Floyd Mayweather Fight: Money Lines, Odds for Undercard and Main Event
It's Saturday, the day Floyd Mayweather Jr. takes on Andre Berto and, if all goes according to plan, wins his last professional bout and totes along that unblemished professional record like a horizontal microphone, ready to drop it in any conversation regarding who is the best boxer ever.
The party line from Mayweather and his camp is that he will indeed retire after Saturday night's Showtime pay-per-view event (which begins at 8 p.m. ET), finishing out his six-bout contract with said cable network and bowing out with a 49-0 record, tied with that of the legendary Rocky Marciano.
The undercard features three very good fights, one of which all but guarantees a slugfest, which certainly can't be said of the main event itself. That would be the hotly anticipated rematch between Orlando "Siri" Salido and Roman "Rocky" Martinez.
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Fight fans will also be treated to Badou "The Ripper" Jack vs. "Saint" George Groves, and Jhonny Gonzalez taking on Jonathan "Polvo" Oquendo.
Here are the odds for the undercard and main event.
| Floyd Mayweather (1-50) vs. Andre Berto (14-1) | Berto +1400, Mayweather -5000 | welterweight | Mayweather |
| Orlando Salido (7-4) vs. Roman Martinez (4-9) | Salido +175, Martinez -225 | super featherweight | Martinez |
| Badou Jack (13-10) vs. George Groves (5-8) | Jack +130, Groves -160 | super middleweight | Jack |
| Jhonny Gonzalez (1-7) vs. Jonathan Oquendo (9-2) | Gonzalez -700, Oquendo +450 | super featherweight | Gonzalez |
Why Those Odds?
The Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) money line is fairly obvious. Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) has been a mixed bag as of late and at 32, is likely on the downslide of his career. His undisciplined—but nevertheless exciting—fighting style is just ripe for Mayweather's cherry-picking counters and defensive mastery.
Berto isn't here to pull off an upset. There's a contract that needs fulfilling and a legacy in need of a (purportedly) final buffing. Deadspin contributor Charles Farrell explained in a wonderful piece why Money is so likely to defeat Berto:
"Mayweather has undoubtedly picked up on a number of his opponent’s weaknesses. Berto suffers from moments of readable self-doubt—something that a shark like Mayweather can spot in an instant. Berto’s jacked-up body is untrustworthy; for whatever reason, be it chemical or simple hard luck, it breaks down in ways that can cost him fights.
"
He is a safe choice, but it's never a hopeless one in boxing. Who knows, maybe he has a little Buster Douglas magic in him.
Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs), defending his WBO world super-featherweight title for the second time in five months against Salido (42-13-2, 29 KOs), is only a slight favorite over the challenger. Martinez managed two early knockdowns in their last meeting, but there's no quit in Salido. He fought hard over the last few rounds and took the match to a decision.
The Mexican warrior is a brave fighter whose pressure style matches up well with Martinez's.
“Salido is a fighter that likes to go forward,” said Martinez's trainer, Raul Torres, as reported by Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram (via Los Angeles Daily News). “He stands in front of you and he goes at it. He’s tough, but we are tougher.”
At 34 years old, Salido will likely have few chances to get back in the title mix if he loses this one. Expect the underdog and his brawler-with-brains method to craft a fun, compelling fight.
Despite holding the WBC world super-middleweight title, Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) is an underdog to Groves (21-2, 16 KOs). Jack is making just his first WBC world title defense, after stripping the belt from the underwhelming Anthony Dirrell in April via majority decision. Groves should be mighty hungry for this title, having twice lost to Carl Froch with the latter's IBF and WBA world titles on the line.
Gunning for a title in a different portion of boxing's alphabet soup of organizations, the 27-year-old Englishman is confident he can pull out a win, via BBC Sport:
"I've been involved in bigger fights before, against higher-class opposition.
But that doesn't mean I've taken my eye off the ball or taken Badou Jack lightly.
The easiest way for me to describe this fight is that Badou Jack's a good fighter but I'm a better fighter, so that's why I'm going to win.
"
Jack certainly isn't a bad fighter and he does have the title, so don't be so quick to dismiss him, or this bout, on the pay-per-view card. It should be a thrilling, carnage-filled night for both men.
Gonzalez (58-9, 49 KOs) is favored over Oquendo (25-4, 16 KOs), despite carrying a few more defeats on his ledger. The 32-year-old has lost just once in his last seven bouts. Oqueno is 2-5 in his last two bouts. One of those losses came at the gloves of Abner Mares, one of the top fighters in and around 126 pounds. Gonzalez did what Oquendo couldn't and beat Mares, via a first-round TKO in August 2013.
He also held the WBC world featherweight title for several bouts not so long ago. The Puerto Rican Oquendo hasn't ever quite reached such heights, not that he isn't champing at the bit to get after Gonzalez and prove himself on a grand stage.
“I feel like this is a great opportunity. I want to be a great champion,” he said, via RingTV.com's Diego Morilla. “I want to showcase my talents on the card that Floyd Mayweather is headlining because there is a lot of attention when he fights.”
Like Salido-Martinez, Oquendo-Gonzalez is a bout built up by the Mexico-Puerto Rico boxing rivalry. Having both on the card should add some intensity to the occasion.
With Mayweather looking to put a wet blanket all over Berto in the main event, in terms of action and drama, it's the undercard that could very well be what boxing fans remember most from this special night in boxing.
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