Pacquiao, like Mayweather (in September 2015) announced his intention to step away from the sport in April but just three months later the newly-elected Filipino Senator was planning a return.
Asked by a reporter in the dressing room of protégé Danny Gonzalez on Saturday night what he thought of Pacquiao ‘returning for the money.’ Mayweather gave the following response.
“It’s your team. It’s all about who you surround yourself with,” said Mayweather in an interview recorded by Elie Seckbach.
“I don’t know who is his promoter. I gave him the option before about fighting him the first time. I think I offered him $40 million but I told him I’d wire him $20 million within 48 hours.
“At that particular time, he told me he wanted 50-50 and he got off the phone. I think I was set to make probably $75 (million) at that time, somewhere upwards of 75 but it’s all about timing.
“I took my time, waited, communicated and leading up to the fight always made smart investments. Leading up to the fight – that week, we made something like $30 million cash. And for the Canelo fight too, for those to fights we made $400 million – just for those two fights.
“You know I was blessed. I think luck was on my side. I came around in the right time – in the nineties and I built my fan base before all this social media. It wasn’t easy.
“The ultimate goal is to bring these California fans to Las Vegas,” he added.
Mayweather, 39, once again declared himself out of the physical side of boxing for good during his informal chat with the media as rival Pacquiao prepares to challenge for yet another world title in the fall.
