Floyd Mayweather will relinquish all his title belts before final fight

Published May. 3, 2015 3:30 a.m. ET

Damon Martin

Following a historic win over Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night, pound-for-pound boxing king Floyd Mayweather announced that he will relinquish all of his championship belts and his final fight will be a non-title affair.

Mayweather made the surprising announcement at the post-fight press conference after celebrating his latest and most important victory as he moved to 48-0 on his career.

Currently, Mayweather holds the titles for the WBC, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine in the welterweight division as well as the WBC and WBA super welterweight belts.

When asked why he's going to give up all the title belts he's been collecting during his undefeated run at the top of the sport, Mayweather said his time in boxing is almost over and he wants the rest of the competitors in the division to taste the gold.

"Other fighters need to get a chance," Mayweather said. "I'm not greedy. It's time to let other fighters fight for the belt."

Mayweather has stated that he has one fight left on his deal with Showtime, and he will honor that contract with another contest in September.

No matter who he faces for his final fight, Mayweather contends that it will be a non-title bout and he still will go out on top.

Analysts pointed out that Mayweather's last match will be a huge draw against any opponent even if there are no titles on the line, and that Mayweather's motivation for ditching the belts likely is to avoid paying sanctioning fees. Considering the nine-figure payday he scored for his fight with Pacquiao, Mayweather certainly will cash in against any opponent in what will be his 49th professional bout before calling it a career.