After he ‘retired’ from the sport [not for the first time] after last Saturday’s win over Andre Berto, it would be a reasonable assumption to expect that Floyd Mayweather’s WBC and WBA 147 and 154 lb titles would instantly become vacant – but alas, that has proven not to be the case – just yet, at least.
Mayweather stated after the Pacquiao fight in May that he would vacate his belts in order to let up-and-comers like Errol Spence Jr – a Mayweather Promotions fighter – ultimately duke it out for them, although he then went back on that, even refusing to vacate his WBO welterweight strap until he was stripped, forcing Tim Bradley and Jessie Vargas to battle for an interim strap in June. Bradley was later upgraded.