By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Among the things that concern Floyd Mayweather Jr. about boxing again are the effects another fight could have on his long-term health.

His defensive effectiveness throughout his career enabled Mayweather to take less punishment than 19 years in the ring as a professional could cause. After watching the impact taking a few fights too many had on the late Muhammad Ali later in his life, a financially secure, reflective Mayweather has kept those images in mind while weighing his own future.

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The 39-year-old Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) hasn’t fought since scoring an easy, 12-round unanimous-decision win against Andre Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) 14 months ago in Las Vegas. Speculation persists regarding a Manny Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch materializing next year, but Mayweather emphasized repeatedly during a promotional stop Wednesday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn that he won’t box again.

“Like I said before, I had fun while it lasted,” Mayweather said. “I had a great time while it lasted. And listen, everyone keeps saying 49-0. Listen, I want to say something to you. I want to say something to everyone. Muhammad Ali is truly missed. When Ali was at the top of his game, everyone hated Ali. They hated him. They had so many negative things to say about him.

“And he was – at the end of his career he could barely talk. He could barely walk. And that’s not cool. My faculties – me being sharp and me being smart – is more important than anything. I’m happy I was a defensive fighter. I’m happy I didn’t take a lot of wear and tear on my body. So the best thing about my career is this – I was able to leave the sport of boxing with no punishment, still sharp, and made smart investments. That’s the best thing about my career.”

Mayweather’s self-named company is a co-promoter of a January 14 card at Barclays Center. Two boxers Mayweather promotes – Badou Jack and Gervonta Davis – will participate in fights Showtime will televise.

Sweden’s Jack (20-1-2, 12 KOs), the WBC super middleweight champ, is scheduled to encounter England’s James DeGale (23-1, 14 KOs), the IBF 168-pound champion, in a title unification fight. The 9 p.m. telecast will open with a 12-rounder that’ll pit Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza (22-0, 12 KOs), the IBF world super featherweight champion, against Baltimore’s Davis (16-0, 15 KOs).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.