Floyd Mayweather contemplates what little time he has left in boxing
LAS VEGAS - If you listened closely to Floyd Mayweather early Sunday morning, hours after he defeated Manny Pacquiao in vintage Mayweather style in the so-called "Fight of the century," you could hear him already checking out.
With a $100 million paycheck in his pocket and much more yet to come from pay-per-view, Mayweather, 38, sitting in the empty ring inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena where he picked Pacquiao apart earlier, made it clear that the sport that has given him so much does not mean as much as it once did. He's fallen out of love.
"My love and passion for boxing is not the same as it once was," he said. "This is my job and I have to go out there and be at my best when I'm doing my job. And the ultimate goal was to make nine figures in one night and that's what we did.
WHAT ELSE DID YOU EXPECT?: Mayweather wins doing what he does best
"I don't want to wait until I'm almost 40 years old to start taking abuse on my body. I want to be able to have all my faculties. I invested my money extremely good. I can quit boxing today and be A-OK."
He won't quit boxing today because he still has one fight to go on his six-fight, $200 million deal with Showtime.
He insists that his next fight in September will be his last. He's already starting to prepare for the end. He said he would give up his five title belts sometime in the next few weeks to give the younger boxers the chance to fight for them.
Asked who will be his next and presumably last opponent, Mayweather shook his head. "Once again, here you guys go again. Let me enjoy my victory," he implored. "Can I enjoy my victory, please?"
WHERE WAS THE PASSION? Electric scene outside the arena
He has all but ruled out a rematch against Pacquiao. Most boxing experts feel it could be Amir Khan, but Khan, from Bolton, England, is Muslim, and he will be coming off of Ramadan, a month of fasting. However, it starts and ends earlier this year, on July 17, which would give him almost seven weeks to prepare for Mayweather.
Another British fighter, Kell Brook, holds the only major welterweight belt that Mayweather doesn't, the IBF title, and is unbeaten. Others who might be on a short list include former champions Timothy Bradley and Shawn Porter, undefeated knockout artist Keith Thurman, and possibly Andre Berto, who fights for reclusive manager Al Haymon, also Mayweather's manager.
Floyd Mayweather Sr., the fighter's trainer, said he believes Khan, 28, who fights Chris Algieri on May 29 in Brooklyn, could be the next opponent, too, but cautions that Khan could be the wrong choice.
"If it was me, in my last fight," he said, "I would sure enough find me somebody I could beat up real bad. Somebody that ain't gonna cause me no hassle whatsoever."
FTW: Mayweather-Pacquiao was a complete waste
As a father thinking about his son, Mayweather Sr. has urged the undefeated fighter, who earned $2.8 million per minute Saturday night, to hang up his gloves before he gets hurt.
"I would be very glad for it to be his last (fight)," the trainer said. "I hope that he will take that fight and then there ain't nothing left to fight for. . . . This (Pacquiao fight) right here should've done it for him.
"I can't tell him what to do because it's his money and it's his mind and it's whatever he chooses to do with his own thing. (But) I think it's time to start closing down."
ROUND-BY-ROUND: Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao
Mayweather will tie Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0 if he wins in September. Asked why he wouldn't want to break that record, he said, "I didn't come into this boxing game to try to outdo anyone. I did not come into this game to break the highest record. If it's going to happen it's going to happen.
"They paved the way for me to be where I'm at. Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson. … Ali called himself the greatest. But this is my era, and in my era, I'm TBE (the best ever)."
His impressive, if not action-packed, victory against Pacquiao proves Mayweather still has it in the ring. Winning this fight cements his legacy as an all-time great. And, of course, he has all the money he needs.
But when you stop enjoying what you do, especially in a grueling sport such as boxing, maybe it is time to hang up the gloves.
"I don't really think I'm going to miss this sport," he said. "I don't really watch boxing. … At one particular time I loved the sport of boxing. I wanted to go to every fight, I wanted to be at every boxing event, but throughout the years I've lost the love.
"All I want to do right now is go home and rest. I'm not thinking about anything else."