By Edward Chaykovsky
Former champion Ronald "Winky Wright" is among the many who are predicting a ring return in 2016 for five division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs).
Mayweather, after 19-years in the sport, announced his retirement last month after winning a twelve round unanimous decision over Andre Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Mayweather is one win away from breaking the unbeaten streak of heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano - which could be a driving force for a Mayweather comeback.
There are also a select few who don't believe Mayweather will fight again. He made $300 million for his May 2nd decision win over Manny Pacquiao. That kind of money, combined with his previous earnings, could persuade him to stay away for good.
"First of all I don’t think he’s gonna stay retired, I think he will go 50-0 — I would if I was him and be the only fighter to do it. I rank him up there with the great fighters. I think sometimes in career he picked and chose the right fights for him but I think towards the end he started to get dangerous fighters. He picked fighters that were on their game, like Canelo. He took that chance and he looked good doing it," Wright told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
After retiring, Mayweather continued to call himself TBE [The Best Ever]. Wright won't go as far as that, but he does give credit to Mayweather as being one of the best fighters to ever step in the ring.
"I gotta take my hat off to him, he did what he had to do, he’s beaten everyone. I will put him up there with the great fighters, but for myself, I don’t know if I’m gonna say he’s the greatest fighter because there may have been some fights in this era that he didn’t take or didn’t do, or else they would have made him great. I think he’s a great fighter, he’s one of the greatest fighters that laced the gloves up and I respect him. He’s a hell of a fighter, he’s a smart boxer and he’s got a lot of skill," Wright said.
