Floyd Mayweather reveals amount he earned with his first-ever pay cheque

What's the story?

Floyd Mayweather brought the curtains down on his glittering pro boxing career with a win over Conor McGregor at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, ending with a win-loss record of 50-0, which puts him in the bracket of one of the greatest to have ever graced the sport.

The fight was billed as the 'biggest ever' in the history of boxing, given the extraordinary sums of money involved. McGregor went home with a sum of nearly $100 million, while Mayweather's earnings are expected to be around the $300 million mark. This sum also makes him the first boxer to reach the billionaire mark in terms of career earnings.

However, like many great athletes, Mayweather too started from scratch. After his match, he reflected on how his career began in an interview with boxingnewsonline.net. He said, “I can remember turning professional, I went to (promoters) Top Rank, and I saw the cheque."

“I was like ‘damn, I’ve never seen anything like that in my life’. I come from poverty, from the inner city. The cheque was only 100,000 dollars, but to me, it was like 100 million dollars," he added. "“I’d never seen those types of numbers. ‘Hood rich’ to me is 30,000 dollars, 40,000 dollars, 60,000 dollars."

In case you didn't know

Mayweather had announced his retirement in 2015 but returned to the ring after being challenged to a fight by McGregor. With the win, he also overtook all-time great Rocky Marciano's 49-0 record.

The heart of the matter

The match between the American and the Irishman was expected to be a blowout given McGregor's non-existent boxing record and Mayweather's formidable one. However, as the bout began, it was the 'Notorious One' who was the aggressor as he tried to catch Mayweather off guard with his speed.

However, as the fight went on, the Irishman began to show signs of tiredness and that is when Mayweather pounced and picked the right time to strike. He landed a few solid blows in during the ninth round, before sealing the deal in Round 10 with a powerful streak of punches that forced the referee to intervene and award the win via TKO.

What's next?

Mayweather heads off into the sunset once again and for McGregor, a return to the UFC is considered likely.

Author's take

It is truly inspiring to see how Mayweather started from the bottom and reached the pinnacle of the sport. His journey is a fascinating one at the very least!