Floyd Mayweather’s last bout was against a fighter who made his professional boxing debut.
Two years after he fought Manny Pacquiao, a first-of-its-kind crossover fight in modern times against Conor McGregor opened the door for the likes of Jake Paul to have a career in the sport.
His stoppage win over the Irishman signalled the 50th and final bout of his incredibly successful career, conquering five weight divisions across 30 years in the squared circle.
However, he drew criticism from every corner of the sport for choosing McGregor due to his lack of experience in the boxing ring.
Floyd Mayweather hit back at his long-time rival for his Conor McGregor fight critiques in 2017
It was the criticisms, though, of Golden Boy promoter and long-time rival Oscar De La Hoya, which made headlines when he claimed ‘Money May’ was ‘not good’ for the sport of boxing.
The then 40-year-old already had a quick response to De La Hoya’s claims, using his own words against him.
Speaking to ESPN, he said: “If I’m not mistaken, Oscar De La Hoya, I want everyone to pull this up on YouTube, was just trying to get Canelo to fight McGregor before he got the fight with GGG.
“Oscar De La Hoya also said ‘Floyd Mayweather’ is not good for boxing, but I was good enough for you to fight to get your biggest payday.”
Those comments made by the ‘Golden Boy’ may have come back to bite him in 2025 with the rise of the ‘Problem Child’ in the sport.
MVP’s last card featured Gilberto Ramirez who was rumoured to defend his title against the Ohio fighter after Paul received a WBA #14 ranking.
He also mentioned in a recent interview that Jake will be world champion within two years, which raises the question of what changed for Oscar in the past eight years.
Floyd Mayweather made eight times his purse in the McGregor fight compared to a 2015 world title bout
In the final two years of his career, he managed three fights, including two defenses of his WBC super welterweight championship.
That last defense saw him do what he does best and outbox Andre Berto over 12 rounds with masterful precision.
Although his purse was well below the sum he earned in his bout against ‘The Notorious’ one.
Raking in a reported $32 million against Berto paled in comparison to the enormous $280 million paycheck for his super-fight.
The fight purse was eight times greater for an altogether easier night’s work, facing, at the time, one of the best UFC fighters on the planet.