Welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. retires

Although Floyd Mayweather Jr. has retired at least twice before, boxing’s pound-for-pound king says he’s really taking off his crown this time.

Mayweather abruptly retired Friday at the peak of his athletic skill and earning power, releasing a six-paragraph letter in which the unbeaten five-division champion said he no longer feels the passion that propelled him to the top of the family business.

Mayweather, a 31-year-old former Olympic bronze medalist, is calling it quits at the close of a remarkable 18-month stretch in which he beat Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, made more than $50 million in the ring and became a bankable celebrity outside it.

“This decision was not an easy one for me to make, as boxing is all I have done since I was a child,” said Mayweather, the son and nephew of three former fighters who all became top trainers. “However, these past few years have been extremely difficult for me to find the desire and joy to continue in the sport.”

The WBC welterweight champ (39-0, 25 KOs) hasn’t fought since knocking out Hatton last December, but was widely expected to take on De La Hoya in September in a rematch of their May 2007 bout, the richest fight in boxing history. Instead, Mayweather’s retirement clears De La Hoya’s schedule and opens a vacancy at the top of boxing just when it’s undergoing a revival built partly on Mayweather’s brilliance and showmanship.
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