After adding another belt by beating Manny Pacquiao over the weekend, Floyd Mayweather will relinquish his various boxing titles and put an end to his official status as a champion.
Floyd Mayweather is giving up all his title belts, but not just to be nice
He says it’s best for the sport -- and it’s also best for his wallet.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
After the fight, Mayweather said he would probably relinquish the titles Monday, but he eventually backtracked and said it would be in the coming weeks. Either way, it’s clear he wants the final match of his career to be a non-title belt fight.
The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight was for the WBA, WBC and The Ring welterweight titles already held by Mayweather as well as the WBO welterweight title held by Pacquiao. Mayweather additionally held several belts that were not up for grabs Saturday night: Mayweather was the WBA and WBC super welterweight champion as well as The Ring’s junior middleweight champion.
The president of the WBO said after the fight that his organization had given Mayweather the title symbolically, even though both sides expected him to relinquish it:
As courtesy we handed @FloydMayweather WBO belt- and he accepted it- but it was agreed beforehand that should he win, title would be vacant.
— Paco Valcárcel, Esq. (@PacoValcarcel) May 3, 2015 The WBO has already removed Mayweather from their website:
Mayweather is still listed as the champion on the WBA, WBC and The Ring websites.
There are a few reasons why Mayweather would choose to do this. His camp says that it’s a matter of fairness with the undefeated boxer having accomplished everything he can. From the Washington Post:
“It’s about giving other guys opportunities,” Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, told Maese. “He’s accomplished everything in the sport. What more can he accomplish?“However, the real reasons Mayweather is relinquishing his belts have to do with his immediate future. Mayweather is contractually obligated to fight in one more bout for Showtime, which will almost certainly be the last of his career. Mayweather has already won everything he could possibly win, so for several reasons, he’d prefer if his final match wasn’t for a title, for two reasons.
The first is financial. In order to win an organization’s belt, boxers have to pay a sanctioning fee for the match. In 2010, Mayweather specified that his fight against Shane Mosley not be for the WBA welterweight belt because there was a $675,000 sanctioning fee.
That was over half a million dollars for just one belt. Mayweather has many, and chances are those fees have increased in the last five years. Now that Mayweather has won everything he can possibly win, he’d rather give up the belts than pay to retain them in his final fight.
And Mayweather will get to pick his opponent. To hold on to an organization’s title, belt-holders have to fight that organization’s No. 1 contender. Floyd would rather choose who he fights instead of being told who he has to fight.
This makes things awkward for the next holder of the WBC welterweight belt. The belt, billed as worth $1 million due to an emerald-encrusted centerpiece, was made especially for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao and featured pictures of the two fighters.
SB Nation presents: Floyd Mayweather remains undefeated
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