As one of the premier boxers of the 21st century, Terence Crawford can relate to what Floyd Mayweather Jr. is seemingly going through.
Mayweather, 49, was the highest-earning boxer in history when he walked away from the sport in 2017 following the completion of a perfect 50-0 professional career, but it’d be an understatement to call the years since troubled for the former five-division champion. Mayweather has repeatedly come under fire for rumored financial issues, culminating in being hit with a $7.3 million IRS lien over alleged unpaid taxes and two felony charges relating to a 2024 incident in which he allegedly wrote a $200,000 bad check.
Mayweather was also slapped with a lawsuit in June by promoter CSI Entertainment, which alleged that the Hall of Fame boxer pocketed $4.65 million in advances for proposed fights against Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao, only to then renege on the deals. As a result of the suit, Mayweather’s planned exhibition match against kickboxer Mike Zambidis — which was scheduled for late June in Athens, Greece — was canceled.
Crawford, 38, is no stranger to big-money bouts. The future Hall of Famer retired as an undefeated five-division champion in September following his blockbuster win over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, which made him the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound boxer in the world. And for Crawford, who earned hundreds of millions throughout his celebrated career, Mayweather’s plight serves as a warning for young athletes across the globe.
Said Crawford on Wednesday’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” when asked about Mayweather:
“It’s sad when you hear about the people that are coming at him and people calling him broke, which, Floyd ain’t going to never be broke. You may have $200 million and they call you broke because you ain’t at the status that you once were yesterday that you are today. But Floyd has an expensive lifestyle, and if you’re not bringing in money, just as much money as you’re spending, then of course you’re heading down the wrong path.
“So it’s definitely a lesson learned to these young, up-and-coming athletes — and not just boxing, just athletes around the world — that tomorrow’s not promised, so you need to make the right investments, make the right decisions with your money. Because you can use it as a tool to make money, but at the same time, it can hinder you and you can burn yourself at the end of the day thinking that you’re going to get another check tomorrow. So you’ve got to plan for the future, and some people don’t do that.”
Mayweather’s rumored money problems came to the forefront again this year when Netflix announced that Mayweather and his longtime rival, Pacquiao, were set to face off in a Sept. 19 rematch, more than 11 years after their record-setting first bout. The matchup was expected to take place as a professional bout — a stunning development in and of itself, as Mayweather has long protected his undefeated professional record, opting instead to compete only in exhibitions since his 2017 retirement.
However, it currently remains unclear when — or if — that rematch will actually take place, as evidenced by the lawsuit filed by promoter CSI Entertainment.
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