Floyd Mayweather announces that he will be coming out of retirement in 2020 and will be working with UFC president Dana White.
It appears [autotag]Floyd Mayweather[/autotag] has gotten the itch to compete again, and may be working alongside an old friend.
That friend could be none other than UFC president Dana White, who was courtside next to Mayweather at the Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Clippers game Wednesday in Los Angeles. After images emerged of the two talking, Mayweather took to Instagram to confirm that they do indeed intend on working together once again, and that he will be coming out of retirement in 2020.
White helped put together “The Money Fight” in August 2017, a boxing match between former UFC dual champion Conor McGregor and the undefeated Mayweather. Mayweather took out McGregor in the 10th round with a TKO. That was more than two years ago and was the last time Mayweather competed.
Considering how successful the event was for all parties, it’s no surprise that the two want to work together again. With the launch of White’s Zuffa Boxing imminent, it appears he’ll be playing a part in Mayweather’s next fight.
Mayweather, 42, says he is coming out of retirement in 2020. Boxing fans: You can ignore him. There are other things to watch.
Floyd Mayweather posted to his Instagram this week that he was coming out of retirement in 2020.
There’s nothing in there about who he will be fighting or when, though Michael Rosenthal over at Boxing Junkie floated the idea that perhaps he and Dana White could organize another exhibition against a UFC fighter a la his fight with Conor McGregor.
Maybe they’ll dust off Manny Pacquiao and let the two of them go at it for nostalgia purposes.
Whatever it is: Boxing fans, you don’t have to do this anymore.
You don’t have to talk yourself into watching this. You don’t have to convince yourself that watching a 42-year-old Mayweather dodge punches and do enough to win on the scorecard is entertaining, especially if he’s going up against a UFC fighter with an iota of the technical skill he has.
Mayweather was one of the best to ever do it, and in his prime, watching him was thrilling. He was so technically gifted, and so quick, that watching great fighters try to hit him was to see them rendered useless. It was an acquired taste, but once you saw his brilliance, it became hard not to want to see him work.
Now? I mean, what are we watching? The McGregor fight had a certain sideshow appeal, and it was funny watching Mayweather try to figure out what to do with McGregor’s undeveloped style, but come on. At a certain point, watching an aging man dodge punches isn’t all that thrilling anymore. It becomes rote.
Not to mention he’s a reprehensible person, an annoyance, and is starting to get to the point where boxing is struggling to move on from him. Every time he comes around it’s another media circus that sucks oxygen out of the room that other young boxers might consume.
I realize the central irony in the fact that I’m writing about him right now, and making an argument by giving coverage to someone I’m saying shouldn’t get coverage. But let this be the end of it. Let us move on from this.
Floyd Mayweather announced on his Instagram account that he’s making a return in 2020.
Floyd Mayweather just can’t bear to be out of the news.
The “Money” man recently told Reuters that he’s finished as a boxer, although he’s open to participating in more exhibitions.
On Thursday, the 42-year-old announced this on his Instagram account: “Coming out of retirement in 2020.” And on the preceding post, he said this: “@danawhite and I working together again to bring the world another spectacular event in 2020.”
Of course, that could mean a lot of things. Maybe he’s talking about one of those exhibitions, although that wouldn’t be coming out of retirement. Maybe he plans to face another MMA fighter, who, like Conor McGregor, would stand no chance of beating him. Maybe he’s planning to box again. Manny Pacquiao?
The timing is weird given that Mayweather is one of the promoters of the Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz card Saturday in Las Vegas. Why would he want to take attention away from that?
Floyd Mayweather told Reuters that he’s finished as a boxer, although he is open to participating in more exhibitions.
Floyd Mayweather evidently has no plans whatsoever to fight again in a sanctioned bout.
The 42-year-old all-time great told Reuters that he’s finished as a boxer, although he is open to participating in more exhibitions. He said his focus is on his chain of boxing fitness gyms and his promotional company.
So much for rematches with Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez.
“I’ve got calls to get back into the ring, but my health is my wealth,” Mayweather told the wire service at the opening of one of his gyms in Torrance, California. “Boxing is a very, very brutal sport. In the last few years a lot of fighters have died inside that squared circle.”
He added, “You have got to know when to hang it up. I had a great career.”
Mayweather “retired” in 2007 but came back in 2009, easily outpointing Juan Manuel Marquez to kick off one last serious run in his career. He walked away again after beating Andre Berto in 2015 only to return once more to face MMA star Conor McGregor in 2017.
That was his last fight, giving him a final record of 50-0. Since then, he has done exhibitions. One took place in January, when he defeated Japanese kick boxer Tenshin Nasukawa.
“I’ll still travel and do exhibitions. I make great money doing exhibitions, between $10 and $30 million,” he said. “I think I make more doing that than most fighters make fighting.”
Mayweather also said he expects to expand into mixed martial arts one day.
“Eventually I will move on to build my brand in MMA,” he said, “but for right now I’m in boxing, and boxing will always be at the top as long as I’m involved.”
Joseph George has the amateur background, work ethic and guidance of NFL player Trent Williams as he pursues success in boxing.
Light heavyweight prospect Joseph George has always thought big. Trent Williams, George’s manager and an All-Pro offensive tackle in the NFL, has made it big. Maybe that’s why they make a good team.
About a decade ago George was a walk-on basketball player at Temple College, a small school near Austin, Texas, with dreams of playing in the NBA but he stumbled upon something – literally – that he decided would provide a more direct path to a career as an athlete. The 19-year-old passed the Cougar Boxing Gym in Temple every day on his way to classes and decided, without so much as a training session behind him, that he would walk through the door and become a boxer.
Today, George, 30, is preparing to fight Marcos Escudero in a 10-round bout Friday on Showtime.
“I could never have imagined this,” he told Boxing Junkie. “I used to watch guys like Floyd Mayweather on TV. I thought you had to be superman to take on those challenges and conquer them.
“I did believe in myself, though. And as time passed, with a lot of hard work and the opportunities that presented themselves, here we are. I still can’t believe it.”
Joseph George (right) has benefited from the guidance of manager and NFL player Trent Williams the past several years. George fights Marcos Escudero on Friday. Dave Mandel / Showtime
George (9-0, 6 knockouts) said he sparred that first day in the gym and held his own, using his quickness and athleticism – “and I mimicked what I saw Mayweather do” – to not only survive but impress onlookers.
The native of Houston soon had a trainer, took part in his first fight in 2010, became a good enough amateur to compete in the U.S. Trials for the 2016 Olympics and finally turned professional that year.
So where does Trent Williams come in?
A fellow boxer and friend of George invited him to work out at a gym – the O Athletik – owned by Williams and NFL running back Adrian Peterson in Houston, a few hours southeast of Temple. There he met the man who would become his trainer to this day, James Cooper, and join forces with Williams.
Cooper, who learned the trade under the likes of Don Turner and Emanuel Steward, took one look at George in the gym and thought, “Where has this kid been?” That was his way of saying that the clever, hard-working boxer-puncher with the strong amateur pedigree could ultimately become something special.
Williams, just starting to build a stable of fighters, thought the same thing. And he knew what he was seeing.
The fourth overall draft pick of the Washington Redskins in 2010, who grew up in east Texas, has been a fan of boxing for as long as he can remember. And he boxed in the gym himself during the NFL off season beginning in 2011, mostly to stay in shape, which impressed George. That’s when the football player began to cross paths with fighters, both boxers and mixed martial artists, and decided to open the gym.
“I just always gravitated toward it,” he said.
George (right) has impressed Williams with his mental toughness and worth ethic. Dave Mandel / Showtime
Williams was impressed with George’s ability and approach to the sport, particularly because he understands the demands of a professional boxer. He contemplated boxing professionally himself but quickly thought better of it.
“What makes Joe who he is is his work ethic, his determination,” Williams said. “He’s fearless, a different breed. You don’t come across guys that mentally strong too often, even in the sport of boxing.
“That’s what separates him from others. I think he’s going to open a lot of eyes on Friday.”
George also thinks the world of Williams, who is a manager, friend and role model all wrapped into one.
Williams has had a difficult year. He demanded to be released and has held out this entire NFL season over the way the Redskins medical staff handled a growth on his head that turned out to be cancerous and was recently removed. He first reported the growth in 2013 but, he claims, he was told repeatedly that it wasn’t serious.
You’d never know that Williams is in any kind of anguish, though, according to George. The grace with which he has handled this challenge and his upbeat demeanor has served as a valuable example for George.
“I learned that no matter what happens in life, it’s important to remain a solid person,” he said. “You remain a genuine person and let God handle the rest. Everything will fall into place. That’s what I think every time I see him smiling, every time he has something positive to say. He’s a great mentor.”
Of course, a great mentor needs a great student. This team seems to be built for success.
Tyson Fury, at least in words, has accepted UFC’s Stipe Miocic’s offer for a crossover fight.
Tyson Fury has a lot on his plate these days.
That apparently includes the possibility of a crossover fight with Stipe Miocic, the UFC heavyweight champion who recently stated his desire to fight the “Gypsy King.” Miocic told ESPN that he would rather face Fury than engage in a third fight with former UFC titleholder Daniel Cormier.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Fury, it seems, has taken up Miocic on his offer.
“Stipe says he wants to box me. That would be a good fight, for sure,” Fury told his management company MTK Global.
Fury, of course, has a pretty packed schedule. He is tentatively scheduled to face Wilder in February if the American titleholder defeats Luis Ortiz in their November 23 rematch.
“After I get Wilder out of the way, I’ll fight Stipe in a boxing match if he wants it,” Fury continued. “It would be a big crossover fight like Mayweather and McGregor.”
Fury (29-0-1, 20 knockouts) is no stranger to the crossover fight, having already stepped into the professional wrestling universe against the WWE’s Braun Strowman in October. Most recently, Fury was shown on a video throwing knees and elbows with UFC middleweight champion Darren Till in the gym. That caught Miocic’s attention on Twitter.
Fury, for his part, relishes the idea of taking on the UFC stars.
“I’m open to (fighting Miocic), so he should come and see me,” Fury said. “It would be the same outcome for any of (the UFC fighters): They’ll all get smashed.”
In recent days, the UFC’s Jorge Masvidal and Stipe Miocic have expressed interest in facing Canelo Alvarez and Tyson Fury, respectively.
MMA stars may get the earlier start times, but it’s the top boxers who take home the more gratifying paychecks.
Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s biggest attraction, was reduced to playing second fiddle in the combat sports world when DAZN decided to delay his title fight against Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 2 to accommodate the UFC main event between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz that took place that same evening.
Critics ripped the streaming service for making it appear as though boxing was taking a backseat to the UFC. However, in at least one respect, it’s the other way around.
In the days after his technical decision over Diaz, Masvidal has been busy beating the drums for … an Alvarez fight. And Stipe Miocic, the UFC heavyweight champion, has floated the idea of reneging on a third fight with Daniel Cormier to face heavyweight contender Tyson Fury in a boxing match.
Notice a pattern yet?
It’s always the mixed martial artist clamoring to fight the boxer and seldom vice versa. For good reason. As has been well documented, the top boxers earn far more than their UFC counterparts. And there’s something about the crossover appeal that gets people to take out their wallets, as the 2017 pay-per-view bonanza – all 4.3 million buys – between UFC’s Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather demonstrated.
"I consider myself 10 times the athlete he is … I feel I could hurt this dude." @GamebredFighter had time for Canelo Alvarez today 👀- Lorenzo pic.twitter.com/bc8c7usQkT
If you’re Masvidal, why not push for an Alvarez fight? Crazier things have happened. A Canelo fight would represent by far the most lucrative opportunity in his career. Masvidal discussed a potential Canelo fight on the Dan Le Batard show on Tuesday.
“If he was to come to the MMA, it wouldn’t be a challenge,” Masvidal said. “I would throw 10,000 left high kicks and he hasn’t thrown one. It’s kind of the same thing in boxing, where if I’ve thrown a million jabs, he’s thrown 10 million because that’s all his focus is on, boxing.
“That being said, there’s still an element where I could put his ass to sleep. I’m actually bigger even though I may not hit harder, but definitely bigger, and I consider myself 10 times the athlete he is, just because of MMA in general, all the strength, speed that we have to generate. … I feel I could hurt this dude.”
Marcos Maidana is reportedly coming out of retirement to face former kickboxer Jorge Acero Cali in a five-rounder at 187 pounds.
Evidently, not even Marcos Maidana, the recipient of two Floyd Mayweather windfalls, can ward off the boxing bug.
The hard-hitting Argentine, who hasn’t fought since his second bout against Mayweather in 2014, is planning a comeback fight against 47-year-old kickboxer Jorge Acero Cali in early April, according to reports. The fight will be set for five three-minute rounds at a catch weight of 85 kilograms (roughly 187 pounds), or more than 40 pounds over his last fighting weight. An announcement is planned for this Friday.
Maidana’s manager, Ernesto Ricci told the Argentine media outlet Telam, according to BoxingScene.com, that the fight is the former welterweight titleholder’s way of saying goodbye to his fans.
“Maidana returns to boxing because he accepted the challenge of ‘Acero’ Cali,” Ricci said. “They have been trading messages and videos since January of this year, before Marcos left for the United States to prepare for the return that did not happen. This is serious. … (The fight) “is a way to say goodbye to the fans of Argentina, something he could not do. With Marcos, nothing is ever final. Perhaps when dusting off the gloves he gets bitten by the bug and goes for a world-class opponent. Offers (for high profile fights) are not lacking.”
It was reported in February that he would end his retirement to sign a contract with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions in a bid to face the top welterweights. But Maidana backtracked a few months later as be started training in Las Vegas, citing his “lost hunger” for the sport.
Maidana last fought on Sept. 13, 2014, when he lost a unanimous decision to Mayweather in their rematch.
