Floyd Mayweather is back, seeking money and attention.

Holiday Time + Big Boxing Match in Las Vegas = Talk of Another Floyd Mayweather Comeback

By Cassandra Cousineau for LVSportsBiz.com

Here we go again. It’s the holiday season and that can mean only one thing: Floyd Mayweather is teasing a possible return to boxing.
And it happpened just 72 hours Mayweather claimed boxing is what he called a “brutal sport.”
“I’ve got calls to get back into the ring, but my health is my wealth,” Mayweather said. “Boxing is a very, very brutal sport. In the last few years a lot of fighters have died inside that squared circle.”
The former five-division, 50-0 world champion has apparently changed his mind as he took to social media to announce that he’s coming out of retirement in 2020.
It’s nothing new. Every 12 months or so, Mayweather issues this declaration. Since MMA and boxing crossovers are the thing in combat sports these days, Mayweather posted a vague Instagram post Thursday night. The Las Vegas resident captioned a photo “@danawhite and I working together again to bring the world another spectacular event in 2020.”
Of course it’s possible for Mayweather to return to boxing in some sort of a promoter’s capacity when UFC’s White officially launches his long awaited Zuffa Boxing headquartered out of Las Vegas.

It often feels like the source of Floyd’s motivation is something more to him than money — and that’s the attention. The timing of this particular announcement is a bit conspicuous considering there’s a major heavyweight fight in Las Vegas this weekend between WBO champion Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The most dominant fighter of his generation hasn’t been the biggest cheerleader of Wilder in the past. Mayweather called the clash between Wilder and Fury a “hell of a show,” but slighted both by stating he makes more in retirement than they do while active fighters.

Wilder has stated this week and in previous months he’s felt a lack of support and what he perceives as a less than warm camaraderie as African-American fighters between himself and Mayweather.

For the record, Mayweather is co-promoting the Wilder vs Ortiz rematch as part of the Premier Boxing Championship (PBC) partnership he has with his longtime manager, Al Haymon.

Whether he’s beloved or not, it’s hard to argue that the most popular person in the sport of boxing is still the now un-retired Mayweather. Even a step further, the soon to be 43-year-old boxer is the most notable person in all of combat sports. The needle automatically moves when he opens his mouth or Instagram app.

One thing Mayweather is absolutely correct about is boxing is a brutal occupation. Saying so isn’t hyberbolic. Somewhere close to 1,600 boxers have died in the last century due to injuries sustained in the ring. In October, 27-year-old Patrick Day became 2019’s fourth fatality in the sport. It’s a sobering reminder that while it may be entertaining, a return to the boxing ring isn’t a laughing matter.

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.