Mayweather has earned over £200 million from exhibition fights since retirement 

Boxing icon Floyd Mayweather inherited the nickname 'money' for a reason and he's doing everything in his power to solidify that notorious tagline despite officially retiring from boxing in 2017.

The former five-weight world champion decided to step away from professional boxing in August 2017 but is yet to hang up his gloves for good.

The American has taken part in several lucrative exhibition bouts against the likes of YouTuber Logan Paul and Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.

Mayweather will return to the ring once again on September 25 to face MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

The exhibition will take place in front of 36,000+ fans, while those who are not in attendance can pay $29.99 (£26.20) to watch it remotely.

Fans are furious with the pay-per-view cost as it tops that of Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte (£24.94) and comes extremely close to Anthony Joshua's fight against Oleksandr Usyk (£26.95). 

However, Mayweather isn't phased by the criticism. He is doing these fights for the money and he has made that clear.

He previously described exhibition fights as 'legalised bank robberies' and insisted he would continue to take part in them as long as his body was able. 

As a result, Sportsmail have taken a look back at Mayweather's previous exhibition bouts and broken down exactly how much the American boxer has made over the last five years. 

Mayweather's exhibition bout with Nasukawa was a complete farce. The American boxing legend, who spent the majority of the fight smiling, floored his opponent three times inside the first few minutes before Nasukawa's corner threw in the towel.

To say Mayweather was out of shape heading into the fight would be unfair, but he certainly wasn't in his prime. Nevertheless, the former boxer needed just nine minutes to end the contest.

Mayweather was 41 years old at the time of the fight but proved to be too strong for Nasukawa, who was 21 years his junior.

Mayweather's left hand sent Nasukawa to the canvas for a first time before a right hand to the body and one to the head saw him hit the deck again. 

Nasukawa's team finally threw in the towel after Mayweather's left hook sent him flying across the ring once more.

The Japanese fighter was seen crying in his corner while Mayweather celebrated the result. 

Mayweather's reaction after the fight is not surprising considering he earned $9m in just nine minutes of action.

That's $1m for every 60 seconds he was inside the ring. Not bad, eh?

That wasn't all Mayweather made from the fight either. He took 80 per cent of the pay-per-view sales - earning himself an extra $26m. 

Mayweather also made an additional $62m in promotional income and is said to have pocketed an extra $3m in sponsorship, according to TotalSportal. 

 

The American boxing legend, who spent the majority of the fight smiling, floored his opponent three times inside the first few minutes before Nasukawa's corner threw in the towel.

 Mayweather vs Logan Paul 

Mayweather and Paul took to the ring in a lucrative exhibition bout at Miami Gardens in Florida in June 2021. Mayweather claimed that he earned $100m (£75m) from what was his first fight since retiring in 2017.

The fight was widely criticised as damaging to the integrity of boxing. Many fans felt Mayweather's inability to floor Paul made the bout a laughing-stock and ruined his reputation as a professional boxer. 

However, Mayweather wasn't bothered. He said: 'I'm the only person that can do a fake fight and get 100Ms (millions). Am I the best bank robber? Because I don't know nobody in sports that's my age and can still stick 'em up like that.'

 

Speaking about how the fight may have impacted his legacy, Mayweather said: 'I am going into the Hall of Fame. I have nothing to prove.

'If they are happy with grappling and holding for eight rounds, that's good for them - I hope the fans were pleased. I have been in this sport for so long, I was letting people see I can come out at the age of 44 and bring 30,000 to the stadium and bring good pay-per-view numbers.

'I am not going to perform like I was 19, it's all about growth and aging - I can't fight like when I fought people like Gatti and people like that.'

The fight between the pair is said to have generated one million buys, with the encounter being sold for $50 in America. Mayweather was said to be taking home 50 per cent of those sales - meaning he could have earned around $25m in PPV sales for the eight-round contest. 

 The fight was widely criticised as damaging to the integrity of boxing. Many fans felt Mayweather's inability to floor Paul made the fight a laughing-stock

 

Mayweather is also said to have picked up an additional $30m in sponsorship, according to TotalSportal.  

Discussing the reason behind taking on more exhibition fights, Mayweather said: 'I can fight a fighter right now and I can guarantee myself $35million.

'I can eventually probably make $50million, for just a regular fight. Or me and Logan Paul can go out, entertain, have fun and make nine figures - $100million or more.

'Everybody thinks that 'retired' means at home with your feet up and picking up weight. I prefer to go out, still entertain and have fun.

'Just because I still go out, entertain and have fun doesn't mean that I still wanna fight for 12 rounds.

'I think we've got a six-round exhibition. I think it's gonna be very entertaining for the people, I think people are gonna love it. $35million for 12 rounds or $100million for six rounds – big difference.'