Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Retirement Looms; Pound-For-Pound Champion Announces September 2015 As Date Of Final Fight
Floyd Mayweather Jr. said this week that he will hang up his gloves soon, announcing that he is planning to step in the ring for the last time in September next year.
Mayweather made the announcement during a dinner as part of his visit in South Africa. The undefeated Mayweather looked back at how his boxing career started when he was just a 10-year-old kid in 1987 before announcing his plan to end his storied boxing career.
"September 2015 will be my last," Mayweather told reporters via as reported by BoxingScene.
The 36-year-old boxing champion is coming off a majority decision win over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in their WBC and WBA light middleweight title showdown in September -- a fight that recorded the second all-time most pay-per-view buys at 2.2 million subscriptions.
Mayweather, who is considered the best boxer in the world today with his 45-0 record, will make his return to the ring on May 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The Grand Rapids, Mich., native has yet to announce his next opponent, but it is widely-believed that Mayweather will soon name Amir Khan as his foe for his May 3 fight.
The Daily Mail recently reported, citing unnamed sources, that Mayweather will announce his showdown with Khan next week. The British boxer, who has previously expressed a strong desire to face Mayweather, also announced last month that he has already signed a contract for a Mayweather fight.
Marcos Maidana, who recently bagged the WBA welterweight title with a breakout unanimous decision win over Adrien Broner in December, is also in the mix of possible opponents for Mayweather's next fight.
However, the chances of arranging the Mayweather vs. Maidana fight turned slimmer as Broner announced that he will exercise his rematch option. Golden Boy Promotions also confirmed the reported rematch.
Mayweather's decision could also have serious implications on the chances of having the highly-anticipated match with Manny Pacquiao arranged.
Mayweather has insisted repeatedly that he is not interested in facing Pacquiao. Mayweather recently said that Pacquiao is getting desperate to face him, knowing that the potential record-breaking showdown could help the Filipino boxing star out with his current tax woes.
"All of a sudden, he loses to Timothy Bradley, he loses to Marquez, he has tax problems now. So, two losses and tax problems later, now he all of a sudden wants to say: 'You know what? I'd do anything to make the fight happen,' when he's really saying: 'Floyd, can you help me solve my tax problems, get me out of debt?'" Mayweather said this week.