“Like I said before, it’s not about the money. It’s for the love of the sport. I love the sport of boxing, but of course, it gotta make business sense,” stated undefeated multi-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. as he spoke to HBO commentator Jim Lampley via satellite this past weekend immediately following the rebroadcast of his successful return to the ring against Juan Manuel Marquez. Cheerful and all smiles, Mayweather was surprisingly modest in his assessment of his performance, stating that although he felt good, he could still get better.
Obviously, the question on everyone’s mind is who’s next? Although Mayweather is never one to duck or dodge an opponent, he’s certainly good at playing his cards close to his chest as he refused to even hint at what may be in store for his future. In fact, the only thing Money Mayweather did clarify was that although he’s fighting for the love of the sport as opposed to money, any future opponent would have to make good “business sense.” Check out other highlights from the conversation below.
On his performance in his win over Marquez…
“I felt good last Saturday. The main thing that I wanted to do was just go out and display my skills and just be the best that I can be in the sport of boxing and, you know, after the two year layoff, I came back, but I think I can still improve and I can still get better.”
“I was pressing the attack, but Marquez, he’s a very solid opponent. He’s tough and he wouldn’t go down for nothing so, you know, hopefully in our next fight, we get the knockout.”
On the success of the pay-per-view event…
“I’m just blessed. I just want to say thank you to all the fans that tuned in and bought the pay-per-view. I appreciate the support. Mayweather Promotions is going to continue to keep moving forward.”
On his confrontation with Shane Mosley…
“They was already setting that up. I could see that Bernard Hopkins I guess told Shane Mosley to get in the ring and be disrespectful, but like I said before, Shane Mosley is a good fighter. I wish him nothing but the best in his career.”
On future bouts with Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley or Miguel Cotto…
“He’s a good fighter. He’s a good fighter.”
“Like I said before, it’s not about the money. It’s for the love of the sport. I love the sport of boxing, but of course, it gotta make business sense.”
On not making the 144-pound catchweight in his bout with Marquez:
“Any fight over 140 is a welterweight fight. I wanted to fight and feel comfortable.”
