Mayweather Seeing New Money With Old Friends?
By Eddie Sanchez
The 43 year old Floyd Mayweather has been active on social media as of late. In what seems like a monthly cycle for the past few years, Mayweather is once again showing off his bag work and teasing fans about a potential comeback.
Given that this behavior has been a common theme of his, why does this time feel different?
My theory is Coronavirus.
With UFC 249 officially scheduled for the third, and hopefully final time for May 9th, Mayweather has done his part to keep his name in the airwaves as he usually does when major combat news is dominating headlines.
His two most recent callouts have been to Conor McGregor and Marcos Maidana, both of which are former opponents of his.
With Coronavirus putting a halt to most live sporting events since mid-March, it’s likely Mayweather is looking to capitalize on the demand his name would bring in a watered down televised live-sports market.
Contributing to this theory is the NFL’s success with their Draft, which just concluded Saturday, April 25th.
According to CNN, “The opening night of this year’s draft, which was held virtually because of coronavirus, drew an average of 15.6 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes and digital channels. That number was up roughly 37% (from 12.4 million) from last year and is a new record for the event.”
The NFL draft, which has regularly topped American live sporting viewership ratings under normal circumstances, proved that there is plenty of opportunity for growth in the current climate.
May 9th will provide another data point, and likely a more accurate assessment, for what Mayweather could expect if he were to come out of retirement given that the majority of the combat sports community will in some fashion be tuning in to UFC 249.
Smart-money would lead one to conclude that Mayweather is once again simply teasing the masses, but given the unique times we live in, there is a legitimate question if he is seriously contemplating a big money fight in the near future.
If he is focused on McGregor or Maidana, as the rumors have pointed him towards, then any possible fight would lean toward unlikely on the scale of possibility.
Maidana has a few more steps to take with his own comeback attempt considering he last fought in 2014 and he has recently cut an enormous amount of weight in the past six months.
McGregor also seems focused on another title run in the UFC, but out of the two possibilities, McGregor would be the most likely opponent based on his own willingness to maximize his brand and step out of his comfort zone.
Considering the impact Coronavirus has had on the world and sports specifically, I’m sure even the most passionate Mayweather-haters would hope the most recent comeback rumors are true. Only time will tell.
Do you think Mayweather will be making another comeback? If so, against who? If not, or you could care less about Floyd, tell us why.
