Floyd Mayweather happy to walk away from boxing – once the cheque has been cashed, of course

The cheque was for US$100 million, a payday so mind boggling that Floyd Mayweather Jnr couldn’t help but show it to a few reporters when the night was done.

“No pictures, though,” Mayweather said, sliding the cheque out of an envelope. “Don’t want any pictures of it.”

The cheque will soon be cashed, adding to the millions Mayweather already has stashed in his bank accounts. It was actually just a down payment for his night’s work, which could total more than US$200 million by the time pay-per-view sales are tallied up.

The richest fight ever wasn’t the best fight ever, but that wasn’t entirely Mayweather’s fault. He did what he usually does on Saturday night against Manny Pacquiao in a win that cemented his legacy as the best of his generation, even if he didn’t win any new fans doing it.

Still, the fight will be a tough act to follow if only because of the staggering money it brought in. Hard to imagine Mayweather fighting for a paltry US$30 million or US$40 million after a night he made history with the richest single payday any athlete of any sport has made.

He says he’ll fight once more in September, then hang up the gloves. Mayweather says it’s time to enjoy the fruits of his labour from a sport that has consumed his life since he was a kid throwing punches in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“I don’t really think I’ll miss the sport,” Mayweather said. “I don’t even watch boxing. At one particular time I loved the sport of boxing. I wanted to go to every fight and wanted to be at every boxing event. But I just lost the love for the sport.”

Before a well-heeled crowd of 16,507 that cheered every time Pacquiao threw a punch, Mayweather dominated late once again to pull out a decision win that seemed closer in the ring than it did on the scorecards. Pacquiao even thought he won, though punch stats showed Mayweather landing far more punches and even throwing more than the usually frenetic Filipino.