By Edward Chaykovsky
Former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs) has confirmed that a ring return is certainly possible.
Mayweather retired last September after dominating former welterweight world champion Andre Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Since his retirement, the only opponent Mayweather had mentioned in several interviews was UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor. While the two of them traded a few words and hyped up a potential fight through social media and interviews, there were never any serious negotiations to do that fight, according to UFC President Dana White.
There are several options for Mayweather, as the welterweight division is still loaded. The most lucrative would be a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, who Mayweather decisioned last May in a fight that generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys. Even if the rematch pulled in a third of that number, the two fighters would make a lot of money.
Other options include the winner of next year's unification between Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman, a very lucrative rematch with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, who moved back to junior middleweight and holds a world title at the weight. Mayweather dominated Canelo back in 2013 at a catch-weight of 152 and their pay-per-view drew in 2.2 million purchases.
The one unlikely fight is a showdown with middleweight king Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin, who is willing to drain down to 154-pounds to make the contest a reality.
Whether or not he will actually return is up in the air. He admits his mind keeps bouncing around between returning and staying retired.
"My dad asked me when I was coming back. You know, is the door still open? Absolutely," Mayweather told Fighthype.com. "I don't know, man [what would motivate me to step back in the ring]. I don't know. Different days I feel different ways. Some days you may say, 'I don't feel like writing no more,' and some days, you're like, 'I love this!' But, like I always say, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be."