The check was for $100 million, a payday so mind boggling that Floyd Mayweather Jr. couldn't help but show it to a few reporters when the night was done. "No pictures, though," Mayweather said, sliding the check out of an envelope. "Don't want any pictures of it."
The check will soon be cashed, adding to the millions Mayweather already has stashed in his bank accounts. It was actually just a down payment for his night's work, which could total more than $200 million by the time pay-per-view sales are tallied up.
The richest fight ever wasn't the best fight ever, but that wasn't entirelyMayweather's fault. He did what he usually does Saturday night against Manny Pacquiao in a win that cemented his legacy as the best of his generation, even if he didn't win any new fans doing it.
Still, the fight will be a tough act to follow if only because of the staggering money it brought in. Hard to imagine Mayweather fighting for a paltry $30 million or $40 million after a night he made history with the richest single payday any athlete.
He says he'll fight once more in September, then hang up the gloves. Mayweathersays it's time to enjoy the fruits of his labor from a sport that has consumed his life since he was a kid. Pacquiao would blame a shoulder injury suffered in training last month for not being able to throw more right hands. His handlers would blame Nevada boxing officials for not allowing him a shot to numb the shoulder just before the fight, though the excuse rang hollow.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said his fighter would like a rematch, but there is little chance of that. Not with Pacquiao's shoulder injury, and certainly not after the perfect financial storm of a fight that cannot be replicated. Pacquiao likely made $100 million himself for the fight that packed the MGM Grand arena with celebrities, sports stars and people paying as much as $40,000 for ringside seats.
If Mayweather is serious about hanging up the gloves after one more fight, he'll go into the history books as the best of his generation — and certainly the richest. Because he doesn't take chances and turns fights into chess matches, though, he's not going to be mentioned on any short list of all-time greats. Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0 could be broken, and the MGM is building an arena on the las Vegas Strip that Mayweather could open next spring if he keeps fighting.
"I'm only human, I contradict myself," Mayweather said, leaving open the possibility of more fights. "I'm not perfect." He wasn't against Pacquiao. But he was good enough to pocket his $100 million check in boxing's richest fight.