With the hurdles around the Mike Zambidis exhibition now removed thanks to a recent federal judge ruling, Floyd Mayweather can now look ahead to pursuing his comeback plans with renewed energy. However, it is not as easy as it appears. The former world champion continues to deal with challenges on two fronts. While a string of lawsuits continue to follow him, incessant rumors linked to potential financial distress pose another problem. Talks claiming Floyd Mayweather is on the verge of bankruptcy have become a headline staple now.

Against that backdrop, months ago in March, before lawsuits and financial distress became synonymous with his name, Floyd Mayweather painted a different picture. During a recently released interview with rapper and Come And Talk 2 Me’s Cam’ron, Mayweather reflected on his financial standing, including a long-pending dispute with Jake Paul‘s elder brother, Logan Paul.

“Nobody has taken none of my properties away from me. I still got all my houses, I still got everything. My mother, my whole family, their bills are still paid. Still pay all my employees,” the former champion remarked. “The Black community has been paying money for years to come see me fight… You bet it on Floyd ’cause I prove that I’m 100% when I get in that ring… They believe in me… And after they go home, and they got everything they won, they’re praying on my downfall. ‘We don’t want to see Floyd win nothing. It’s this lawsuit, it’s that lawsuit.’ One thing about me, who whoever I get involved with in far as with business, I get myself out of the situation. One thing we’re not going to do is go out there and go point fingers.

“It’s no different from when people get to talking about real estate. ‘Oh, Floyd doesn’t got this and Floyd doesn’t got that.’ All I want is for y’all to tell me what you got. Everybody, all of y’all, just tell me what y’all got. Everybody always worried about what Floyd got, but what did you get?”

Rumors about Mayweather going broke have surfaced before, dating back to 2017, when reports about him owing the IRS surfaced. A major investigation done by Business Insider last year further suggested financial issues were plaguing the former world champion. In that context, the likely cause of Mayweather’s frustration could have been the $340 million lawsuit he filed against former broadcast partners Showtime and its then-president Stephen Espinoza. The massive claim itself hinted at concerns surrounding his financial health.

Mayweather later spoke about his fight plans, including the proposed exhibition with Mike Tyson. While he acknowledged that he had been out of the ring for a long duration, the Olympic bronze medalist appeared to take things as they come.

“If you look, man, you just look around my team; they are still paying their bills,” Mayweather argued. “And at my age, you know, at my age, what, 40? I’m 49-50 years old. If I’m able to just pay my mother, my mother’s house is paid for. All my properties are paid for. My grandson doesn’t want for anything. I’m happy with that. As long as I’m able to eat every day, pay my bills, and travel and do the things that I want to do, and I don’t have to get up and punch a clock and work for nobody, then that’s my company, right?”

However, this did not stop him from acknowledging the fighters who had impressed him. The interview took an interesting turn towards the end, when Cam’ron asked Mayweather about his “top three” fighters on the current roster.

The former world champion named David Benavidez, Shakur Stevenson, and Devin Haney, before eventually zeroing in on Jake Paul.

How Floyd Mayweather sees the Paul brothers today

“I got to take my hat off to Jake Paul because I like Jake Paul’s hustle, right?” Mayweather replied. “All in all, Jake Paul popped that sh-t. He knows how to hustle and he knows how to get that back. So, his hustle is…I mean, he is a white boy, but his hustle is… you can’t knock his hustle like a black dude from the hood.”

To some, that should come as a surprise, given Mayweather’s and Jake Paul’s previous encounter. Five years ago, the YouTuber-turned-fighter famously grabbed Mayweather’s cap during the press conference for the exhibition fight with Logan Paul.

His relationship with the older Paul brother hasn’t been much warmer, largely because of the financial dispute that surfaced after their exhibition at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. While the bout gained significant traction due to Jake Paul’s pre-fight antics, the controversy didn’t end once the fight was over. Logan Paul later claimed that Mayweather owed him a significant amount.

According to the older Paul, he and Mayweather had a separate private agreement to split some of the money earned from selling their exhibition match internationally before it happened. However, Mayweather never paid his share of $1.5 million.

When Cam’ron reminded Mayweather of Logan’s claims, the former world champion simply replied, “I wish them nothing but the best.”

Looking back now, it’s hard to imagine that roughly a month after Mayweather defended his financial standing, things began to unravel, with one lawsuit after another being filed against him. In April, after the IRS’ $7.3k tax lien surfaced, Mayweather also faced a lawsuit from a private jet service provider over unpaid services worth $105k.

Another report indicates that he had abandoned the case with Business Insider. More recently, he has faced two felony charges, including alleged theft and intent to defraud by passing a bad check.

For a long time, Mayweather enjoyed a reputation as the world’s richest boxer who drew attention with his luxurious lifestyle. To see the same icon years later, insisting that he is not broke, only to find himself surrounded by a wave of lawsuits, is something that will leave many confused.