Floyd Mayweather Talks Andre Berto Prize Money, Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan
Although Floyd Mayweather is likely to pick apart Andre Berto when the two fighters step into the ring on Saturday night, the man known as Money could well be doing his opponent a favour, with the challenger set to pick up the biggest payday of his career so far.
"I know Andre Berto’s biggest (previous) payday was $2 million," Floyd told Bob Velin of Boxing Junkie. "But I said he should make $4 million. I think that’s great for him."
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As Velin notes, Mayweather stands to earn a staggering amount of at least $32 million from the upcoming showpiece at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It's his 49th professional bout, and it's being billed as the final fight of the undefeated American's distinguished career.
It seems likely this will be the end for Mayweather—"I'm not breaking that 50-0 (record). Don't worry about that," he told Velin—even if his 49th fight is a damp squib. And when he does hang up the gloves, it’s going to be interesting to see which star emerges as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
When asked his opinion on the matter, Mayweather gave an answer that would surprise many, choosing his most recent opponent, Manny Pacquiao: "Probably Manny Pacquiao. We can’t just take that away from him because he lost to me. I would say Manny Pacquiao. Manny’s a hell of a fighter, one of the best fighters I’ve faced in my career."
There aren’t many who would argue with that assessment, but Mayweather has been critical of Pacquiao in the past, per ESPN's Dan Rafael:
After the hyperbole that engulfed Mayweather-Pacquiao in May, the buildup to this weekend's scrap has underwhelmed. Berto doesn’t seem to have the credentials to trouble Floyd, having lost three of his last six fights. But Mayweather told Velin that names such as Amir Khan had no more of a right to step into the ring with him than his upcoming opponent:
"I was sitting back and thinking, I know different fighters’ names come up to fight Floyd Mayweather, and I said, "Andre Berto has three losses, Amir Khan has three losses. Andre Berto is a two-time world champion, Amir Khan is a two-time world champion." It doesn’t matter who I face, they’re still going to try to say this is not the guy. When I beat this guy they’re going to say this isn’t the guy.
I beat everybody. Right now the top guys in boxing are (Manny) Pacquiao, Canelo (Alvarez), (Miguel) Cotto, and of course I faced all three. And we know what the results were.
"
But the fans aren’t buying it, literally. As noted in a Daily Telegraph report, tickets have been a tough sell for Mayweather’s last-ever foray into a boxing ring, and there is a chance sections of the MGM Grand will be empty come first bell on Saturday.
As ESPN’s Todd Grisham notes, for those boxing fanatics who can’t afford to be in attendance to see Mayweather’s last bow, the prospect of splashing out for what'll be a lopsided fight on pay-per-view isn't appealing either:
It’s a shame a genuine great of the sport is signing off this way. Mayweather has fought some of the best fighters around during his career and has outclassed them all. The fact that Mayweather, after beating Pacquiao so convincingly, set up a fight where there will be a substantial chasm in class has naturally been met with bemusement and frustration.
But Floyd seems content as he edges towards retirement. You need an impenetrable outer shell to be so self-assured in the ring, and as Mayweather previously alluded to, he seems completely unfazed by the criticism coming his way.
Nevertheless, he’s a fierce competitor, and you have to wonder whether the chance to go 50-0 may be too tantalising an incentive to walk away from.
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