SONAHR: HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – August 9, 2015 – The headline of this piece is neither a misprint nor a typo. It?s true that Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s supposed final appearance in the ring will be on September 12, when he goes up against former two-time welterweight champion Andre Berto. But I?m saying goodbye to Floyd now, because in choosing Berto as his foil for his finale, Mayweather is displaying a combination of arrogance and contempt that is unacceptable even by his own standards.
Mayweather?s swan song is highly symbolic. His record stands at 48-0, and one more consecutive victory will put him on a par with 1950s heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano?s legendary 49-0 mark. Mayweather says he has no intention of attempting to go 50-0. But then, in the aftermath of his victory over Manny Pacquiao in their May 2 superfight, Floyd said he was going to vacate his titles at welterweight and junior-middleweight. But in the Berto fight, Mayweather?s WBA and WBC welterweight belts will be on the line. Timothy Bradley scooped up the WBO bauble before Mayweather could change his mind.
Indeed, Bradley would have made an excellent 49th-fight opponent for Mayweather. So would Amir Khan, who has spent (or maybe wasted) years in a fruitless quest to lure Mayweather into the ring. Danny Garcia, who recently defeated Paulie Malignaggi, would have been another interesting matchup. And then there are the division?s young lions, Kell Brook and Keith Thurman. Although Mayweather would be favored to beat all those guys, the matchups would have been more competitive than has usually been the case in Floyd?s fights.
Berto? Forget it. Even though he was once considered a comer, and won both the WBC and IBF 147-lb titles, and is coming off a stoppage win over the useful Josesito Lopez, Berto is a spent force, and stands virtually no chance to pull off an upset for the ages. Anyone who gets beat by Victor Ortiz, Robert Guererro and Jesus Soto Karass does not belong in the same ring with Mayweather, who even at age 38 is still boxing?s best pound-for-pound competitor.
I don?t blame Berto for taking the fight. It will give him the biggest payday of his career. What?s he supposed to do, say ?No, thanks?? The blame for this farce rests solely on the shoulders of Floyd Mayweather Jr. His nickname is ?Money,? and that?s what this fiasco of a finale is all about. Clearly, he believes the public will snap up any snake oil he decides to sell.
Sure, there?s always the faint hope that Berto could pull a Rocky Balboa or Buster Douglas on Mayweather. But the only way that could happen would be if Mayweather came into the contest out of shape or unfocused. Whatever else might be said of Mayweather, he trains religiously, and even his many legal and financial difficulties have not distracted him from the task at hand whenever he steps into the ring. Anyone who bets on Berto to beat Mayweather is hoping for a miracle that is very, very, very unlikely to occur.
So goodbye, Floyd. You?ll be remembered as the greatest fighter of the first two decades of the 21st century. But your choice of the limited Berto as your final foil shows clearly that you are not, and have never been, a class act. You will probably be booed at your Hall of Fame induction ceremony. And you probably won?t give a damn.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His novels, Imaro, Damballa, and Abengoni: First Calling are available at Amazon.com.
