With world championships in five different weight divisions, an undefeated record of 49-0 and a C.V that rivals the best of all time, Mayweather truly is one of the best boxers to ever lace up a pair of gloves.
Bowing out with a low-key victory over Andre Berto last September, Mayweather has stayed out of the gym and travelled the world, with his latest trip coming at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in a scouting capacity.
The 39 year-old firmly has his promotional hat on at the moment but I can’t help but wonder if Mayweather really wants to leave the sport the way he did as the likes of Gennady Golovkin, Roman Gonzalez, Sergey Kovalev, Andre Ward and former opponent Canelo Alvarez bid to take over from the ‘Money’ man at the summit.
Mayweather easily controlled his fight with Berto, probably just as he had envisaged when selecting the Haitian-American, but it remains a strange decision to step away from the ring on the back of equalling Rocky Marciano’s retirement record.
One more win is needed to reach an eye-popping 50-0 as a professional, and given Floyd’s need to be considered ‘The Best Ever,’ it makes me wonder when the official statement of his comeback will eventually be released.
Fights with Conor McGregor just don’t cut it for the die-hard fans, whilst there are those who are happy to see the back of Mayweather following what was a disappointing night against rival Manny Pacquiao in a fight which happened far too late in May 2015.
Is a rematch with Pacquiao warranted? – Probably not. But both fighters have the capacity to make a fight great and just need the right mix of ingredients at the right time to fight out a better contest than last time – something that wouldn’t be hard to top.
The Golovkin ship has now sailed as ‘GGG’ eyes a move up in weight next year, leaving a shortlist of three or four that could make a fight with Mayweather dangerous enough for spectator interest to increase again.
There will always be pay-per-view buyers that hand over their cash just to see Mayweather lose but I believe Keith Thurman, Amir Khan or Danny Garcia would give the pound for pound king a way back to posting decent PPV numbers after the Berto debacle.
A successful comeback could then lead to a rematch with a now more seasoned Canelo – or indeed Pacquiao, although with Mayweather over halfway to his 40th birthday, the odds of a return are decreasing by the day.
