Floyd “Money” Mayweather needs to stop talking about his future plans.
The only thing that should be on the mind of the 36-year-old champion is defending his title on September 14 in Las Vegas against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. While Mayweather is surely trying to get prepared for the fight of the year, it appears that talk of when he’ll retire from boxing is getting in the way.
It all started when Mayweather was getting prepared to face Robert Guerrero in May of this year. All Mayweather talked about prior to the fight was what he was going to do afterwards and how many months he had until his retirement party.
He said that his career would be over in 30 months, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.
Based on what Mayweather was saying about his future at the time, it didn’t seem likely that he would look to sign a new contract when his current deal expired, according to Rafael. Here’s what the champion had to say regarding his situation and what could possibly happen in the future:
I don’t know yet. I don’t know. By 30 months I’d be knocking a door [of age 40], but I really don’t know. We just have to see how these next six fights play out.
Now, it’s down to five fights, as Mayweather defeated Guerrero via a unanimous decision. He’s lined up to face Alvarez in two months, which could be the fourth-to-last fight of the star’s historic career. As the fight nears, the champion may hold off on retirement after he takes on Alvarez. Here’s what he recently said, per Rafael:
After my five more fights, guess what? I think after [getting to] 49-0 we may stay in this sport a little longer. This Sept. 14, it’s just another walk in the park.
It’s great to be confident, but Mayweather might be getting a little carried away. There aren’t many who think that Money’s fight against Alvarez is going to be “another walk in the park.” If anyone is going to end the champion’s run, it’s going to be Canelo. He has size and the talent to be the first to take down Mayweather.
The 22-year-old is undefeated as well, as his record will sit at 42-0-1 (30 KOs) when he steps into the ring on Sept. 14. He’s never faced anyone quite like Mayweather in the past, but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of winning the fight. This kid is going to be a superstar no matter what happens when the two take the ring.
Mayweather should hold off on the talks because if he loses against Alvarez, one would presume that he would want to retire with the title around his waist. While it’s very possible that he’d be able to get a quick rematch against Canelo, that’s not guaranteed. He may have to win a few matches before he gets another shot.
That could mean that Mayweather needs to fight more than four matches, and thus, sign another contract and prolong his retirement.
The fight in Las Vegas is going to say a lot about Mayweather’s future. But in the meantime, talking about whether he’s going to retire or not after his contract expires is only going to distract him from what could end up being the first loss of his career.
On Sept. 15, he can decide what he wants to do. Before then, he should deflect any retirement-related questions.
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