months.
Maybe a rising star such as Cotto can become a big enough force to urge ?Money? out of retirement. When Mayweather comes back (and they almost always do in boxing), it could create electricity rivaling his fight with De La Hoya last May.
And in the end, isn?t that exactly what boxing needs?
