Who will Floyd Mayweather fight next after defeating Conor McGregor, or will he retire from boxing instead?

Before his fight with McGregor, Mayweather had vowed to both his family and his fans that he would retire from boxing for good after his 50th professional contest

Luke Brown
Las Vegas
Sunday 27 August 2017 01:32 EDT
Comments
Mayweather has confirmed that he is retiring from boxing
Mayweather has confirmed that he is retiring from boxing (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Before his fight with Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather vowed that this would be the last time he would ever step foot in the boxing ring.

He’s promised that before, of course, first retiring after he outpointed Andre Berto in 2015. But now that he has beaten McGregor to move to 50-0, there is precious little incentive for him to fight again.

“I gave my word already,” Mayweather admitted in the week ahead of his fight with McGregor.

“Once I gave my word to my children, it’s the end. It came to an end.

“This is a great event. What better way to go out than with a bang?”

He repeated that sentiment after his win against McGregor. "This was my last fight tonight. For sure. Tonight was my last fight. Tonight I chose the right dance partner to dance with. Conor you are a hell of a champion," he said.

McGregor could agitate for a rematch — but that’s unlikely. The Irishman is a mixed martial artist, not a boxer, and will likely return to fighting in the UFC. If he is to box again, it would more likely be against Paulie Malignaggi.

As for what the future holds for Mayweather? The 40-year-old says that he is unsure.

“That’s a great question. Because I’m not sure he even knows,” one of his closest advisers, who declined to be identified because of the subject matter, said in the build-up to this fight.

What does the boxing world think of Mayweather v McGregor?

But Mayweather has many different business interests and also fronts up Mayweather Promotions, his exciting stable of fighters which also includes Gervonta Davis and Badou Jack, who both fought on Saturday night’s undercard.

So — although only Mayweather knows his own future — it looks most likely that the boxer will retire for good this time around. He has nothing left to prove.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in