Mayweather (48-0, 26 KO) won the WBO belt from Manny Pacquiao on May 2, but has yet to schedule an opponent for his September 12 return, which he still claims will be his last fight, though few seem to be taking that seriously. Mayweather had asked for an August 1 deadline from the WBO, but they gave him until July 3, which came and went this past Friday.
Bardley (32-1-1, 12 KO) beat Jessie Vargas on June 27 in California to win the interim belt. He was previously the WBO titleholder from 2012 to 2014, controversially beating Manny Pacquiao before losing it back to him last year, making successful defenses against Juan Manuel Marquez and Ruslan Provodnikov in between those bouts.
Mayweather will still hold both the WBC and WBA titles at both 147 and 154 pounds, and he's well past the point where belts really mean anything at all to his earning power or ability to make the fights he wants. Still, he didn't want to be stripped, and this would end the slim chance that Floyd could have faced IBF titleholder Kell Brook to unify all four belts in the welterweight division
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