Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship fighter Luis Palomino told TMZ Sports that he wants a bout against boxing star Floyd Mayweather.
"I'm looking for the big money fight," Palomino said. "My biggest one that I have in mind, and I think it makes perfect sense, will be Mayweather."
The 42-year-old said he would go into Mayweather's "world" and put on gloves for a legitimate boxing match.
Palomino competed in MMA before joining BKFC in 2020, thriving in the new competition with a 7-0 record and titles in both the lightweight and welterweight division. He is considered the pound-for-pound champion in the organization.
His problem has been the lack of legitimate competitors within bareknuckle fighting.
"I've called out several names in the BKFC and crickets," Palomino said. "I called out Chad Mendes in three consecutive fights when they signed him, and I heard nothing."
Mayweather, considered one of the best boxers of all time, would certainly pose a challenge. The 45-year-old retired in 2017 with a perfect 50-0 record, although he has competed in three exhibitions over the past year and could add a matchup against Palomino to the schedule.
Manny Pacquiao refuses to throw in the towel on a potential return bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"I don't think he will do a rematch with me," he told FightHype.com (h/t Bad Left Hook's Wil Esco). "I don't think so. What I thought is that he's scared to death to fight again and that's my analysis and thought on the rematch with him."
Pacquiao added he would prefer to compete in a full 12-round fight against Mayweather rather than an exhibition, which has become the latter's preferred path in retirement.
When Pacquiao and Mayweather finally met in the ring in 2015, there was a sense for some it was already a few years too late. Mayweather's decisive victory did little to dispel that notion, and it was the kind of result that didn't leave fans wanting more.
Fast-forward to the present and there's even less appetite for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao 2. Mayweather has carved out a lucrative niche with his high-profile exhibitions, while Pacquiao has fought once—losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas—since 2019.
Even if Pac-Man were to avenge his defeat, it probably wouldn't be viewed in a similar light as Mayweather's win since both legends are clearly well past their best.
But Pacquiao's comments are a testament to how the idea still refuses to go away.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s nickname is "Money," and he is willing to spend a lot of it to become the owner of an NBA franchise.
Speaking at an event, the retired boxing superstar said he's "been working on buying an NBA team outright," and he, along with a business partner Brent Johnson, has already made an offer of over $2 billion for majority ownership.
Mayweather did say he would be willing to own a potential expansion franchise in Las Vegas or Seattle, but he is also keeping an eye on any current teams that could be for sale.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in October that Vegas and Seattle are "real" candidates for expansion, but it's "likely years away" because the NBA wants to negotiate its new television/media rights deals and a collective bargaining agreement before adding new teams.
Among current NBA franchises, the Phoenix Suns are the only one known to be for sale. Robert Sarver announced in September he would sell the club, as well as the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, amid fallout from the league's investigation that found he used racist language, had "instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees," made "sex-related comments" and inappropriate comments about the appearance of employees.
One investment banker told ESPN's Baxter Holmes the Suns will likely end up selling for the highest price ever for an NBA franchise. The current record holder is the $2.35 billion Joe Tsai paid for the Brooklyn Nets.
The Sarver situation also spotlights a potential hurdle that Mayweather would have to overcome to become the owner of an NBA team.
Even though Mayweather claims to have the money to make the purchase, he has several legal problems on his résumé.
Mayweather has a long history of domestic abuse allegations. He pleaded guilty to two counts of domestic battery in 2002 for punching Melissa Brim, the mother of his daughter, at their home.
In December 2011, Mayweather pleaded guilty to a battery domestic violence charge and no contest to two harassment charges stemming from an argument that involved hair-pulling, punching and arm-twisting with his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, in front of two of his children. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail but was released after two months for good behavior.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. scored a sixth-round knockout of Deji Olatunji on Sunday in an exhibition in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The referee stepped in as Mayweather was throwing a series of punches with little response from his opponent.
Olatunji took the decisive defeat in stride.
As expected, the popular YouTuber was overmatched from the opening bell. Mayweather taunted Olatunji and even appeared to pull some of his punches. He could've ended things much earlier than the sixth round if he had so desired.
While he avoided most of Olatunji's offense, the boxing legend was at least sporting a shiner around his left eye after the bout.
Mayweather hasn't kept his motivations a secret. He doesn't need to make a full-time return to boxing because he can collect millions from exhibitions that require a fraction of the training and preparation. This was his fifth such event since his last official fight in August 2017.
It's unclear what's next for the 45-year-old, but fans can surely expect more of the same when he puts on the gloves again.
Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. continued his run of easy exhibition wins with a dominant sixth-round TKO victory over YouTuber Deji on Sunday, but one of his contemporaries isn't happy.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with Mayweather's post-retirement boxing performances:
Sunday's match marked Mayweather's fifth exhibition fight since defeating Conor McGregor in 2017 to retire from professional boxing with a 50-0 record.
Paul was in attendance at the exhibition event in Dubai and sat ringside. During the co-main event, he had gotten into an altercation with longtime rival Tommy Fury and his father John Fury after heckling the 23-year-old throughout his lackluster performance against Rolly Lambert.
John Fury, who is also the father of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, confronted Paul and ripped off his shirt while beckoning for him to get in the ring. Paul continued to fire insults at both father and son from the commentary table.
Martin Domin of Mirror reported that there was a near two-hour delay between the co-main event and the main event partly because Mayweather refused to walk to the ring for his fight until Paul left his ringside seat.
Mayweather and Paul do have some history, stemming from the buildup to his older brother Logan Paul's exhibition match against the 45-year-old last summer. A viral moment occurred when Paul stole Mayweather's hat, which enraged the former five-division world champion.
On Friday, Mayweather mocked Paul for his recent win over MMA legend Anderson Silva, saying he's not impressed with the 25-year-old's six-fight win streak over lesser competition.
"He’s just a lot of talk," Mayweather told reporters in Dubai. "It’s different when you’re [facing boxers] at the highest level; once you get in there with a real fighter that can really fight. Is he doing good? Absolutely. For who he’s fighting. Guys 50, guys 40. Does he want to fight me? Of course, I’m nearly 50 years old, of course, he wants to fight me."
If Paul can continue to rack up some high-profile wins as their rivalry continues to grow, it would not be out of the question to see him matched up with Mayweather in the future.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has announced an upcoming docuseries about his life entitled The GOAT, per TMZ Sports.
"I want to be able to tell my story in my way," the boxer said. "The good, the bad, the ugly. I don't want the people to think I take certain pieces out and it's all glory. There's a lot of ups and downs in life every day. And there's a lot of struggles. Not just with myself but with my loved ones. People gonna love it. Believe me."
Mayweather has teamed with Hidden Empire to create the series, featuring director Deon Taylor and producer Roxanne Taylor. Billionaire investor Robert Smith will also help produce the show.
Mayweather is undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers of all time, officially retiring with a perfect 50-0 record while winning championships in four different weight classes.
The 45-year-old became the richest athletes in the world in 2018, earning $285 million from winnings and endorsements, per Forbes.
Though the docuseries will feature the highs of his career, Mayweather explained it will also show his struggles earlier in his life.
"Since the beginning of my professional career in 1996," he said, "I've been asked, 'Floyd, let's do a documentary on your amateur career. How your dad went to prison. How your grandmother was cleaning hotel rooms and offices to take care of you. And how you was living in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Seven of us in a one-bedroom.' The story is just so amazing. Like I said before the people are going to love it."
Mayweather was a highly touted amateur boxer, wining multiple Golden Glove titles. He earned a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, although his loss featured a controversial decision.
The superstar said shooting for the docuseries will begin this year.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is set to return to the ring for another exhibition match.
The Global Titans promotion announced on Monday that Mayweather will take on YouTube star Deji on Nov. 13 at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Deji posted an eight-minute video announcing the bout on his YouTube channel, which has 10.7 million subscribers.
Mayweather's exhibition tour continued this past weekend, as he defeated Mikuru Asakura by second-round TKO in an exhibition match in Saitama, Japan. Asakura is a YouTuber and MMA fighter who competes for Rizin.
Since his retirement from professional fights in 2017, Mayweather has continued to showcase his skills through a series of exhibition matches. He has fought kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa, YouTuber Logan Paul and retired boxer Don Moore. Mayweather's last sanctioned fight was a win against UFC star Conor McGregor, which improved his record to 50-0.
The 25-year-old Deji has competed in four exhibition boxing matches, per MMA Fighting's Alexander K. Lee. He fought against Jake Paul in 2018, and last month he earned his first win by defeating Fousey by third-round TKO (retirement). Deji is the younger brother of KSI, who defeated Logan Paul by split decision in a sanctioned bout in 2019.
Mayweather doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Last week, he indicated that a rematch against McGregor could be on the horizon.
"We don’t know if it’s going to be an exhibition or a real fight. But there’s been talks of both," he said.
However, McGregor pumped the brakes on the idea, posting "not interested" in a since-deleted Instagram post.
The first fight between Mayweather and McGregor was one of the most lucrative matches in history, so it likely wouldn't take much to convince both of them to run it back.
Jake Paul claimed Floyd Mayweather is "ruining his legacy fighting no-name guys" in his latest bid to goad the boxing legend into agreeing to a fight.
In a video he uploaded Sunday, Paul said he's willing to fight Mayweather and called their possible encounter "one of the biggest fights to make in boxing" (warning: video contains NSFW language):
Mayweather fought Jake's older brother, Logan, in an exhibition in June 2021, with the pair going the full eight rounds. Leading up to the event, Mayweather and Paul exchanged words before the situation escalated.
Since then, the two have maintained a steady war of words.
Most recently, Mayweather told TMZ Sports that Paul would "get demolished" by Canelo Álvarez and offered a backhanded compliment about the 25-year-old's resume.
"For what he's doing, as long as they keep getting YouTubers and keep putting him in there with MMA guys that's kind of over the hill, he's going continue to shine," he said. "So, I'm proud of him. I'm not really upset."
As much as Paul wants to step in the ring against Mayweather, he might be waiting awhile. The retired boxer has already lined up a matchup with Deji Olatunji in November.
