IT is no wonder he has decided he wants to be called Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather – he generates bucket-loads of the stuff.
Figures do not lie and the latest numbers issued in America prove Mayweather is by far boxing’s biggest attraction.
More than one million US homes bought the HBO pay-per-view telecast of his comeback fight against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, bringing in $32.5million. A staggering financial return, considering it was a non-title fight and a Mayweather victory was considered a foregone conclusion.
It is only the fifth time in pay-per-view history that a non-heavyweight battle has soared above the million mark.
If further evidence was needed about Mayweather’s marketability, his last three fights have been seen in 4.4million American homes and produced revenue of $188million.
Mayweather’s master-class against Marquez was nearly two weeks ago but fight folk on both sides of the Atlantic are still drooling at the memory.
Freddie Roach, trainer of Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, could not resist sending Floyd a sarcastic well-done message.
It said: “Many congratulations on beating the best lightweight in the world.”
Certainly, Mayweather’s brilliant performance must be put in perspective.
He was facing a very much smaller man.
Nevertheless, his remarkable speed of thought and movement, at times, was breathtaking – particularly as he had been out of the ring for almost two years.
The Moneyman, who earned $6million, went through his full repertoire in a dazzling display that completely outclassed Marquez, a great fighter in his own division.
Watching Mayweather had me wondering which of the superstar welterweights I covered had the necessary tools to penetrate his seemingly impregnable defences.
Would Carlos Palamino, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, Don Curry, Marvin Starling or Lloyd Honeyghan have been gifted enough to put an end to Mayweather’s 40-fight unbeaten run?
I think not. I believe the only one who had the skills and mental strength to outfox and outfight a near faultless Floyd was Sugar Ray Leonard.
Leonard at his very best was almost perfection. If he and Mayweather were to meet today, I am sure they would shatter the pay-per-view record of 2.2million buys.
Leonard may be 53 but he still retains the same highly-charged, competitive instincts that enabled him to prevail over Duran, Hearns and Marvin Hagler in the 1980s.
So I called him at his Los Angeles home this week to ask if he thought he could have taken care of Mayweather in similar style.
Sugar Ray chuckled and said: “If only I was 25 years younger, I’d be glad to show you how to do it.
“Fighters like Mayweather come along once in a generation and I’m one of his biggest fans “He is a tremendous talent with remarkable reflexes and, in many ways, reminds me of myself. He’s certainly as arrogant as I was.
“Floyd is incredibly fast and he’s extremely difficult to nail with a solid shot.
“And nothing would have given me greater pleasure than to pit my wit against his.
“The one vital difference between us is that I was a much more aggressive fighter than Floyd and I also punched much harder.
“My greater strength would have been the decisive factor. But I know it wouldn’t have been easy.”
Fans worldwide are now hoping for a showdown between Mayweather and Pacquiao, which would be next year’s Fight of the Century.
Sugar Ray added: “Pacquiao, with his blinding hand-speed, would have a great chance of winning.
“I’ve never had to pay to see a fight in my life but I’d put my hand in my pocket to sit at ringside for that one.”
And so would I.
