Floyd Mayweather Is Not Really Retired:
It’s shocking how many people apparently believe that Floyd Mayweather is actually retired. Mayweather is about as retired as Jon Snow is actually dead. He’s about as retired as a band is done playing music when it walks off stage before the encore.
The guy ain’t done fighting, so we’re not buying into the gimmick and we’re not removing him from our rankings, it’s that simple. Therefore, he’s still our #1 pound for pound fighter, and he’s also still our welterweight champion.
According to our ratings policies, a championship may be made vacant when:
The champion does not defend his title against a top 10 contender within 18 months or does not face a top 10 contender in his division in three successive fights.
Berto was not a top 10 opponent, which puts Mayweather on the clock starting from his May fight against Manny Pacquiao. That means he has until November 2016 to face a top 10 fighter in the welterweight division in order to retain his status. We also stipulate that championships are made vacant when the champion retires — but again, we in no way are believing this farce of a publicity stunt that Mayweather is done in the ring.
We’ve been saying it over and over — the most likely route is that Mayweather attempts 50-0 vs. the winner of Cotto vs. Canelo. We projected that before that Cotto-Canelo fight was even officially made. The opportunity is simply too good, moving up to middleweight for another divisional strap, moving past Rocky Marciano and achieving a clean 50-0. We know the money will be enticing, too.
Whether you’re bemoaning the “end” to his career or writing his epitaph as TBE, either way, it’s premature. There is absolutely zero chance, zero, that Mayweather is retired. Don’t give into the hype. Let’s just all hope that when Mayweather does indeed return next year, that if he’s fighting at welterweight, it’s not in a mind-numbingly worthless rematch against Manny Pacquiao, and instead is a fight against someone like Amir Khan or Keith Thurman.
