Floyd Mayweather opens up on the only way he'd unretire and fight again
In 2009, Floyd Mayweather Jr. came out of his first “retirement” for a minimum $10 million payday and a unanimous decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez.
Last year, Mayweather came out of “retirement” again, this time to face UFC star Conor McGregor. Mayweather breezed to a victory and reportedly earned at least $180 million for the bout.
Now seemingly back in retirement, Mayweather insists that he’s done for good with boxing. However, he said he would fight again — on one condition.
It has to be in the octagon.
"If I do come back, it has to be in the octagon. – @FloydMayweather #LaraHurd pic.twitter.com/hGOxMMMdil
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 8, 2018
“Retirement has been great, but as you know and everybody knows, I go into retirement, I come back. I go into retirement, I come back,” he said Saturday night on a Showtime Boxing telecast. “Is it possible that I come back? Yes, but if I do come back, it has to be in the octagon.”
This isn’t the first time that Mayweather has teased of joining the world of MMA. In January, he posted a video to Instagram showing himself stepping inside an octagon.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeoiiZHhK4g/?hl=en&taken-by=floydmayweather
“2018 — Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, MMA. What are the odds, Patty? What are the odds?” he said in the video.
The “Patty” reference could be seen as a shot at McGregor and his Irish heritage. Many have speculated that since McGregor made the jump from MMA to boxing, Mayweather would return the favor and step into McGregor’s home turf of the octagon.
But recent developments regarding McGregor, who was arrested last week on assault charges, have put the UFC fighter’s MMA future in doubt.
Mayweather alluded to McGregor’s issues on Saturday, but also indicated that it’s a matter of when, not if, the longtime boxer makes an appearance in the octagon.
"I can do whatever I want to do, I'm @FloydMayweather" #LaraHurd pic.twitter.com/EaqCSe7DI3
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 8, 2018
“You know, Conor McGregor has other things to deal with,” Mayweather said. “When I do join the octagon, I look forward to going to probably around 145, if that’s a weight class. I think around 145.”
When asked to confirm if he wanted to become an MMA fighter, Mayweather responded, “Absolutely. Only if the money is right. The money will always be right.”
It seems as though Mayweather’s potential foray into MMA would be just like his unretirements from boxing. That is, he’ll make a decision based off of how much he thinks he’ll get paid.
At this point in his career, Mayweather says he’s only interested in nine-figure paydays, so it will cost a pretty penny for UFC or any other MMA promotion to land him.
With McGregor’s issues, Ronda Rousey in WWE and Jon Jones’ fighting license revoked, UFC’s biggest stars are inactive. Thus, it wouldn’t be a surprise if UFC President Dana White does decide to give Mayweather what he wants in order to get him to transition to MMA.
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