Floyd Mayweather is one athlete who has been awing the fighting community even after his official retirement in 2017. Despite bowing out of the sport, he remained an active name featuring exhibition bouts to enthrall the fandom and now the fighter has come out to justify his decision amidst the persistent notion of rapacity.
Taking it to his IG, ‘Money’ Mayweather recently dropped a post explaining his thoughts, clearing the air of why he continues to do what he does best – exhibition boxing.
“Exhibitions are my way of giving my fans, old and new, the opportunity to witness my greatness on any stage I choose. That’s what any successful businessman and boss would do. It’s okay for Jeff Bezos, who is 60, Bill Gates at 68, and Warren Buffett at 93, to continuously build their legacies and wealth, and they’re celebrated as smart businessmen.”
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According to him, retirement isn’t about slowing down instead it’s about ‘living on one’s own terms’. The 47-year-old is also of the opinion that success isn’t something you retire from.
He then name-dropped the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet who were all above 60 to prove his point. Citing these billionaires, Mayweather exposed the hypocrisy of his detractors, arguing that when he does the same thing – continues to build his legacy – he is simply shunned only because he is a person of color.
While there is rampant criticism against the boxer for taking on young and inexperienced boxers, Floyd much like Bezos, Gates and Buffet is reaping millions.
How Much Does Mayweather Make from Exhibition Fights?
Just to give you an extent of his fame and legacy, his bout against UFC superstar Conor McGregor generated 4.3 million PPV buys which is ridiculously high for a retired boxer.
Everything started in 2018 when Floyd revealed that he was planning to face his former foe, Manny Pacquiao in a rematch in Japan. But then negotiations fell through and he took on undefeated kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in December of that year.
Stopping the Japanese in the very first round, Mayweather made easy money, bagging a total of $9 million for the fight. Then came the super fight with Logan Paul.
While the fight was scheduled for 2020, it was later postponed to 2021 and the fight resulted in a lackluster hugging match with both fighters seeming reluctant to land anything significant.
Despite the dull outcome, Mayweather took home a generous sum and took on another YouTuber, Deji Olatunji, the younger brother of KSI at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai with reports suggesting that he earned somewhere between $25-$30 million from the fight.
The recent to the list is his rematch with John Gotti III at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico which went the distance despite the awry controversial ending to their first meeting.
All in all, Mayweather unlike most athletes who have retired, is still minting money like he used to in his prime.
