Floyd Mayweather not itching to fight again, but doesn't count out possibility

Floyd Mayweather tells the BBC that he's turned down "nine figure" offers to fight again, saying that "as of now" he's "completely out" of boxing. But Mayweather, who turns 39 later this month, doesn't sound as though he's counting out the possibility of a return to boxing.

"If I do get the itch to come back, it really won't be for the money but I have to get paid. That's why the nickname is Floyd 'Money' Mayweather."

Just acknowledging there's a chance he could "get the itch" is headline fodder in itself, and the fact that a lot of people still expect he'll find his way back to the ring at some point, even if for just one more fight, makes it more meaningful. Boxers have a history of struggling to stay retired, though of course some do. Joe Calzaghe and Oscar De La Hoya are recent examples of fighters who have announced retirements and stuck to them, and Mayweather has in some ways followed the blueprint of De La Hoya, who has more than enough money to live and makes more all the time thanks to his promotional company. Mayweather Promotions isn't what Golden Boy Promotions was as recently as 2014, but in all reality the two companies are actually pretty similar right now.

Will Mayweather (49-0, 26 KO) fight again? It really seems about 50-50 at this point, and will depend entirely on whether or not Mayweather wants to fight. It doesn't seem likely that anything will force him to do so. Outside of the same nagging injuries he's dealt with for years, he is a healthy fighter, and his style and skills have helped him avoid a lot of damage piling up. He made a massive amount of money for the Manny Pacquiao fight alone last year, not to mention all the other money he's made in his career. And he's got a good standing as a promoter and working closely with Al Haymon. In other words, he seems to have retirement properly set up, which is often not the case for other fighters.

But if he wants to fight again, well, that's a powerful motivator. And perhaps the only thing that might bring him back again.