Floyd Mayweather's "Retirement"

"Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather, the undefeated WBC welterweight champion, has announced his retirement from boxing. Don't believe the hype, either from the critics or from Mayweather himself.

Mayweather has a mouthy, egotistical style that has alienated many mainstream boxing fans and pundits. I should know, because I'm one of his critics. I turn up at Mayweather fights hoping against hope that someone will get past his speed and reflexes and win the victory that Jose Luis Castilleo should have gotten in his first fight with Mayweather (Mayweather clearly won the rematch). However, unlike many in the boxing press, I am not going to make outrageous claims and make myself look ridiculous because of my distaste for Mayweather.

The legion of critics who were already accusing Mayweather of avoiding the tough Puerto Rican puncher and WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. Now they are screaming "yellow" and accusing the world's pound-for-pound king of cowardice. Bah! In the last three years, Mayweather has fought Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Carlos Baldomir. No one with a sterling resume like Mayweather's can be called "yellow;" it's like calling Max Cleland or John Kerry a traitorous Al Qaeda sympathizer (is Karl Rove behind all the anti-Mayweather griping?). As I wrote at the time of his WWE appearance, Mayweather has kept up a busy schedule and if anyone in boxing has earned a little break, it's him. That is the way to look at this "retirement." Mayweather has been talking retirement for more than a year now, but his announcing it is no reason to take it seriously. It's not going to last and there are many reasons for that.

Mayweather is a Showboat, First and Foremost

If there is one thing Mayweather is good with after his feet and his fists, it's promoting himself. This retirement is a sales stunt, nothing surer. Mayweather likes being in spotlight just for the sake of it, and right now everyone in boxing is paying attention to him. Mayweather's retirement announcement overshadowed middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik's spectacular knockout of Gary Lockett this weekend! I wonder if the pundits and haters realize they are playing right into Mayweather's hands by yapping so much about him. As the saying goes "Even when you diss me, you're still spreading my name."

So in the short term, the buzz Mayweather is creating is all plus for him. In the long-term, it sets the stage for a dramatic comeback, perhaps late next year against the winner of a likely de la Hoya vs. Cotto fight. All that equals money, more money, and still more money. And folks, never forget that at the end of the day, the name of this game isn't "pugilism."

"Money" Mayweather Ain't So Good With Money

It's a sad old story: the boxer who squanders his fortune with unpaid tax bills, bad investments, and too much generosity. So if Evander Holyfield can wind up broke after making more than $100 million in his career, what makes anyone think a guy with $1 million in bling around his neck and an entourage thicker than Queen Elizabeth's is going to hang on to his fortune? Mayweather's retirement is has an finite limit defined by his cash flow, and Dancing with the Stars doesn't earn him even a fraction of what a single Pay-Per-View appearance can. Even though he earned $50 million between de la Hoya and Hatton, 1/2 to 2/3s is already gone paying taxes (assuming he is keeping up on his taxes), his manager, his corner staff, his training expenses, and assorted other costs. The rest will run through his fingers like water. You can take this one to the bank: Mayweather will be back as soon as his funds start running short, if not before.

The "Pretty Boy" Is Green with Envy when It Comes to the "Golden Boy"

Floyd Mayweather has always been jealous of Oscar de la Hoya's success, and continues to be to this day. Even back in the days when Mayweather was obscurely campaigning at 130lbs and had just won his first title, and Oscar was fighting at 154lbs and an establish multi-division champion and superstar, he whined incessantly "Why is Oscar de la Hoya getting more money and ad contracts than I am?" He has always believed he was simply entitled to de la Hoya's success from the very beginning of his career. It must be maddening that even after his narrow, highly questionable points win over Oscar de la Hoya in 2007, Mayweather still has not eclipsed the object of his envy and spite. Dancing with the Stars is not the same thing as multiple prime-time product endorsements; de la Hoya is poised to become boxing's biggest promoter, while Mayweather is play-acting on the WWE; while Oscar's music CD is terrible, it still sold better than Mayweather's foray into rapping.

Mayweather was scheduled to fight a rematch with de la Hoya later this year. If he can't beat the Golden Boy, why not thumb his nose at de la Hoya instead?

So relax. Floyd Mayweather will be back as soon as he figures out he has zero hope of becoming the next Wesley Snipes (although someone should tell him Snipes is in jail for tax evasion), and maybe even sooner.