“Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather can retire from boxing after his next fight if that’s what he really wants to do  It’s the prerogative of any professional athlete do decide when he or she has had enough and there is a measure of added satisfaction if that athlete can end their career on their own terms.

Those who follow the New York Giants know running back Tiki Barber has said he’ll retire at the end of the current NFL season. At age 31, Barber is at the peak of his career, coming off a Pro Bowl season where he led the league in rushing.  But Barber says he has other interests to pursue and eagerly awaits life after football.

This is not the norm.  Most athletes are forced into retirement because their skills have eroded, their bodies have broken down or they no longer add value to an organization.

As we all know, boxers are among the worst at realizing when it is time to change professions with many competing long past their primes, leaving us to balance the brilliance they displayed in their youth with the sad sideshow they become in their final years. Ali, Leonard, Tyson, Holyfield, Roy Jones, the list goes on.

So part of me wanted to applaud when Mayweather stunned a post-fight press conference late Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay by announcing the next fight would be his last.  With Al Hayman serving as his manager, advisor, mentor, Mayweather figures to be a success at anything he pursues.

“One more fight and I’m through,” Mayweather said just ahead of a flood of tears that turned the new WBC welterweight champion into a maze of Kleenex tissue.  “I don’t need boxing. I’m not in the sport for the money. I’m in the sport for the legacy.  I’m rich and I’ve accomplished what I wanted to accomplish.”

As a five-time world champion in four different weight divisions, Mayweather, who turns 30 in February, has accomplished a lot.  He’s already a lock for the boxing Hall of Fame.  But if he’s truly in boxing for the love of the sport and his legacy, then now is not the time to leave.

After destroying Carlos Baldomir Saturday night with a virtuoso blend of hand speed, defensive skills and pin-point counter-punching, Mayweather removed any doubt he’s the best fighter on the planet and the superstar boxing needs to carry the sport until it becomes relevant again.

No one gulped harder when Mayweather made his announcement than the HBO suits in the room. That included HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg, vice president Kery Davis and pay-per-view chief Mark Taffet.   The network has already held preliminary discussions on ways to make Mayweather not just a boxing star, but as Davis likes to say, “a sports star,” known to the casual sports fan the way Ali, Leonard, Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya are.

That kind of fame has eluded Mayweather thus far despite his ring dominance.  Truth is, Saturday night’s pay-per-view card was viewed as a litmus test to see whether Mayweather’s name alone could carry the promotion considering Baldomir is from Argentina and was a relative unknown before upsets over Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti.  A response of at least 300,000 buys would represent an up-tick in Mayweather’s national appeal and warrant the kind of future marketing that would make him an even bigger star.

Truth is, Mayweather is leaving just when the party is about to start.

From all indications, 2007 should be Mayweather’s defining year.  An HBO date in February is already secured and there’s the potential showdown with De La Hoya in May.  Then maybe a fight with Sugar Shane Mosley.

Fighting De La Hoya and Mosley alone could earn Mayweather close to $30 million.  Furthermore, from what I hear, the promotion if De La Hoya-Mayweather takes place is supposed to be a five-month spare-no-expense venture.  Not just one countdown show, but a series of shows, updates and insights as the promotion builds.  No doubt a Mayweather-Mosley fight would merit the same type of push.  By retiring after his next fight, Mayweather ruins all those plans, leaving boxing just when he is about to be embraced as its most marketable star amid a thinning landscape. 

De La Hoya has said he will retire after a final fight in May.  Hopkins is on the shelf, Jones is no longer an attraction and the heavyweights are a round-robin of uninteresting names.

I believe Mayweather was sincere in all he said Saturday night.  I know the tears were real.  But do I expect him to retire in February? No.  For starters, though he says he doesn’t fight for the money, it will be tough to leave an excess of $30 million on the table.  And if it’s not about the money, what about his legacy?

If Mayweather truly is all about his legacy then De La Hoya and Mosley is what’s missing from his resume.  Yes, he has beaten all 37 opponents he has faced and won titles from 130 pounds to 147.   But walking away before he fights De La Hoya and/or Mosley will raise questions about how his career should be viewed.  Mayweather says he “never ducked or dodged anyone.” But some might view his sudden retirement as simply a way of preserving his unbeaten record.

“Every time I go home, I look in the mirror and I’m happy with myself,” Mayweather said. “I’ve accomplished what I want to accomplish. I’m going to be remembered as the best no matter what anybody says. They can’t take that away from me.  There aren’t any fighters in boxing that won the WBC in every weight class.”

Look maybe this is about the pain in his hands, maybe this about being miffed at HBO for not putting him on pay-per-view sooner in his career, maybe this is emotional baggage from someone who has been called cocky, egotistical, and immature as many times as he’s been called great.  He makes things look so easy, sometimes we lack respect for the effort and discipline he puts into his preparation.

But if I had to guess, I’d expect to see Mayweather fighting for at least two more years, perhaps four or five more fights over that span before giving this retirement thing a real try.  Then again, I could be wrong. He could be that rare athlete that leaves his sport when he’s in the prime of his career, beating everybody to pulp and making millions for easy work.  Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Lennox Lewis did it.  Rare company indeed.

M

Send questions and comments to: gwillis@boxingtalk.com