Sports
Retired Mayweather Allowed to Keep Titles
This May 2, 2015, file photo shows Floyd Mayweather Jr. gesturing during a press conference following his welterweight title fight in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
(ESPN) – After Floyd Mayweather outpointed Manny Pacquiao in their huge fight on May 2, Mayweather spent several minutes at the postfight news conference talking about how he was going to give up his various title belts.
The way Mayweather explained things, he did not need any world titles, and it was about time he gave some of the “young lions” a chance to realize their championship dreams.
Then Mayweather did the exact opposite. He didn’t vacate his WBC and WBA welterweight and junior middleweight titles, and he fought hard to keep the WBO welterweight strap he won from Pacquiao. However, while the WBC and WBA have consistently broken their rules for the past year or two where Mayweather is concerned, the WBO stripped him for not adhering to its specific rules.
After Mayweather pasted Andre Berto on Saturday night, the champ announced his retirement, as expected. It stands to reason that a retirement announcement would lead to the automatic vacating of the belts. But Mayweather has not vacated the tiles, and neither the WBC nor the WBA has declared them vacant.
