Floyd Mayweather on possible comeback: 'You just never know'

ESPN logo
Sunday, May 1, 2016

Almost a year to the day after his superfight with Manny Pacquiao, former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather hinted that he might come out of retirement.

In an interview with Showtime on Saturday, Mayweather maintained that he is happily retired but said he has had talks with CBS and Showtime about a possible return to the ring.

"Everyone is asking me, 'Is Floyd Mayweather coming back?'" Mayweather said in Washington, where one of his Mayweather Promotions fighters, super middleweight titleholder Badou Jack, fought to a majority draw against Lucian Bute at the DC Armory. "Right now, I'm happy being on this side, but I've been talking with CBS and Showtime, and you just never know. But right now, I'm just happy on this side."

Mayweather then was asked what it would take to come back.

"As of right now, some crazy numbers have been thrown my way -- upwards, of course, of nine figures," he told Showtime. "But I'm truly blessed beyond belief, and I really don't know what we're going to do. But right now, I'm really happy being on this side helping our fighters."

Many fight fans are clamoring for a matchup between unified middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin (35-0) and Mayweather, but Mayweather indicated Saturday that it's unlikely to happen, even if he does return. Mayweather has fought as a junior middleweight before -- against Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez -- but never at 160.

"I think that it's best that he go up and fight Andre Ward," Mayweather said of Golovkin. "I think that would be a good fight for Triple G and Andre Ward. How can Floyd Mayweather fight at 160 [pounds] when I can never even make 154?"

Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in a showdown billed as The Fight of the Century on May 2, 2015. He then decisioned Andre Berto in September to up his career record to 49-0, tying the hallowed mark with which heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano retired, the best record for a retiring champion. Although another victory would put him ahead of Marciano, Mayweather vowed that the Berto fight would be his last.

"My career is over. It's official," he said after the Berto fight.

Until Saturday, Mayweather hadn't wavered from that stance. In March, he insisted there was zero chance that he would get back into the ring.

"I was able to retire from the sport with all my faculties and not let the sport retire me," he said.