Floyd Mayweather Vacates Titles: ‘It’s Time For Other Fighters’
Following his unanimous decision win over Manny Pacquiao from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last night (Sat., May 2, 2015), 38-year-old boxing legend Floyd Mayweather began to plan his exit from the sport he’s made such a big impact on. Undefeated at 48-0, Mayweather unified the WBO, WBA, The Ring, and WBC welterweight belts by defeating “Pacman” in their long-anticipated grudge match, and overall he feels like there just isn’t much left to prove.
He said the grind of boxing has become a ‘job’ for him at the fight’s post-fight press conference. Because of that, he’s eying one more bout this September to extend his record to 49-0 before he retires in an effort to tie, but not break, Rocky Marciano’s long-held record.
But before he does that, Mayweather is going to give up his belts in order to give younger, hungrier fighters a chance at the titles he worked so hard to obtain:
“Other fighters need to get a chance. I’m not greedy. It’s time to let other fighters fight for the belt.”
“Money” will cash in with the final fight, which is the last one remaining on his Showtime contract. It’s unclear as to whom he’ll face in his final swansong, but one thing is certain: it will be a non-title affair.
In addition to his welterweight belts, Mayweather also owns the WBC and WBA super welterweight title, which he vacated as well. It’s time for Mayweather to ride off into the sunset as the greatest boxer of this generation, even if his showdown with Pacquiao fell far short of most people’s probably unattainable expectations.
His counter striking is crisp, his movement is unparalleled, and his accuracy always finds its mark. Mayweather will go down in history as one of the greats as well, yet it’s tough to decipher just where he’ll rank among the list of all-time greats.
Tying Marciano’s record of 49-0 would certainly help the cause, but when Mayweather attempts to do just that this September, his titles won’t be on the line. Who will he face in his final battle after more than 18 years on the grind?
Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
