Floyd Mayweather to vacate all five world titles ahead of final fight in September after beating Manny Pacquiao
Mayweather insists he will retire in September with a possible 49-0 record despite the allure of trying to beat Rocky Marciano's landmark
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Your support makes all the difference.Floyd Mayweather will vacate all five of his world titles following the comprehensive victory over Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, and wants his final fight in September to be about prestige rather than championship glory.
Having added Manny Pacquiao's WBO welterweight belt to the WBA and WBC titles he already held courtesy of the points victory at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning, Mayweather insists that he will fight just one more time.
At the age of 38, Mayweather feels that it is time to let other fighters battle for the championship gold in the light-welterweight and welterweight divisions, and his second fight of 2015 0 whoever the opponent - will see him complete a six-fight deal with Showtime.
The Independent understands that Mayweather could yet remain in the ring for one more fight in 2016, but speaking after his win over Filipino favourite Pacquiao, he insisted he only has one more match in him. Relinquishing the title belts would also see him save a large sum of money on sanctioning fees, while the draw of a Mayweather fight would see the interest remain without any sort of dip in the audience.
"I'll talk to my team and see what we need to do. Other fighters need a chance. Give other fighters a chance. I'm not greedy.
"I'm a world champion in two different weight classes. It's time to let other fighters fight for the belt."
Mayweather refused to discuss potential opponents for his final outing, demanding that he be given time to "enjoy my victory", and is adamant that he will not attempt to eclipse Rocky Marciano's 49-0 fabled record.
Viewing boxing as merely work and more comfortable discussing his material wealth than his exploits in the ring, the Atlanta Olympics bronze medallist insists he has no affection for the sport or desire to supplant Marciano in the history books.
"It's about working smarter, not harder. We believe in taking as few punches as possible," Mayweather said.
"I don't want to start taking abuse to my body when I'm almost 40. I want to have all my faculties. I invested my money extremely well, so I could retire from boxing today A-ok.
"Every fight played a major role in where I am today, not just one fight will define my career.
"This fight was extremely important to me. The ultimate goal was to make nine figures and that's what we did."
Mayweather's dominant performance, in which he picked off the advancing Pacquiao with jabs and straight right hands, has left little appetite for a rematch despite the Filipino's claims he had carried a shoulder injury into the fight.
Additional reporting by Duncan Bech of PA
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