Boxing Notes: Floyd Mayweather’s Tax Debt, Anthony Joshua’s Next Fight and More

Plus, the biggest night in Japanese boxing history and what’s next after Teofimo Lopez passes on a 140-pound title fight.

According to reports, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was notified by the IRS of its intention to revoke his passport due to outstanding tax debt. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

This week, a friend of mine asked for help getting a couple of tickets for the 122-pound showdown between Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, which is set to take place in the 55,000 seat Tokyo Dome. When I asked around, the response I got was along the lines of, No shot. Inoue-Nakatani is the hottest ticket in Japan, with every seat expected to be filled for the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. 

And why not? Inoue is a mega star in Japan. He’s the undisputed 122-pound champion who went 4–0 in title defenses last year. Nakatani is an undefeated former 118-pound titleholder who has blasted out 75% of the opponents that he has faced. They are both top-10, pound-for-pound stars in the middle of the prime years of their careers. It doesn’t get much better than that. 

So who wins? Betting sites have made Inoue a pretty sizable favorite. Inoue is the more natural 122-pounder, though he’s looked a little more vulnerable in recent fights. Nakatani was a force at 118-pounds but he just avoided disaster last December, barely edging out Sebastian Hernandez in his first fight at 122. Both have skills. Both have power. A lot of potential outcomes in this fight. 

🥊  For years, Floyd Mayweather Jr. flashed his wealth everywhere he went, through private jets, expensive cars or just bricks of cash zipped into Gucci handbags. Those days appear to be over. According to The Ring, the Internal Revenue Service notified Mayweather of its intent to revoke his passport. At issue is more than $7 million in unpaid taxes, according to the report, which follows a string of reports of mounting bills for Mayweather, who earned more than $1 billion over his two-decade long boxing career. 

Crazy, right? Mayweather isn’t the first athlete to go broke, and he is far from the first boxer to burn through an extraordinary amount of cash. Indeed, Manny Pacquiao, who Mayweather is kinda, sorta planning to face in an exhibition/real fight in September, is worth a fraction of what he was at his peak, when he was regularly collecting eight-figure paydays. Mayweather-Pacquiao, already sad when it was announced, just got a lot sadder.

🥊 Anthony Joshua has selected his opponent for his summer return: Kristian Prenga, an intimidating looking, 6' 5 with a splashy record (20-1, 20 knockouts) and zero résumé. Seriously—the best opponent Prenga has beaten is Joey Dawejko, who Prenga got at the tail end of a career as a chin-for-hire. 

Really, though: Who cares? Joshua is just months removed from a horrific car accident that killed two of his closest friends and left him banged up. He’s entering his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk’s training team—Usyk, I’m told, has been acting as a de facto manager for his former foe—and has fought once since 2024. A shake off the rust fight is in order and Prenga, who has spent recent years beating up on cab drivers in Atlantic City, fits the bill. 

Besides—we’re getting what we want. In signing to fight Prenga, Joshua also signed on to face Tyson Fury, in what will be the biggest fight in British boxing history. The two Brits have been circling each other for years and now will square off (on Netflix) in a massive event. Fury, who defeated Arslanbek Makhmudov last month, has been making some noise about taking another fight before AJ. Here’s hoping he lets Joshua get his fight in and the two meet before the end of the year. 

🥊 Can’t say I agree with Teofimo Lopez’s decision to pass on the chance to fight for a 140-pound title. Last week, the IBF ordered Lopez to face Lindolfo Delgado for the belt recently vacated by Richardson Hitchins. After meeting with his representatives—who I’m told pushed for him to take the fight—Lopez decided to stick to his word and move up to 147-pounds. 

Lopez is a talented fighter. His loss to Shakur Stevenson in January was far more about Stevenson’s brilliance than any indictment of Lopez. But he’s not a big 140-pounder and will be downright small competing in a higher weight class. It would have made far more sense to fight Delgado—the kind of aggressive opponent Lopez does well against—and give himself options. Instead, he will move up without a title and coming off an ugly loss. 

🥊 With Lopez off the board, I’m told the IBF will wait for the outcome of Saturday’s fight between Oscar Duarte and Angel Fierro before ordering a new opponent for Delgado. Interestingly, Duarte and Delgado are stablemates at Robert Garcia’s gym. They are also good friends. I asked Duarte this week if he would have any issue fighting Delgado. “Sometimes you have to fight your friends,” Duarte said. Delgado would also take the fight, a source told me. Might make for some uncomfortable conversations with Garcia in the next few weeks.  

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