Floyd Mayweather Retirement: Examining Money's Legacy After Berto Win

Floyd Mayweather Jr. pushed his career record to 49-0 with a unanimous-decision victory, per Bryan Armen Graham of the Guardian, over Andre Berto on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Now the question is whether "Money" is truly going to walk away from the sport.

Mayweather maintained Saturday's clash would mark the end of his storied career. He finally faced off with Manny Pacquiao in his last bout, scoring a routine win by unanimous decision, and it left little more for him to accomplish.

"I've accomplished everything; there's nothing else to accomplish," said Mayweather, per Graham, when asked about retirement. "Money don't make me; I make money."

Choosing Berto raised some eyebrows. It felt more like a warm-up fight for his grand finale so that he could finish 50-0 than the end of the road. Yet, he continued to state the time had come to walk away with his Showtime deal ending.

Mayweather would be leaving a lot of money on the table, but he's apparently not concerned about that, per Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.

"They say they'll offer me a lot of money," Mayweather said. "I have a lot of money. I'm OK. ... It's the end of my (Showtime) deal. I'm an old man now. I'm 38."

Prior to Saturday's bout, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe confirmed the superstar as ready to walk away, claiming the retirement talk wasn't just a gimmick to sell the fight, as Sky Sports noted.

"Here's a guy who's made well over a half-billion dollars, doing it his way, and he can ride off into the sunset after this," Ellerbe said. "That's a fact. This is Floyd's last fight. I'm not trying to sell it that way. This is going to be his last fight. And the fans get a chance to see Floyd in a very, very exciting fight with a guy that we know is coming to fight."

If that's the case, the focus will shift toward his legacy. While the undefeated record shouldn't be understated, the lack of top-tier competition he's faced throughout his career makes it tough to push him into the "best ever" conversation, despite his attempts to force himself into it.

Graham provided his take:

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But a habit of skipping over legitimate fights for walkovers like Andre Berto, while perhaps shrewd within a long-term business plan, will further water down a legacy that was already in question, at least in terms of the historical greatness he so passionately self-ascribes.

"

It's hard to argue because far too many times Mayweather passed over the toughest fight for one that was less desired, which helped him stay undefeated. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Snowden passed along some further historical context:

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Not to belabor a point, but Floyd Mayweather would struggle just to make most historian's list of the best lightweights ever. #boxing

— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) August 11, 2015"

He's the best pound-for-pound boxer in this era, and given his defensive fighting style that's caused problems for so many, it would have been great to see him against some of the top fighters of all time.

That said, in terms of overall legacy, he falls short. He lands in a category below Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Henry Armstrong, Joe Louis and the rest of the stars of the bygone eras. And given the limited number of possible foes, there's nothing he can really do to make a big jump if he sticks around.

Beating Berto certainly doesn't do anything for his legacy aside from tying him with Rocky Marciano at 49-0. It's a nondescript triumph that would make for a remarkably curious ending to his career if that indeed marks the last stop for Mayweather.

It still feels like he'll return, probably for one more fight against a more worthy opponent who could bring in a much-larger payday. That would allow him to go out with a bang rather than a whimper, whether it's a Pacquiao rematch or a new challenger.

Regardless of what he decides to do, Mayweather is a special talent who took advantage of a time in boxing history where there wasn't a ton of depth. Certainly a great fighter, but not the best ever.