Ever since Floyd Mayweather vs. Andre Berto was announced, fans and media have been straining their brains to answer the question of why?
On the surface, it doesn?t make sense at all that Mayweather would follow up the greatest victory of his career (against Manny Pacquiao) with his least deserving opponent since, perhaps, Sharmba Mitchell in 2005. Mind you, Berto is a decent guy and he certainly fights hard, but he is widely considered damaged goods and is 3-3 in his last six with his biggest win in the last five years coming against Josesito Lopez back in March. It can?t be Berto?s drawing power that earned him the shot, either. The Haitian-American has produced notoriously low live gate totals and his TV ratings, at best, have been lukewarm.
So, really?Why Berto? It can?t be as simple as Mayweather looking for a soft touch and it?s an extremely odd choice with which to close out a Hall of Fame career (Team Mayweather still swears that this is Floyd?s last fight).
A certain conspiracy theory floating around the internet fills in these puzzling blanks and gives us something to ponder as we await the September 12 fight date.
What if Mayweather were to lose to Berto? What would it do to everyone?s career and, more importantly, to everyone?s financial bottom line?
Just off the top of one?s head, a Berto win would: 1) Instantly elevate the prestige of Andre Berto and his raw earning power for fights to come; 2) Generate interest for a big money Mayweather-Berto rematch, allowing Mayweather to earn his revenge and retire for good while keeping all of this business in the Al Haymon family; and 3) With Mayweather retired after exacting his revenge, Berto would remain a top player in the welterweight division while still being a very vulnerable fighter, ripe for the picking of the pre-determined ?next big thing? Keith Thurman.
The end result of this game of intrigue would be nothing but win-win all around as everyone benefits from the initial Mayweather-Berto ?shocker.?
As interesting as this theory is, though, there are some open-ended questions that need answering. Would Mayweather willingly give up his precious, well-cultivated undefeated record? Maybe not. But, then again, couldn?t all of this happen without Mayweather being in on the plan?
Boxing is a strange sport and nothing is too crazy or far-fetched to consider. A plot to overthrow the Mayweather Empire with an orchestrated passing of the torch is an interesting piece of brain food, at the very least. Crazier things have happened?and it would answer a lot of question the boxing world has about this peculiarly random bout.
