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by Bryanna Fissori
Did anyone really think Floyd Mayweather Jr was going to fade softly into the sunset and live a quiet, normal life? For a man who lives for the spotlight, retirement is probably a little disconcerting.
Whether you call the champ attention-seeking, narcissistic or genius, Mayweather certainly knows how to put the masses on notice. The back and forth banter between Mayweather and MMA fighter Conor McGregor began in the spring of 2017 and has yet to stop. This is over five month after they met in the ring, Mayweather winning by TKO in the 10th round.
Since the beginning there has been talk of Mayweather trying his hand (and maybe feet) in the cage. The boxer has been purposefully vague on the topic, eluding that he could go to MMA, but that essentially he can do anything he wants to. That doesn’t mean he is going to do it.
Earlier this week, Mayweather took the media a step further when he posted a short clip on Twitter of him walking into the cage at Syndicate, an MMA gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. Syndicate is home to a number of high-level fighters in the area, including several in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
Following his first Tweet, Mayweather posted a second video showing him inside the cage. He looks at the camera and says just a few words;
“2018, Floyd Money Mayweather. MMA. What are the odds, Paddy? What are the odds?”
The video starts at the feet of Mayweather with a clear impression of the label “PADDYPOWER,” in white on his black shorts. PaddyPower.com is an online betting site.
Can you think of a much simpler marketing tactic? A 14 second video clip, filmed on a smart phone is going viral with boxing’s biggest star front and center. May weather not only mentions “Paddy” in the segment, he is also wearing the logo. The only thing that could have put icing on the cake is maybe a #paddypower hashtag.
The betting site is traditionally Irish, which made it even more interesting when Mayweather showed up to weight ins for his bout against McGregor. When the boxing champ striped down, he was wearing a pair of green boxer briefs with “PADDYPOWER” across the front and tiny lettering all throughout, which read “always bet on black.”
The deal to get Mayweather into those briefs reportedly took a lot of patience and determination. Paddy Power representative were stood up in favor of yoga, kept waiting for hours starting around 2am at a strip club, followed by a fiasco of sewing machines to get the attire perfect to Mayweather’s liking.
Mayweather is reportedly heading to Minnesota to meet with Stephen Espinoza, Showtime executive. Espinoza told TMZ that an MMA fight would be a topic of conversation. “There’s a chance . . . whatever he puts his mind to, he sort of wills it into happening. [Floyd] willed the McGregor fight into happening. So, if he sets his mind to it, it’ll happen.”
There is no word yet on what Paddy Power had to do to get the Twitter video or if Mayweather is actually considering an MMA fight. Sure it will be a topic of conversation. It was great PR.
Is Mayweather really serious about MMA? Well, anyone want to bet on it?
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