Friday 25 March 2016 13:01, UK
Floyd Mayweather claims he's happily retired but will his ongoing verbal sparring with Adrien Broner turn into a comeback fight?
An undefeated master and a brash young protege; Mayweather and Broner were once 'close'. Broner still readily admits he saw 'Money' as something to aspire to before the pair fell out.
Relations between the former friends hit a new low in the prelude to Broner's WBA world super-lightweight title defence against Mayweather-promoted Briton Ashley Theophane. In the last week, the pair have traded insults in interviews and social media rants.
The drama didn't stop there, of course. Broner is currently wanted by police over an accusation of violent robbery. 'The Problem' is already arguably boxing's No 1 pariah due to his outspoken, flash manner and the news from the Cincinnati Police Department is further damaging his popularity.
Broner's recent actions in a Walmart supermarket, where he was videoed taking his change from an employee and throwing it in the air saying: "He must not know. I'm AB and I don't need no change, bro" courted another social media frenzy, and Mayweather joined in the scorn-pouring.
Whether Broner's 'making it rain' stunt genuinely left Mayweather with "hurt feelings" as he claimed is open for debate, but the former five-division world champion made no attempt to disguise a sneer when he told Broner: "If you're at such a high status and you reached a certain level, you're supposed to have people going to Walmart for you."
Why did the pair fall out in the first place? For two people who referred to each other affectionately as 'baby bro' and 'big bro' at various points, it's a pretty spectacular turnaround, even by the showbiz standards of Las Vegas-based boxing.
With Mayweather retiring on 49-0, some believe that the beginning of the end of his relationship with Broner was the latter's first defeat (to Marcos Maidana in December 2013). Was 'Money' so offended that the man he considered the heir to his throne looked all at sea against the Argentine? His presence in the Broner camp ahead of his second career defeat (to Shawn Porter in June 2015) suggested not.
The eventual 'clear' break-up between the two supposedly stemmed from Broner criticising 'The Money Team'. Although he prefixed the outburst with praise for Mayweather himself, the damage was done and Mayweather was quick to nail his colours to his promotional company's mast, ostracising Broner in the process. From then on, it's been open season.
The question is: is it all for real? Mayweather has proven himself a ruthless businessman both in and outside the ring, and many feel his 'retirement' was no more than a device of drama to squeeze even more money from a potentially record-breaking 50th professional victory. Has he already identified Broner as his target?
Broner himself isn't shy of a pound note (disregarding his frivolous actions in supermarkets), so is he in on a charade with Mayweather? If he is, and the pair agree to settle their 'differences' inside the ring in a fight that would echo throughout boxing history, it will be the end of a long road and the execution of an incredibly elaborate plan.
It makes some degree of sense for Mayweather, physically. He would have over an inch of height advantage and over two in reach. His last fight, in September 2015, was a defence of his WBA Super and WBC world welterweight titles. Broner, who began his professional career at super-featherweight, has already lost twice to welterweights. Negotiations over any catch-weight would be fierce, no doubt.
With the opportunity to become the first fighter to retire undefeated with a half-century of fights already clear, there could be further benefit to Mayweather's legacy if he beats Broner.
He's still no shrinking violet and remains a keen connoisseur of fast cars and the jet-style lifestyle, but Mayweather seems keen for the world to know he matured as a person over the course of a 19-year professional career. What better way to symbolise that than to teach the sport's loudest-mouthed youngster a lesson in the ring?
At the moment, Mayweather v Broner remains nothing more than speculation, but don't be surprised if, one day, Money returns in the unfamiliar guise of 'the good guy' to make boxing history by destroying a monster he played no small part in creating.
