The prioritisation of making money is a common denominator in how both McGregor and Mayweather viewed the fight game and the pair earned plenty of that when they shared the ring with one another in 2017.
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McGregor was a Mayweather fan years before he fought the American in Las Vegas two years ago and as well as wanting to replicate Mayweather's earning powers, 'The Notorious' also reportedly obsessed about learning Mayweather's trademark techniques in training.
Given the amount of dispute and confusion surrounding McGregor's apparent retirement announcement on Tuesday morning, his second announcement in three years, it bears remembering just how many times Mayweather decided to hang up his gloves.
Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as “Mixed Martial Art” today.
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I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition.
I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement.
Proper Pina Coladas on me fellas!— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 26, 2019
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Rewind to mid-2007, when Mayweather followed up his split decision victory against Oscar De La Hoya by hinting at his plan to walk away from boxing but that was short-lived to say the least.
Mayweather nixed his retirement plans two months later and started training to fight Ricky Hatton at the end of 2007. Mayweather dominated the Brit and moved to 39-0 with a late TKO.
A more official retirement statement arrived from Mayweather six months after the Hatton bout, when 'Money' said: "I am sorry I have to leave the sport at this time, knowing I still have my God-given abilities to succeed and future multi-million dollar paydays ahead.
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"There comes a time when money doesn't matter.
I just can't do it anymore. I have found a peace with my decision that I have not felt in a long time."
Mayweather didn't fight at all in 2008 but that only served to make his 2009 comeback clash against Juan Manuel Marquez all the more intriguing.
The American showed no signs of ring rust and added another eight victories to his record against the likes Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and Marcos Maidana.
Many expected another retirement after Mayweather came out on top against Manny Pacquiao in what was billed as 'the fight of the century' but Mayweather instead announced that he would walk away after his next clash with Andre Berto, which resulted in a relatively uneventful unanimous decision win for the serial retirer.
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Confirming his decision after beating Berto, Mayweather told Showtime broadcaster Jim Gray: "It's official.
"There’s nothing left to prove."
There was plenty left to earn, however, because 20 months passed and then another un-retirement came when the paths of Mayweather and McGregor crossed in what kinder critics dismissed as a circus fight but both men walked away unscathed and significantly richer.
Mayweather surpassed Rocky Marciano when he moved to 50-0 with a 10th-round TKO win over the Irishman. Then Mayweather assured us that he was done for good.
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"This was my last fight tonight ladies and gentleman, my last fight," Mayweather said.
"For sure, tonight was my last fight. Tonight I chose the right dance partner to dance with, Conor McGregor, you’re a hell of a champion and to the country of Ireland, we love you guys."
Mayweather simply can't help himself, however, and he was back in the ring on New Year's Eve last year for a lucrative exhibition bout against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.
That contest won't count on either man's record but Mayweather continues to toy with the idea of coming back for an official fight, potentially in a rematch against Pacquiao.
What's very clear is that the concept of retirement is a very fluid one in combat sports so McGregor's latest announcement ought to be taken with a healthy serving of salt.
One interesting aspect of McGregor's retirement, if legitimate, that differs from Mayweather's previous announcements is the fact that McGregor will have to deal with the United States Anti-Doping Agency's policy on retired fighters.
If McGregor is serious about hanging up his gloves then he will have to notify USADA and remove himself from their testing pool but if he then decides to return to competition, he would have to make himself available for new testing for several months prior to returning to the Octagon.
Who knows how sincere McGregor is about this or whether it is just an attempt to play chicken with UFC President Dana White?
All will become clear in the coming months but one thing's for sure, early retirement in combat sports is seldom a full stop on a fighter's career.
Floyd Mayweather is regarded as the face of modern era boxing.
With a series of one-sided performances in the ring, Mayweather stuck everyone’s eye and retired with one immaculate boxing stint. But if you feel ‘TBE’ only hung up his gloves in 2017, then you’re mistaken.
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Mayweather actually hung up his gloves from the sport and returned multiple times.
The very first time ‘Pretty Boy’ signed off from the game was back in 2007. After he claimed one of his biggest career wins against Oscar De La Hoya, Mayweather asserted on taking the retirement. But he vanquished those plans and began preparing for a bout once again.
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After the De La Hoya bout, the undefeated kingpin of boxing got lined up to face Ricky Hatton for the WBC welterweight title. Here, Mayweather won this thrilling encounter and condemned Hatton to his first career loss. Six months after this fight, Mayweather put out an official statement regarding his retirement.
He said, “I am sorry I have to leave the sport at this time, knowing I still have my God-given abilities to succeed and future multi-million dollar paydays ahead. There comes a time when money doesn’t matter. I just can’t do it anymore. I have found a peace with my decision that I have not felt in a long time.”
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After this statement, Mayweather didn’t compete for the whole of 2008. He only came out of retirement in 2009 and boxed Juan Manuel Marquez. Following that, he kept fighting, even accepting the ‘fight of the century’ against his long-time nemesis, Manny Pacquiao.
Fans expected Mayweather to finally retire from the sport after such a humongous fight. But ‘Pretty Boy’ took up a bout against Andre Berto and retired after going 49-0.
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Just when everyone thought that Floyd Mayweather era concluded in 2015.
The latter surprised everyone, this time by booking a 12-round war with the biggest UFC star, Conor McGregor.
The 44-year-old was keen on settling his feud with the Irishman inside the ring. And for that, Mayweather went toe-to-toe against ‘The Notorious’.
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That said, both the fighters promoted this fight to its maximum extent and delivered it the way they promised. In this contest, the undefeated Mayweather retained his streak and departed at 50-0. He’s not made a professional comeback yet.
The name of Floyd Mayweather in the sports world and around him is pronounced aspirated. No joke, because his achievement was 50 fights without a single defeat.
The athlete is not in vain nicknamed Money (Money): he earned more than all celebrities, and now he has directed all his talents into business, increasing his accumulated fortune.
The greatest boxer in the world, Floyd Mayweather Jr. belongs to a dynasty of outstanding athletes. He was born in Grand Rapidas, Michigan on February 24, 1977 years old. His father once reached the final of the World Boxing Championship, competed with Ray Leonard, and one of his father's brothers, Roger, achieved the title of the strongest in the world. Therefore, no one was surprised that the boy chose this particular sport as a profession for himself.
Floyd Mayweather in his youthIn order to attend training, Floyd dropped out of school. The future star was forced to such a decision by the poverty of the family: the father left home, and the mother, along with the children, was forced to vegetate in a small room.
Floyd Mayweather began his amateur career in 1993.
For three years in a row, he won the main semi-professional prize, the Golden Gloves. During this short period of time, the young boxer spent 90 fights and lost only 6 of them. The promising fighter skillfully dodged blows to the face, and it was never cut in his face. Therefore, colleagues in the ring began to call him Handsome, and this nickname stuck with him.
Floyd made his international debut at the Atlanta Olympics, where he took 3rd place.
Floyd's first fight in the light weight category was against fellow newcomer Roberto Apodac. After that, for 2 years, May had more than 15 fights, which most often ended with a knockout. With a height of 173 cm, Floyd initially weighed quite a bit - 60 kg. During his career, the fighter constantly moved from category to category, changing five weight groups.
Floyd Mayweather immediately formed a special type of fight - not too spectacular, but very effective, which allowed him to regularly become a winner.
At the age of 21, having met at the tournament with a difficult titled opponent Genaro Chicanito Hernandez, Floyd unexpectedly knocked him out and became the WBC world champion. The authoritative publication Ring called Mayweather the discovery of the year. He confirmed this title four more times - in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
The best fights of that period are the meetings with Arturo Gatti, Zaba Judah, Oscar de la Hoya, who almost outplayed the young fighter, Ricky Hatton and Victor Ortiz.
In September 2013, Mayweather and Saul Alvarez competed for the WBA Super, WBC and Ring titles. Alvarez lost for the first time in his career, and the referee, who recognized the draw, later resigned. According to tabloids, Floyd received $ 75 million for the victory over the Mexican. In the 2014 fight, Floyd missed the most hits from the opponent, but won on the accuracy of the technique.
During the same period, the boxing star struck up a friendship with the young pop singer Justin Bieber.
The singer, according to the producers, needed to acquire brutality, and classes with an invincible boxer should have helped him. For this, a meeting was arranged with Floyd, who became the young Canadian's boxing coach.
In 2015, Mayweather fought with Filipino Manny Pacquiao on the third attempt. The boxers competed in the tournament for the title of the strongest regardless of the weight category, for the titles of three professional associations at once and the prize of the Golden Boy Promotions company, headed by Oscar de la Hoya.
Floyd received $ 210 million for the fight, and some sources claim that all $ 280 million.
Bookmakers unanimously bet on Mayweather's victory and were not mistaken. After the fight, Pacquiao said that he fought with an injured shoulder, and the organizers banned the anesthetic injection in order to maintain doping purity.
After a victorious 49th meeting with compatriot Andre Berto, the boxer repeated Rocky Marciano's record for the number of unbeaten tournaments.
A year later, managers began negotiations with some boxing stars with whom Floyd had never fought in the ring.
Since the beginning of 2016, rumors about the preparation of a meeting with Irishman Conor McGregor and Kazakh athlete Gennady Golovkin began to leak into the press. And if the final decision on the fight with the Kazakhstani has not yet been made, then the fight with McGregor, scheduled for August 26, 2017 in Las Vegas, has become the main event of the year.
Hot press conferences with mutual insults and promises to tear each other apart fueled the interest of the public.
At that time, Mayweather's fortune was estimated at $ 765 million. Floyd accepted Conor's challenge, commenting on the decision with the words that he was not a fool to refuse the opportunity to earn $ 300 million in half an hour. The American received a third of this amount guaranteed. Fans of exact numbers immediately calculated that for each of the 1685 seconds spent in the ring, Floyd replenished the bank account by $ 178,041.
The Irishman, in his usual manner, at every meeting with journalists promised to beat the 40-year-old Mayweather already in the 2nd round, not sparing in expressions and threats. However, as practice has shown, the talent of the Irish showman turned out to be at a level higher than boxing. In the 10th round, Mayweather knocked out McGregor, winning the fight of the century.
UFC fighter Nate Diaz took his colleague only 2-3 rounds. Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov, then breathing down McGregor's head, considered the fight between a boxer and a mixed-arts fighter humiliating for both sports,
“because boxing fans are generally ignorant of martial arts. Floyd will win - they will say that MMA, of course, is inferior to boxing. If such a star loses, it's bad for the image of boxing."
The legendary Mike Tyson said that his colleague is clearly superior to Conor in the ring, and such a competition is not fair. After the end of the fight, Mayweather announced his retirement.
He left at his peak, defeating the strongest in MMA.
In the fall of 2018, the sports biography of the undefeated Mayweather continued. Floyd accepted a challenge from Khabib Nurmagomedov, but made the condition that the fight would take place not in the octagon, but in the ring. As Soviet Sport noted,
“For the sake of hype, Nurmagomedov's confrontation with even a Himalayan bear, even with a representative of an extraterrestrial civilization, can be promoted. Mayweather is the only figure in the martial arts world who can make even more money than McGregor."
By the way, Floyd expected to receive $ 200 million for the fight with the Russian. As a result, the boxer can be considered invincible among athletes in terms of making money. True, the long-awaited meeting never happened: after the death of his father Khabib Abdulmanap Magomedovich Nurmagomedov, the son swore an oath not to fight again.
Floyd's business acumen is undeniable.
Back in 2006, the fighter did not spare $ 750 thousand to change the contract and become a free agent. Mayweather founded his own company and stopped sharing fees with third-party promoters, but he does not skimp on spending on his own person and for loved ones.
Floyd, according to Forbes magazine, since 2012 is the richest boxer in the world. In 2010, the athlete's income was $ 60 million per year. At the moment, the state of the celebrity is estimated at more than $ 1 billion.
Floyd Mayweather is swimming in moneyBoxer was often seen surrounded by strippers, lovers of luxurious life, with whom he spent his free time. Instagram shows photos of Mayweather holding wads of money.
It has over 88 vehicles in its fleet, of which 14 are Rolls-Royces alone. For an oil change on a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse he bought in 2015 for $3.5 million, Floyd does not mind $20,000. A $5 million Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita diamond-coated carbon fiber supercar and a $35 million Gulfstream jet.
of course, belong to Handsome.
A stern man has a weakness for jewelry. A favorite item in the collection is a $ 1 million Hublot watch. And the paparazzi caught Floyd buying Hermes bags for $ 400 thousand. For his daughter's 16th birthday, the generous father invited rappers Drake and Future.
Floyd MayweatherAt the beginning of 2017, Floyd suffered an unpleasant event. During his 40th birthday celebration, he left home for a few days. Arriving back, he found that the mansion had been robbed. Thieves took out valuables worth more than $ 150 thousand.
In his personal life, Floyd adheres to the principle of freedom. The boxer never formalized relations with any of his many girls. Despite this, he has four children growing up from two chosen ones. From the common-law wife Josie Harris, with whom the athlete lived for about 10 years, two sons, Coraun and Zion, and a daughter, Jira, were born.
The children of the king of boxing (although they don't say which ones) live in Las Vegas, in a mansion with an area of 2,000 square meters.
m, with seven bathrooms and five bedrooms. In 2011, Mayweather bought a penthouse in Miami for $1.5 million and completely changes the situation there every 2 years.
Often the fighter's girls complained about their friend's aggressiveness. In 2012, the police received a statement from Josie Harris, who at that time had already broken up with Floyd. The incident took place at the house of a woman where Mayweather broke into without permission and beat her in front of his own children. The court punished the athlete with a suspended sentence, a fine and an obligation not to come close to Josie's house.
In 2013, Shantel Jackson almost became the wife of the champion. Floyd proposed with a $10 million diamond ring, but broke off the engagement when he learned that the bride had secretly had an abortion, getting rid of the twins. The girl claimed that she was the first to break the relationship. Mayweather allegedly took away the ring, threatening with a gun, humiliated morally and divulged the secrets of private life.
After the boxer met with the masseuse Dorali Medina, who is 8 years younger than him. Floyd bought the girl a mansion for $25 million and gave her a $250,000 Rolls Royce Ghost for her birthday. News appeared in foreign media that Floyd even planned to have a baby with her. He met Anna Monroe at a club when she was interviewing. Interestingly, at first she was refused, and the next day - a call and a proposal for cooperation.
In Russia, Floyd is popular with fans. He repeatedly visited the capital of the Russian Federation and even signed a contract in 2015 with Russian partner Timofey Kurgin to open the Floyd Mayweather Boxing Academy.
Floyd Mayweather in the TV show "Evening Urgant" At the presentation, the athlete gave a big press conference, held master classes in boxing, and also visited the show "Evening Urgant".
Boxer said that in order to expand the business, he is ready to invest in other joint projects.
On April 28, 2021, Mayweather announced a fight with video blogger Logan Paul. By the way, this meeting was supposed to take place earlier, but due to the pandemic, a decision was made to postpone it. The boxer's opponent has already participated in an exhibition fight with a Ukrainian YouTuber, known under the pseudonym KSI. Then Paul lost by split decision.
Floyd's plans for the fight long before it drew criticism. So, the former rival of boxer Saul Alvarez said that Mayweather is doing this solely for the sake of money. The question of who would win this battle was virtually unchallenged: an audience close to the world of sports expressed confidence in Floyd's victory on June 6 in Miami. Logan lasted all 8 rounds, however, due to the lack of judges, it was possible to win the fight only by knockout, which did not happen - the winner was not announced.
In the fall, Oscar De La Hoya challenged Mayweather to a duel, for which he promised to pay his opponent $ 100 million. WBA, WBC, IBF, WBC
The fight of the millennium between two superstars of professional boxing took place in the most unexpected manner for the audience, for the layman it was boring, without any special sharpening attacks. The duel for every minute of which the boxers received an average of about $ 5,000,000 was not a triumphant spectacle, it was more like a game of chess between two grandmasters in boxing gloves.
This fact is confirmed by statistics, out of 435 strikes by Mayweather Jr., only a third reached the goal, Pacquiao had even less, with an almost equal number of thrown strikes - 429, there were only a fifth of clear hits.
Floyd's defense, brought almost to the ideal for his amateur and professional career, unshakably withstood all the multi-hit combinations of the Filipino, in turn, no one managed to provoke Mayweather Jr. into an open exchange of blows for many years, Manny was no exception.
Pacquiao showed a high level of boxing and tactically showed himself at a level above the American, many believe that as a challenger he gave more than 100%, but the verdict was still in favor of Floyd Jr.
Everyone has been waiting for this event for about 8 years, and in the end, the holiday was a success, but mostly for two legendary boxers of their era.
For more than 8 years, the entire boxing world has been waiting for the duel of these two boxers. This part of the article will be devoted to the history of the failures of the battle of the century for 8 years.
When Floyd Mayweather was just released from prison on August 8, 2012, boxing fans had a little hope that this fight would be organized soon.
Without losing speed and defeating all superstars in all weights, from lightweight to first middleweight. Even then, everyone had doubts about whether the Filipino was taking illegal drugs. Very quickly, he gained muscle mass, and even managed to surpass Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Antonio Margarito in striking power, and this despite the fact that Manny began his performances in the professional ring in the bantamweight division up to 48 kg.
As Floyd puts it, "Manny was showing mediocre results until he moved to America, when Freddie Roach started working with him and his punching power and size immediately doubled." Floyd has never been open about Pacquiao's doping, but in every interview for a potential fight with Manny, he indirectly accused Pacquiao of doping.
The condition has always been simple. It was necessary to pass an examination in the international anti-doping commission WADA.
It is this commission that controls amateur boxers at international competitions and the Olympic Games. Professional boxers are not so tightly controlled, which creates certain opportunities for doping.
He stated that he was afraid of injections and that he was against taking blood at any time in preparation for the competition. This, at least, is strange considering that Manny Pacquiao's entire body is covered in tattoos. In the future, Manny agreed to a blood draw at any time, but no later than 20 days before the fight. Floyd was not satisfied with these conditions and the fight dragged on for 2 years. During this time, Floyd and Manny killed all the top boxers, and they had no worthy competitors other than themselves.
In the end, Manny agreed to a blood draw at any time before the fight and a new problem arose.
Each party insisted on the majority of the fee from all fees.
The fight almost managed to be organized on May 12, 2012, but there was another breakdown of the fight for very strange reasons. As a result, on May 12, Floyd fought against Miguel Cotto , and Manny a little later met with Timothy Bradley , whom he sensationally lost (all the spectators were unanimous that Manny was sued).
Floyd Mayweather defeated Oscar in a tough competitive fight. Many thought that was stronger than in that fight was Oscar. Manny dealt with Oscar, leaving him no chance. Complete dominance throughout the fight and refusal to continue the fight on the part of Oscar. It is worth noting that Oscar performed at an extremely uncomfortable weight for himself and went to the fight dried up and haggard after cutting weight.
Floyd defeated Hatton in a tough fight in which Hatton had many good moments. However, in the middle of the fight, Floyd managed to meet Hatton with an accurate left hook on the way out and knock him down.
Then Floyd carried out a successful finishing move and inflicted the first defeat on the undefeated Englishman.
It took Manny only 2 rounds to destroy Hatton. Ricky missed a huge number of blows and already in the first round he found himself on the floor of the ring 2 times. At the end of the second round, after a deceitful movement, the Filipino struck a powerful left hook and sent Hatton into a deep knockout. This knockout was voted Knockout of the Year.
The fight with Floyd was very difficult for both of them. Floyd successfully acted as the second number, inflicting more accurate accented strikes. However, Miguel also had his moments. As a result, a unanimous victory for Floyd in a very difficult battle.
Manny completely dominated due to his speed. In rounds 3 and 4, he managed to knock Miguel down. The fight ended in the middle of the 12th round, when the fight took on a one-sided character.
Against Shane Moseley, both boxers fought the full 12 rounds.
But Manny looked better. Comparing common rivals Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, many believed that Manny could easily defeat Floyd, because. all the opponents that Floyd fought with difficulty, Manny passed easily in one breath. However, there was another opponent with whom the situation was different.
12 rounds Floyd confidently controlled the course of the fight, knocking down the Mexican in one of the rounds. Floyd significantly outnumbered the Mexican, and this also affected the outcome of the fight.
Pacquiao met Marquez 4 times. 1 draw, 2 disputed wins and a knockout loss. Marquez for Pacquiao is the most uncomfortable opponent. And there's probably nothing you can do about it. There is a possibility that soon they will meet 5 times.
Many thought that in the third Pacquiao-Marquez fight, Marquez would not have a chance. Marquez was already an age-old boxer, inferior to Pacquiao in speed, in punching power. However, the pattern of the two previous fights was repeated.
Marquez was great on the counter and dominated the Filipino in more rounds. In a very difficult match for refereeing, the victory was given to Pacquiao, and the question arose again about the fight between Pacquiao and Floyd.
In the 4th Pacquiao-Marquez bout in December 2012, Marquez knocked out Pacquiao in the 6th round in what some considered a "lucky punch".
Any hope of a rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao hangs in the balance after the Filipino boxer announced that he is likely to retire to focus on his political career.
Having undergone major shoulder surgery, following an injury during the Millennium Fight, Pacquiao has been out of the ring for nearly a year since losing to Mayweather. His final fight was a winning point in a trilogy with Timothy Bradley in April 2016.
