The boxing world is in almost universal agreement that Floyd Mayweather?s September 12 bout with Andre Berto is a contest most unbecoming of someone calling himself ?The Best Ever.? Talk of anemic ticket sales and predictions of pay-per-view calamity are forcing Team Mayweather to scramble and work harder than ever to sell the upcoming event.
The five-division world champ is making himself more available to media than at any other time in his recent history. Mayweather even went so far as to post a live feed of a sparring session on the internet despite a long history of keeping his sparring sessions strictly private affairs.
And with the extra access Mayweather has granted, comes what appears to be a new strategy in his efforts to sell a fight that nobody seems to want?use Manny Pacquiao.
The future Hall of Famer has taken more shots at his Filipino arch-nemesis after their fight than during their fight and has really initiated a barrage of attacks in the build-up to the Berto fight.
?Everybody that said that I was a coward, I couldn?t beat Pacquiao,? Mayweather recently said in a media interview. ?They gave him so many accolades, ?he?s an all-time great?, they all have to eat their words, if he?s an all-time great, then what does that make me? If he?s the fighter of the century, what does that make me??
“The fans have to be mad at Pacquiao,? Mayweather recently told Showtime?s Jim Gray. ?They can’t be mad at me. I done my job?
And the bashing and blaming goes on as Mayweather talks infinitely more about Pacquiao than Andre Berto with just about a week to go before the ?big? bout. It?s clear that Mayweather and his team are trying to generate press attention by stirring up the Mayweather-Pacquiao hornet?s nest, which is guaranteed to produces high impact headlines. Ironically, Mayweather and his crew pointed the finger at Team Pacquiao for years, claiming that they were using Mayweather?s name to help sell Pacquiao pay-per-views.
Could this all be building towards a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch? Maybe, maybe not. It could just as likely be a desperate stab at wedging Mayweather-Berto into the minds of those who so obviously don?t care about the match-up.
