Related content
Floyd Mayweather Jr. drew the final curtain on his undefeated fighting career.
Mayweather earned a 10th round technical knockout win Saturday night against Conor McGregor, and possibly the biggest payday in the history of any sport in what should be his last fight.
Mayweather’s (50-0) legacy, you can argue, will ultimately be defined even more so by his brilliance in the ring.
“The most important things to me about my career are the things I did on the outside (of the ring),” Mayweather said. “When I ride with my billionaire buddies I don’t tell them I’m glad to fly on their private planes or ride on their yachts. I ask them how they did it so I can do it myself.”
Mayweather said the gate at T-Mobile Arena would break the $72 million record, which was set in his 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said the pay-per-views were trending well, and when all things are said and done Mayweather could end up with nearly $300 million.
And afterwards Mayweather said he’s calling it quits — this time, for good.
“I did walk away from the sport before,” he said. “I didn’t have to come back. I’m not a fool. If I see an opportunity to make $300 million in 36 minutes I’m going to do it but this is my last one. You have my word.”
What’s next for the Hall of Famer?
“I look forward to becoming a boxing trainer,” Mayweather said. “My dad is a hell of a trainer and he taught me the sport. I want to help make fighters better. I want to teach fighters about becoming a superstar outside the ring as much as inside of the ring.”
Mayweather knows that while his defensive boxing skills are second to none in the history of the sport, it was his business smarts that made him the richest athlete of all time.
“Hopefully I can find the next Floyd Mayweather that can sell a million homes,” he said. “Every day we are trying to find them but it’s not easy.”
Mayweather may not have to look any further than the man that shared the ring with him Saturday night.
McGregor’s status has grown bigger than any in mixed martial artist in history, and by winning the first three rounds on one judges’ scorecard he earned the respect of the boxing community, too.
“I’m so proud of Conor tonight,” UFC President Dana White said. “He was hitting Floyd Mayweather with jabs, and rights, and hit him with a big uppercut. Conor McGregor looked damn good tonight to me.”
McGregor landed 111 punches on Mayweather, 30 more than Pacquiao landed two years ago. He also reportedly earned more than 10 times the amount of his highest purse in his UFC career. He was guaranteed $30 million, and should get $100 million once the pay-per-view revenue is included.
“The check’s not bad,” McGregor said. “I’ve already been raising the MMA checks and I’m certainly going to raise the MMA checks when I get back there.”
McGregor said he has many options in both boxing and MMA, including a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz, who he split the first two fights with.
White hopes to see his top draw back in the UFC sooner rather than later.
“I would rather he fought MMA,” White said. “This isn’t what he does. He’s a mixed martial artist where he uses all of his weapons and tonight he was only allowed to use his hands.”
McGregor may have lost the fight, but he won the night — shown by his celebrating during the post fight press conference. The 29-year-old answered questions while drinking his soon-to-be-released “Notorious Irish Whiskey,” while laughing as he said, “I’m making so much money you can swim in it.”
With Mayweather’s career over, McGregor may be the biggest draw in all of fighting, regardless of sport.
“I can’t tell you exactly what’s next,” he said. “I’m sure options will present themselves in boxing and MMA, but I’m a free agent. My name is even on the ring.”
Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy