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Fri May 01, 2009 9:30 pm EDT

Reportedly cash strapped, Mayweather lurks in the shadows

By Steve Cofield

His pound-for-pound title is gone and much of his money may be as well. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been away from active boxing for nearly 17 months. He retired last June six months after a December win over Ricky Hatton. Gone is his label as the undisputed king of boxing. At this point, it's not even safe to say he's the best welterweight in the world since he won't fight Shane Mosley or Paul Williams. More distressing is the fact that after banking millions of dollars, Floyd may be returning to the ring under the pressure of a huge debt to the IRS.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal talked about what's at stake for Mayweather, who'll be closely watching the outcome of the Manny Pacquiao-Hatton fight. A Hatton win would be disasterous. Realistically a rematch against Hatton cannot be sold to the American sports fan who watched "Pretty Boy" whip the Brit to end 2007. A Pacman win and the world is Floyd's oyster if terms can be reached for a fight in September:

"I have no dislike whatsoever for Floyd Mayweather. I have no like whatsoever for Floyd Mayweather," said Pacquiao's promoter Arum. "My only concern is he has to have someone on his negotiating team I can trust. I don't need any sleazebags. I don't need any Machiavellis."

Arum thinks it would be wise for Mayweather to have someone negotiating on his behalf to remove emotion and ego from the situation:

"If Schaefer came to me with a contract, we can get a deal done in a day," Arum said. "There's no bull with Richard. If Don King were on the other side representing Mayweather, I'd have no problem with that. I understand Don. There'd be a little more posturing, but we would get it done."

Word is that King has been cozying up to Mayweather. The former welterweight does need to get a summer fight out of the way first. It's expected that a July 18 fight against Juan Manuel Marquez held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena will be announced this weekend. That's an interesting date with UFC 100 filling the arena the week before. Mayweather has had difficulty selling out Vegas venues without a huge running mate. One wonders with the down economy in Las Vegas, if the town can support megacards at megaprices in back-to-back weeks.

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7 Comments

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  1. kurt
    1. Posted by kurt Fri May 01, 2009 10:33 pm EDT

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    HE...HE...Tyson first...... Mayweather NEXT!!!!!!!! SOOOONNNN!!!!!!!!!..............COOL!!!!!!!!! I hope JMM will knock off this EGO FREAK!!!!!!!!!!...PEACE!!!!!!!!
  2. omega
    2. Posted by omega Sat May 02, 2009 12:50 am EDT

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    I know this guy will be the favorite against either JMM and Pacman. But I'm betting that JMM will give him a hard fight and Pacman could even beat him (if the latter beats Hatton first).
    He's not going to fight Mosley (I hope he does so that Mosley can do a Margarito2), Cotto, and definitely not Paul. He desires money and a perfect record that's why he's been avoiding risky competition his entire career.
    Anyway, this coming July 18, I hope my 2nd fave boxer in the world (JMM) would punish and leave a nasty bruise to Gayweather's face. And that's regardless of the result. Go JMM, and can't wait for your third match with Pacman.
  3. .
    3. Posted by . Sat May 02, 2009 3:31 am EDT

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    "His pound-for-pound title is gone" - depends on who you ask. Why do you think so many boxing fans and real journalists wanted to see him come out of retirement?
    "It's not even safe to say he's the best welterweight in the world since he won't fight Shane Mosley or Paul Williams" - Or maybe because an eventual fight with Manny or Cotto would be a much bigger draw than Mosley or Williams. Doubt you'll find any active welterweight eager to get in the ring with Williams in particular. I think Floyd earned the right to go after whatever fight will generate himself the most cash & sell tickets.
    Might wanna try thinking before publishing next time.
  4. DARWIN P
    4. Posted by DARWIN P Sat May 02, 2009 3:47 am EDT

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    Cofield.. this is the new age boxing.. Boxers are now testing their mettle against the best. Shane wants Manny (espn), JMM wants Manny (diminished already though), PBF was heard after the December clash of DLH. Manny may have help renew this sport in the absence of the heavyweights. PBF vs MP... then JMM vs MP (3rd war) and the last maybe a chance at welterweight beltholder if it would still be Shane. Making it 7 world titles the first in history of boxing then retire
  5. omega
    5. Posted by omega Sat May 02, 2009 4:10 am EDT

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    I'm pretty sure that if Pacman beats Hatton and if PBF beats JMM, we would see two active number 1 P4P fighters clashing on the ring for the first time since... ehrrr... is it 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990's? I can't remember cause Boxing in the 1990's is marred by unfair competition and greedy promoters that brought down the sport.
    Anyways, Pacman vs PBF would be the best mega-buck fight out there, 2nd should be Pacman vs JMM (the last one did 400,000 buys in the US alone), a fight with Mosley would be huge but Cotto would be even better (now for this match to happen, Pac must beat PBF first).
    Anyway, Hatton is a beast and PBF is smart cherry-picking beast. He'll have to train triple hard against Gayweather if he wants to win. As for Cotto, Gayweather will continue to avoid him but a match with Pac is a possibility. So if you're a boxing fan, hope that Pac wins.
  6. Parrot
    6. Posted by Parrot Sat May 02, 2009 6:58 am EDT

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    No way can this guy be cash strapped!
  7. Mark S
    7. Posted by Mark S Sun May 03, 2009 2:53 pm EDT

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    A few thoughts: Sad to think FM will have to come back to fight for the money, not the challenge of seeing where he ranks; I don't care how many title Mosely will have won - the fact that he hooked up with BALCO like Bonds and did 'roids means he's not a true champion and I have no respect for him; my friends in the Philippines say Pacman isn't smart with his money either - he may end up fighting past his prime and getting beaten up at the end like he did to De La Hoya; they can put Cotto's name in the mix - but after the beating he took he'll never be the same.

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