Mayweather vs. Berto: Fight Time, Date, PPV Info and Fight Card Schedule
The Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. (48-0, 26 KO) vs. Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KO) pay-per-view event isn't getting a lot of love among the boxing community, but as a card, the lineup of fights isn't bad. Is it worth a pay-per-view cost of between $60-$80, per Luke Kerr-Dineen of USA Today's For the Win? Maybe on the low end of that scale.
Because this is a Mayweather fight, expectations will be high, and patience will be thin. If he doesn't lose or hit a 5-star frog splash off the top rope and finish Berto with a figure-four leg lock, his critics will boo and hiss.
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Truth be told, if the following card were headlined by Canelo Alvarez and David Lemieux and cost $60 minus Mayweather, you'd have a ton of people singing its praises.
| Weight Class | Titles | Fighter (c) - champion | Record (KOs) | Fighter (c) - champion | Record (KO) | Rounds |
| Welterweight | WBC and WBA | Floyd Mayweather Jr. (c) | 48-0 (26) | Andre Berto | 30-3 (21) | 12 |
| Super Middleweight | WBC | Badou Jack (c) | 19-1-1 (16) | George Groves | 21-2 (16) | 12 |
| Super Featherweight | WBO | Roman Martinez (c) | 29-2-2 (17) | Orlando Salido | 42-13-2 (29) | 12 |
| Super Welterweight | Vanes Martirosyan | 35-2-1 (21) | Ishe Smith | 27-7 (12) | 10 | |
| Super Featherweight | Jhonny Gonzalez | 58-9-0 (49) | Jonathan Oquendo | 25-4 (16) | 10 |
Guide to Likely Televised Bouts
Martirosyan vs. Smith (Hype Level: 5)
Both Vanes Martirosyan and Ishe Smith are respected 154-pound fighters, but neither is usually a part of memorable or exciting fights.
Smith's style is ugly, and he lacks elite punching power. Martirosyan is a tough and competitive fighter who always proves to be a difficult out. However, unless you're a boxing junkie, this is probably a fight you'll miss or talk through as you and your fight party wait for the main event.
Gonzalez vs. Oquendo (Hype Level: 6.5)
This is another chapter in the classic Mexican-Puerto Rican boxing rivalry. Jhonny Gonzalez has all kinds of power, but he struggles with fighters who have quick hands and lateral movement.
That explains why the swift and talented Gary Russell Jr. gave him a four-round beating in March 2015 and took his WBC featherweight title. The 33-year-old Mexican quickly rebounded with a second-round KO win over a marginal Japanese opponent in Kazuki Hashimoto.
Jonathan Oquendo should have a speed advantage, but it won't be nearly as pronounced as the one Russell enjoyed. If Oquendo boxes and stays away, he could give Gonzalez issues. If he is pulled into a slugfest, he'll likely be reminded just how hard Gonzalez can punch.
This one should be entertaining.
Martinez vs. Salido (Hype Level: 8.5)
And we have yet another chapter in the Mexican-Puerto Rican boxing rivalry.
If you're looking to see a brawl, this is the point of the pay-per-view when you need to start paying attention. Puerto Rican champion Roman "Rocky" Martinez will defend the WBO world super featherweight title he won over rugged Mexican challenger Orlando Salido in a rematch of their April bout.
Martinez won the first fight by unanimous decision after dropping Salido twice and having the latter penalized a point for low blows.
The first fight was action-packed. Martinez controlled the early rounds with the two knockdowns, but Salido came on strong at the end. His rally is what helped produce the appetite for a rematch.
ESPN.com's Dan Rafael wrote this about the first fight and the rematch: "It was the kind of fight for which a rematch was a natural, and that is exactly what is happening."
The fighters seem to be preparing for another all-out war. Per Rafael, the 32-year-old Martinez said this about Saturday's rematch:
"Everyone saw that the first fight against Salido was a true war. This time around, I'm planning to give my fans the same type of fight. I predict a nonstop action slugfest. I feel the rematch is a very exciting fight for television, the kind fans love. For me, it gives me a chance to leave no doubt in anybody's mind that I am the champion.
"
Salido believes he didn't get an opportunity to "fight his fight" because referee Jose Hiram Rivera "was talking to [him] the whole 12 rounds." This time, Salido insists he knows Martinez's "weakness." Hopefully that weakness isn't below the belt.
Groves vs. Jack (Hype Level: 7.5)
This is an underrated fight on the card. George Groves is an interesting talent who may or may not have been broken by his two-fight series with Carl Froch.
Groves lost both fights by TKO—one was controversial, the other not at all. Since the back-to-back defeats in 2013 and 2014, Groves has defeated Christopher Rebrasse and Denis Douglin to earn a third shot at a world title.
Jack has proved he's a tough customer. He won the WBC super middleweight title by majority decision over Anthony Dirrell in April. Jack just seemed to want it more than Dirrell late in the fight. His inside, body-punching style was fun to watch, and it made him easy to root for.
Stylistically, he makes for an interesting match against the slick, boxer-puncher-style Groves employs.
Mayweather vs. Berto (Hype Level: 8.5)
If you think that hype level is a little high, you're probably a Mayweather hater.
Granted, this isn't Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao or even the second scrap with Marcos Rene Maidana, but Berto is a legitimate former two-time world champion. There are still reasons to be excited about this fight. Check out the video of the press conference on Wednesday. The two fighters are doing their best to capture the intrigue of the fight community.
Beyond the obvious credentials of Mayweather and the disrespected accomplishments of Berto, there's a growing sentiment that Mayweather will be going for a KO.
That's something he hasn't seemingly set out to do since he destroyed Sharmba Mitchell in 2005. Mayweather has just two wins by stoppage since the Mitchell fight—and one of them was the sucker-punch KO against Victor Ortiz that came in retaliation for repeated headbutts.
"Sugar" Shane Mosley recently stated that Mayweather chose Berto because he'd have a better chance to knock him out.
Per Ben Thompson of FightHype.com, he said: "My thoughts on Mayweather fighting Berto...he's trying to get a KO. Berto doesn't have the best chin in the world. I mean, he has punching power, but he doesn't have the best chin and he's not the best fighter he could've fought."
That certainly doesn't sound like flawed logic or baseless hate. Mayweather is also still saying this will be his final fight, as seen in the press conference above. Most don't believe him, but because he's saying it, we have to give it some credence. Even if it isn't his last fight, Mayweather still has a chance to equal Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0.
Like him or not, that's as impressive as it gets. In any case, all of the details and circumstances surrounding the fight are a formula for an entertaining main event.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.
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