LAS VEGAS — By the looks of things, retirement was treating Floyd Mayweather Jr. well.
He had a stable of boxers to promote, businesses, including a new strip club, to run, and a vast collection of luxury cars to enjoy. But there is a reason he embraces the nickname “Money Mayweather”: His brand was built as much on personality and spectacle as on skills in the boxing ring.
So when a rivalry with the mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor was manufactured over social media, Mayweather, 40, was more than happy to end his two-year retirement and to collect one final, potentially record-breaking paycheck.