MAYWEATHER RETIRES AFTER WIN OVER MCGREGOR; COTTO WILL RETIRE AFTER ONE LAST FIGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 29 Aug 2017
Floyd Mayweather Jr. calls his first retirement in 2008 as a "necessary vacation.? And he came back from his second retirement because too much money was involved in a match he called ?easy work? against boxing first timer Conor McGregor.
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"Yes, I did walk away from the sport before very comfortable,? said Mayweather, who was guaranteed a purse of $100 million for fighting UFC champ McGregor. ?I didn?t have to come back. But, you know, like I said, we do foolish things sometimes. We all do foolish things, but I?m not a damn fool. If I see an opportunity to make $300, $350 million in 36 minutes, why not? I had to do it."
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Errol Spence Jr. and Keith Thurman, both undefeated welterweight champions, hoped to face Mayweather and receive money they never earned before. Spence is the IBF welterweight champion, and Thurman is the WBA and WBC welterweight titleholder, are younger than McGregor but are experienced unbeaten boxers which pose more danger than the novice UFC superstar.
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Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) defintely has retired and has this to say: ?There?s a lot of young lions out there, you know? You won?t see me in the ring no more. So any guy that?s calling me out, forget it. I?m OK. I had a great career. I had a tremendous career."
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?You know, give the fans what they wanna see,? Mayweather recalled regarding what he said to McGregor as he shoved him after the fifth round. ?I pushed him and told him, ?You still ain?t knock me out yet. I thought you said it wasn?t going past four rounds. Show me your real power.? That?s all. That was it."
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Miguel Cotto overcame the ring aggressiveness of Yoshihiro Kamegai and delivered the much-needed blows to win a unanimous decision for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title Saturday night at the full-packed StubHub Center. The fight was held on the same date as the Mayweather-McGregor encounter. Cotto (41-5, 33 KOs) won his sixth world title, winning with the scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 from the judges.
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Even if Cotto was pummelling him with several combinations, boxing from all angles, Kamegai kept on attacking Cotto as the Japanse took more punishment from the Puerto Rican. "I've never seen a guy like that,'' trainer Freddie Roach said of Kamegai. "He really doesn't know what's good for him, I think. He's the toughest guy I ever saw in my life. Miguel's a good puncher, believe me.''
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In the postfight interview, Cotto said he wants his last fight in December. Asked who he would like to face next, Cotto turned to trainer Freddie Roach, who said he wants Cotto to challenge the winner of the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin fight.
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Cotto wants to have his final fight in Madison Square Garden in New York, where had a large following from the large Puerto Rican community in his pro career. He doesn't want his final fight to be an easy one. "I'm always one to go out there and face the best,'' Cotto said. "We are always willing to go against the best.''
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Despite all the power shots Cotto could land, Kamegai (27-4-2) did not buckle down and was not able to kiss the canvas. Kamegai's nose was bloodied in the second round. And the Japanese's left eye was cut on the seventh.
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"He was just a tough opponent,'' Cotto appreciated his foe. "I'm really proud of my performance out there and we're happy.'' Kamegai had a difficult time waging battle against the offense of Cotto who has superior speed.
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During the interview after the fight, there was a suggestion that the Puerto Rican champ could still fight beyond 2017. "Come December 31st, I will retire,'' Cotto was quick to answer. "I've done it all. I'm 36 going on 27, and I think I've come to the end of my career. I will fight once more in December.''
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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