By Keith Idec

Errol Spence Jr. isn’t convinced the best fighter of his era won’t make yet another comeback.

The unbeaten IBF welterweight champion told Sports Illustrated for an “SI Now” segment released on its website Tuesday that he wouldn’t be surprised to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight again.

“It’s in his blood,” Spence said. “I mean, it’s something he’s been doing since he was 5 years old. So I think, you know, the spotlight, and just being under those bright lights, it’s like a drug to him. He’s addicted to it. A guy like him, he’s been everywhere, he’s done everything, so I think, you know, just the regular life gets boring.

“Just like with a lot of older fighters, they come back when they’re older and wanna fight again because, you know, just laying around the house, doing nothing, that gets old. He wants to train, he wants to work out, he likes the buildup to the fight. So he might come back. Usually they do. Most of them do.”

Mayweather, 40, has repeatedly promised that his third retirement would be permanent. His 50th victory, a 10th-round stoppage of UFC star Conor McGregor on August 26 in Las Vegas, will be his final fight, according to the undefeated Mayweather.

If the Grand Rapids, Michigan, native comes back yet again, Spence (22-0, 19 KOs) would welcome the opportunity to fight him.

“I mean, I’ve thought about it before,” Spence said. “Who doesn’t? Especially he’s in my weight class, so in my era, he’s the greatest fighter of my era. This is Floyd Mayweather’s era right now, so I definitely thought about it and that would be a great honor to fight Floyd Mayweather.

“Whoever beats Floyd Mayweather, if I beat Floyd Mayweather, you know, that breaks social media, that breaks the web. The world stops for a second if Floyd Mayweather got beat. And people have been waiting for so long for him to lose, you know, it just, it would be crazy.”

Spence, 27, is preparing to make the first defense of his IBF 147-pound championship against former two-division champion Lamont Peterson (35-3-1, 17 KOs), of Washington, D.C. Showtime will televise Spence-Peterson on January 20 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.