by David P. Greisman - There are millions of reasons why Floyd Mayweather Jr. shouldn’t retire. Tens of millions, really. Perhaps even a hundred million.
And there are hundreds of millions of reasons why Mayweather can hang up his gloves for good even though he doesn’t have to.
We are not accustomed to athletes going out on their own terms. We’ve become used to them going out at the right time, or far beyond it, when there has been a noticeable decline from their prime, when their statistics drop, their injuries accumulate, and their younger counterparts assert an increasing influence.
We definitely don’t tend to see boxers leave until it’s too late, when they lose more often to those less talented, or when they face those who still can do what they now cannot.
Mayweather is not like the rest.
He has not lost. Not to one of the other best boxers of this generation, not to the other titleholders and contenders, not to anyone bigger, not to anyone younger. He still appears to have enough of his skills and reflexes and speed left to beat everyone in his division, and he has decades of intelligence and experience that would allow him to prolong his undefeated career even as age and time continue to lessen his physical gifts.
He can still earn more for his fights than anyone else, and more in one year than 99.9 percent of fighters will earn in their careers. He could add more to his bank accounts, add more exorbitantly expensive vehicles to his garages, add more ***elry and jets and other trappings of opulence to an already lavish lifestyle. [Click Here To Read More]
And there are hundreds of millions of reasons why Mayweather can hang up his gloves for good even though he doesn’t have to.
We are not accustomed to athletes going out on their own terms. We’ve become used to them going out at the right time, or far beyond it, when there has been a noticeable decline from their prime, when their statistics drop, their injuries accumulate, and their younger counterparts assert an increasing influence.
We definitely don’t tend to see boxers leave until it’s too late, when they lose more often to those less talented, or when they face those who still can do what they now cannot.
Mayweather is not like the rest.
He has not lost. Not to one of the other best boxers of this generation, not to the other titleholders and contenders, not to anyone bigger, not to anyone younger. He still appears to have enough of his skills and reflexes and speed left to beat everyone in his division, and he has decades of intelligence and experience that would allow him to prolong his undefeated career even as age and time continue to lessen his physical gifts.
He can still earn more for his fights than anyone else, and more in one year than 99.9 percent of fighters will earn in their careers. He could add more to his bank accounts, add more exorbitantly expensive vehicles to his garages, add more ***elry and jets and other trappings of opulence to an already lavish lifestyle. [Click Here To Read More]
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