Floyd Mayweather Jr. made an appearance on The Pivot Podcast where he maintained that he was still the “face of boxing”, a moniker meant to designate a fighter as the most popular and profitable boxer on the planet―despite having retired in 2017 following his blockbuster fight against UFC star Conor McGregor. However, some of Mayweather’s most recent exhibition fights very much prove the contrary to the former multi-division champion’s claims.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is currently not considered an active professional boxer but has participated in several exhibition bouts since his retirement. During his interview with The Pivot Podcast, Mayweather maintained that he was still the most marketable boxer in the world, driving home the point of his earlier influence over the sport being retained even now.
“Even if I don’t want to be, they still talk about me every time a fight comes on,” Mayweather said.
“So really, I’m still the face of boxing, even though you have certain individuals that want to throw shots and hate because that comes with the territory. You see all these fighters, they doing the shoulder roll.
“[And] I’m not knocking the guys that paved the way, and I want to come on record and say I’m appreciative for guys like Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Leonard. So many guys paved the way for me, but there’s only one Floyd Mayweather.
“These fighters are not better than me. You look at the numbers they say, ‘oh, Canelo may end up beating more world champions than Floyd Mayweather’. He should, with almost 80 to 90 fights he should. I beat more champions than any fighter in history. I’m 50-0 but half of my fights was [were] world title fights.“
While Floyd Mayweather Jr. is certainly known as one of the most decorated boxers to ever grace the sport and was the most recognizable name when he was active, he appears to conflate his previous popularity with how well-known he is currently.
A fighter of the popularity that Floyd Mayweather claims to have would still be able to sell out stadiums in most countries where boxing is prevalent. However, during his February 25th exhibition fight in 2023 against MMA fighter and reality TV star Aaron Chalmers, Mayweather notably headlined an event that appeared severely undersold according to The Mirror.
Mayweather’s last exhibition event on June 11th last year against John Gotti III appeared more packed, but despite no official numbers having been released regarding the event, it likely did not produce enough numbers given the usually braggadocios Mayweather has not deigned to mention how much he made for the event.
Mayweather also held the opinion that him being oft-mentioned during commentary and interviews meant he was the face of boxing, but it should be noted that other Hall of Fame boxers―and even lesser known ones―have been similarly referred to just as frequently. While him being mentioned in the same vein does pinpoint his relevance to the sport of boxing, the face of boxing is a term used for a boxer that is considered the most popular and marketable boxer.
Currently, Canelo Alvarez―who Mayweather defeated in 2013―appears to have taken the title of “face of boxing” with Forbes having already confirmed him to be the #5 highest-earning athlete in the world for 2023. Furthermore Alvarez’ name can be observed to be most often mentioned in boxing alongside Anthony Joshua who also bears considerable name recognition.
