Floyd Mayweather Sr. Could Halt Son's Retirement, Talks Andre Berto, Amir Khan
Despite Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s insistence that this weekend’s showdown with Andre Berto will be his final professional fight, his father has revealed he will do his utmost to convince the unbeaten boxer to continue his career.
As reported by Declan Taylor of the Mail Online, the man known as Money has no intentions of surpassing Rocky Marciano’s career record of 49-0, a landmark Mayweather Jr. will equal should he, as expected, dispose of Berto. But Floyd Mayweather Sr. thinks if his son turns in another quality display on Saturday, he should fight on, per Taylor’s piece:
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"It will definitely be up to him whether he makes the decision or not. But if he does not do whatever he decides to do within a six-month period, leave it alone. It's done.
It's too long at his age. If he looks good on Saturday against Berto I'll say "let's do it one more time – let's have one last one." That's what I'm going to tell him.
Right now we still have a fight on Saturday so I'm still here right now. We don't know what's going to happen on Saturday – we will have to wait and see because he might say 'hey – I'm going to do it again, one more time.'
"
It’s something fight fans would love to see. Like him or loathe him, it’s tough to deny Mayweather's genius, and although the American has often been accused of cherry-picking his opponents, he’s fought big names such as Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Juan Manuel Marquez and has beaten them all.
So this finale, against a mediocre opponent such as Berto, doesn’t really seem an appropriate way to round off this distinguished career. As noted by Darren Rovell of ESPN.com, as a result, tickets for the bout have been a hard sell for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas:
Mayweather Sr. claimed it’s important not to look too far ahead, although he revealed his son would be looking for a knockout win. "If Floyd plans on the knockout then he might get it because this dude has got a glass jaw, I can tell you that,” he said, per Taylor. “I'm not sure if Floyd will touch his jaw very well but I know he'll touch him enough to stagger him.”
It would be Money’s first win inside the distance since a controversial knockout of Victor Ortiz in 2011. The American’s defensive style of fighting means it’s rare to see him on the front foot, and with opponents cautious because of Floyd’s razor-sharp reflexes, his fights haven’t been aesthetic spectacles down the years.
A bout against a quality competitor would have stirred up more interest in the occasion, and Amir Khan was a name often bandied about as a possible opponent for Money. But Mayweather Sr. was adamant that the Brit would never get a shot at his son and won’t even if Floyd continues fighting either, per Taylor:
"He isn't getting the fight because I told his daddy—I said 'you're a chump.' And Amir Khan is nothing close to Floyd and he's not going to get a penny if I've got something to do with that. And I've got everything to do with it. He's mad because he isn't getting any big pay days—that's why."
Khan has been in impressive form in his previous three bouts, easily disposing of Luis Collazo, Devon Alexander and Chris Algieri, and many maintain he had a much greater case for going up against Mayweather than Berto did. The Bolton-born star will be keeping a close eye on proceedings come Saturday night, though, as he revealed on Twitter:
Khan, like the rest of us, will quickly become a little weary of watching Mayweather pick apart a subpar opponent. Indeed, while it’s likely to be a landslide win for Money and an overdue knockout, pockets of empty seats around the MGM Grand should have been filled for the final chapter in Floyd’s remarkable fighting days.
This underwhelming climax, the chance to pick up one last payday and to surpass the iconic mark of Marciano may all conspire to tempt Mayweather back to the sweet science. A timely nudge from his father could be decisive if the undefeated champion is at a precarious point in his decision-making process.
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