They say that boxing is the theatre of the unexpected and such was the case this morning as the sport was hit with the news that Floyd Mayweather is again contemplating a break from the sport. Speaking with Viva Sports/Insidesports.ph, Mayweather spoke on his future and pointed to another layoff in order to attend to other matters in his life outside of the ring. Mayweather stated that he would likely be out of the ring one to two years.
Mayweather was a part of the ?Make a Wish Foundation? charity affair and made the dreams of young man named Armando come true as he had been dying to come face to face with the superstar. When told that Armando was looking forward to Mayweather facing reigning WBO Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, Floyd changed gears and broke the unfortunate news at his personal gym in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For a fighter who means so much to the sport and who is connected to a fight that would be huge in terms of history, this is definitely disappointing news and a few random thoughts pop to my head when analyzing Mayweather?s statements.
Money
What is definitely confusing is that by taking a one or two year hiatus from the sport Mayweather would practically cutting his own wrists in terms of financial rewards. A Pacquiao-Mayweather clash was epic in terms of financial revenue and Mayweather was likely to pocket well over 40 million for the bout. Pacquiao has let it be known that he is close to the end of his road, with his upcoming bout in November possibly being his last, and if Mayweather were to take some time off he would miss out on that lucrative opportunity.
In recent years Mayweather has shown himself to be a reliable star, especially if matched right, as his bouts with Oscar De La Hoy and Shane Mosley were two of the largest non-heavyweight pay per view attractions of all time. The De La Hoya battle generated 2.4 million buys while last month?s Mosley domination pulled in 1.4 million. For those bouts Mayweather was said to have gained $25 million and $40 million, respectively.
What is obvious is that Floyd is a flashy person who loves extravagant things, key reasons as to why he has had money issues over the past years. The more you make the more you spend and Mayweather obviously lacked the budgeting skills to stay completely out of harms way as he has had an unpleasant history with owing money to the IRS as of 2007. Floyd made a great chunk of change against Mosley and would net even more if he were to ever face Pacquiao, all the more reason to question his actions.
Motivation
Ever since his move to the Welterweight division in November 2005 and even a little bit before Mayweather has rubbed many people the wrong way for his braggadocios nature and outspokenness towards his own abilities. Floyd has always been confident but his 147 pounds days have yet to see him in with the likes of such fighters that the public demanded such as Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, or Paul Williams. That in itself lead many to question his motives.
Now more than ever Mayweather has the opportunity to silence his critics with a possible win over the streaking Pacquiao, who has been having tremendous success since vacating the Lightweight division following his victory over David Diaz two summers ago. There are some who feel that Mayweather is simply afraid of setting foot in the ring with Manny and a victory would do wonders for his career.
Any professional who reaches the championship level of the sport is going to appreciate the financial reaping of their labor but there still has to be an element of pride along the way in terms of one?s personal place in the history books. Mayweather certainly cares about his legacy in the sport but you have to wonder where his current motivations stems from.
Misunderstanding
While Mayweather?s words were somewhat alarming that isn?t to say that an absence from the sport will actually take place. Over his years in the spotlight Floyd has often seemed to throw curveballs to the media and this could be another case of premature talk. When Mayweather announced that he would be retiring in 2008 nearly everyone awaited his return to the ring, fully assuming that the spotlight and fame was something that he couldn?t? be away from for too long.
So just as Mayweather is now claiming he will be saying goodbye for 12 to 24 months, so too have many people begun to really question the sincere nature of his words. New York boxing scribe Michael Marley was one of the men in doubt, noting that ?This is Mayweather’s idea of a nifty curveball. If you’re sensible like me, you won’t even take the bat off your shoulder’.
At the end of the day only Floyd Mayweather really knows what is going through his head but I hope for his sake and everyone else?s that he comes to his senses and gives us what we want and what he deserves in a potentially epic clash with Pacquiao.
