Video footage surfaced last week of Floyd Mayweather admitting that he may be taking a break from boxing for a couple of years at a Make A Wish Foundation charity event. This has sparked outrage amongst the fans who want to see a Pacquiao vs Mayweather bout which has been heavily rumoured to take place in November.
I, for one, don’t buy that he will!
There is no other guy out there that can make him the type of money that he would receive in the Mega Fight we all want to see.
Paul ‘The Punisher’ Williams would make for an exciting fight but he doesn’t have the pulling power that Manny has and Floyd has already just dealt with Mosley, the second biggest Welterweight star.
I do not believe that many people would be trusting Kermit Cintron a whole lot after his Superman type leap out of the ring against Williams, and he has shown he can be heavily outboxed by a pure, slick boxer in Martinez.
Who is going to be around in two years in the Welterweight division? Miguel Cotto has just left and has gone up to the Light-Middleweight division.
While a Mayweather vs Cotto bout was marketable three years ago, a lot of the magic that Cotto had before has disappeared in light of his losses to Pacquiao and, controversially, Margarito.
A move to Light-Middleweight would be a move that Floyd could easily make but he would be persecuted to no end for not getting into the ring with Manny.
Mayweather is also 33 years old. He cannot afford to take two years off because his style will not allow him to. It relies on quick reflexes and those reflexes start to wane when a boxer usually hits their mid 30’s.
A major marketing tool that Floyd has is his undefeated record and he always that in conjunction with him playing the villain to get the television ratings and bums on arena seats. People want to see him lose and Floyd thrives on that!
If he retired for two years and came back at 35, it would be risky for him to continue to use that.
Considering Floyd has fully confessed that money takes precedent over legacy, those two years off may just come back to bite him where the sun does not shine because I do not believe he will get a big pay day against anybody else, either at the Light-Middleweight division or at Welterweight, like he would against Manny.
Floyd Mayweather isn’t that stupid!
The real reason, I believe for him saying what he did last week, is leverage. He pulled the same stunt after his fight with Carlos Baldomir back in 2006 and he got the biggest fight and pay day of his career against Oscar De La Hoya six months later.
The Pacquiao camp won’t take any nonsense from Mayweather or his team and I am sure they will not be falling victim to any mind games they may pull either.
The temporary retirement stunt has been played by boxers in the past.
Sugar Ray Leonard quit a number of times to get the upper hand over his opponents even though he would never fully admit to this.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to money. No surprise there!
Both Mayweather and Pacquiao have both proved they are boxing stars in their own right and should settle for, no less, than 50/50 each. I am not so sure Mayweather would see it the same way I do and he has said that “all roads” lead to him. Of course, that statement made by Floyd last week may even just be all part of the continuation to keep hyping their showdown.
And if that is the case, it is certainly working!
To all you dedicated and passionate fans out there, I really wouldn’t worry about this. The fight is too rich not to get made and I believe Floyd is doing his usual to keep stirring the hype pot. If there is one thing that Mayweather is great at, besides using his skills against his opponents, it’s his excellent ability to hype fights and play the villain!
Time and time again, his PR work seems to play off successfully.
And perhaps that is a good thing because come the time when the fight does eventually roll around, whether it is later this year or next year at some point, I believe it will be one of the biggest events boxing has ever seen!
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