Mayweather vs. Berto Odds: Latest Fight Lines for Money vs. the Beast

According to my calculations—I was admittedly not a math major—you have to bet eleventy billion dollars on Floyd Mayweather to make enough to buy a Starbucks coffee.

The pound-for-pound king enters every fight as the favorite. But his decision to go head-to-head with Andre Berto this Saturday left the boxing world perplexed and the betting world without a proper answer on how high the odds could go on a Mayweather win.

The current answer ranges anywhere from 1-50 to 1-21, according to Odds Shark. In layman's terms: A bettor would need to wager $5,000 on Mayweather to bring home a measly $100. Those aren't even Ronda Rousey numbers. Those are "I'm not entirely sure Andre Berto is a human being" numbers. Throw an actual ant in the ring and Mayweather's moneyline may actually shrink.

ESPN.com's Stephen A. Smith provided some perspective:

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Just days removed from Mayweather matching Rocky Marciano's undefeated record, the harsh reality is that, at least for the moment, no one care. Perhaps, it's due to the belief that Berto (30-3), just 3-3 in his past six fights, is a cakewalk. And the fight, as a result, should be on free TV, which was originally contemplated by CBS/Showtime. Fresh off the Manny Pacquiao snore-fest, the plain truth is that no one's interested in feeling robbed, particularly for a second straight fight.

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Smith—and I cannot believe I am writing this without bursting into flames—is 100 percent correct. The national intrigue level for this bout is comparable to Sunday's Buccaneers-Titans showdown, which at the very least is a matchup of the top two picks in April's draft. Mayweather-Berto feels like a cop-out. And if you weren't sure that Mayweather's camp is feeling the pinch, take these choice quotes from the man himself.

“Berto is not a pushover, no matter who I chose, the media was going to have something to say, the critics were going to have something to say,” Mayweather said, per the Press Association (via the Guardian). “He’s no different from Amir Khan. Amir Khan has three losses, Berto has three losses but he’s a two-time world champion, just like Amir Khan.”

This is pretty typical Mayweather fare, but turned up to its highest degree ever. When Mayweather fights an actual opponent, his public demeanor is one of dismissiveness. He talks trash, does the Money Team song and dance and acts like your typical fighter promoting a bout. Almost the entire lead-up to the Pacquiao brawl, Mayweather went out of his way to dismiss Pac-Man being on his level.

On the other hand, when Mayweather needs to sell the public on an opponent it might not otherwise buy, he turns into the guy's biggest fan. Berto's no pushover. Canelo Alvarez is boxing's next big thing. Robert Guerrero is good at boxing. Whatever.

John Locher/Associated Press

It essentially boils down to this:

"[Good Opponent X] is total trash. You'll see on [Date X] why Floyd Mayweather is the pound-for-pound king when I pulverize him. Expect a bloodbath and be sure to dip into your child's college fund for the high-definition package."

Or...:

"[Bad Opponent X] is a good fighter, man. Smart. Aggressive. Knows what he's doing. I've prepared all my life to show you why Floyd Mayweather is an all-time great, but this is going to be the fight of my life. I'm proud to call him an opponent and be sure to dip into your child's college fund for the high-definition package."

That's how this whole thing works, which is precisely why you have to bet an actual semester's tuition to win a significant amount of money on Mayweather-Berto. Mayweather will win. He'll probably barely even break a sweat. And then he'll laugh all the way to the bank—even if said bank is a wee bit smaller than the one he went to after the Pacquiao fight.

Guess what? We'll all probably be doing this again next year when Mayweather returns from his "retirement" for one more go-home show against Pacquiao. Look for the tone to be a little different next time around.