Shawn Porter Defends Floyd Mayweather's Boxing Return, He's Not Broke!

Floyd Mayweather's decision to unretire has some fans believing the 50-0 fighter is running out of money ... but Shawn Porter tells TMZ Sports he's not broke ... he just can't stay away from the sport he loves.

We spoke with Porter -- who retired from boxing in 2021 -- after Mayweather announced his return to the pro ring for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao in September, on top of exhibitions with Mike Tyson and Mike Zambidis.

That said, many are questioning whether "Money" has no money ... or if he's really just been champing at the bit to punch some faces again ... but Porter can explain.

"This just happens to be the hurt business. In the hurt business, once you're done with the hurting or getting hurt, you really don't want to go back into that kind of fire, but at the end of the day, this is his livelihood," Porter said. "This is what he's done his entire life."

"At some point, you gotta get away from this being a financial thing, this being a 'I wanna be popular' thing and all that kind of stuff, and you just gotta say hey, this is what this man has done his whole life to provide, and this is what he loves to do. So, he's gonna do it."

Mayweather, 49, is hitting the gym hard, too ... we were told he's training daily for his bouts, with a special focus on his upcoming exhibition against Tyson sometime in May in the Congo.

"Yeah, it's happening," Tyson told TMZ's Michael Babcock during their latest interview, "S***, yeah, it's happening!"

"You think I'd give that up?! I was minding my business! He challenged me!"