Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s Possible Return To Boxing Commented On By Showtime Sports Executive President
In 2017, boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced a retirement after finishing his career undefeated, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation that he’s coming back. There have been plenty of rumors since Mayweather defeated UFC star Conor McGregor last summer that there might be a sequel to that fight or another fight in the works for Mayweather. Just like other famous professional athletes who have retired from their sport of choice, some analysts believe that Mayweather still has that hunger to fight. One of the top executives at Showtime Sports recently spoke about that and his opinion on Mayweather “un-retiring” to box again.
This past week, Sporting News spoke to Showtime Sports Executive President Stephen Espinoza. He provided comments regarding Mayweather’s fight versus McGregor, as well as his thoughts on Mayweather’s future. In particular, Espinoza spoke about being pleased with the numbers they did for the huge pay-per-view bout last summer, saying it eclipsed the record set by the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight that was “years in the making.” The McGregor vs. Mayweather matchup took less time to get hyped to the moon but ended up being a major draw thanks to the promotional powers of the two superstar athletes.
It’s always MONEY season. pic.twitter.com/vdOC5xPrqB
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) December 20, 2017
As far as Mayweather coming out of retirement to fight again, Espinoza had this to say.
“I’d be very, very surprised. He’s clearly still performing at a very high level. He certainly still could perform from the physical standpoint. From that, there’s always the temptation. Some guys retire when they can’t physically do it anymore. Floyd is still really physically capable of great performances. But when you remember that he’s been in this sport for 22 years and the been the face of the sport for most of the last decade.”
Since retiring, Mayweather has been involved in other ventures outside of the boxing ring, as one might expect “Money” to do. In a recent Fortune article about Mayweather’s post-retirement, it was mentioned that he’s been engaged in physical fitness, philanthropy, and even a bit of investing in new assets. Among them are real estate and a virtual reality company that are now added to the other ventures he already had going, such as his TMT brand. He’s also continuing to travel, as seen in the video clip below.
Mayweather told Fortune when asked about his retirement days, “I’ve got different ventures like [Mayweather Boxing + Fitness] keeping me active, keeping me busy. Also, I’m just doing positive work in our country as well as around the world. Giving back—not just financially, but also giving back my time.”
For now, it appears that Mayweather’s time is wrapped up in plenty of other endeavors. So far, “Money” seems to be taking a similar route to other famous professional athletes, including NBA stars Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant. All of these stars have worked to develop a life that may intersect with sports while still trying to build their brands and other business ventures.
https://t.co/yxhGSR1rpx pic.twitter.com/nuwVV0PTtV
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) December 9, 2017
That said, Michael Jordan is at least one athlete who came out of retirement, as he was itching to prove himself at an older age. Mayweather could decide to do the same, or he may realize MJ’s mistake and feel that it’s better to finish his career in the sport on a high note.
