Floyd Mayweather Jr. To Fight Andre Berto In Final Bout
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is officially hanging up the gloves for good, but he’s going to raise them one more time before he goes. He will face two-time Welterweight champion, Andre Berto, on September 12 of this year.
Mayweather, who’s record stands at 48-o with 26 knockouts, defeated Manny Pacquiao earlier this year for the WBO Welterweight title, and Floyd retained the WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles, in one of the most lucrative pay-per-view boxing matches of all time. The upcoming title fight promises to have a less impressive cash draw, as the last one brought Mayweather $220 million, according to The Vancouver Sun. The odds for this fight are also nowhere near as close as they were for the Pacquiao fight, Andre Berto stands as a huge underdog in this contest, and Mayweather is expected to retire undefeated after 19 years of professional fighting. If Berto doesn’t win, the titles that Mayweather hold will be vacated.
Andre Berto seems to be underwhelming as possible opponents go. The Telegraph reports that his record is 30-3, with 23 knockouts, and those three losses were tallied after his last six fights. Two of those losses came at the hands of opponents that Floyd Mayweather made relatively short work of. Still, Mayweather gave a statement about his opponent and how seriously he will take this fight.
“I always bring my A-game and this fight against Andre Berto is no exception. He’s a young, strong fighter who is hungry to take down the best. Forty-eight have tried before and on Sept 12, I’m going to make it 49.”
While this statement might be true, Floyd also has to fight one more time to fulfill a contract with The Showtime Network, after which Mayweather has repeatedly said that he would retire. Stephen Espinoza, executive vice-president and general manager for Showtime Sports, has addressed claims that this fight may be an intentional mismatch, assuring the press that the best opponent for a Floyd Mayweather caliber of athlete from the limited pool of fighters was chosen, and those that choose to pay for the fight on television will get their money’s worth.
Berto is eight years younger than Floyd Mayweather Jr., and despite the odds being stacked, but not in his favor, he is confident in ability to win this fight.
“Best believe that I plan to bring it to Floyd and I’m not concerned about what 48 other fighters have been unable to do, Somebody is getting knocked out and it won’t be me.”
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a controversial figure, his win against Paquiao was heavily disputed by spectators, and has had a public feud with female MMA sensation Ronda Rousey. Mayweather has retired before and even though he insists that this will be his last fight, have we truly seen the last of him?
[Images by Al Bello/Getty Images]
