Floyd Mayweather vs. Andre Berto Results: Twitter Reacts to Title Fight
WBC and WBA welterweight champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. (49-0) won what he has said will be his last fight Saturday night in Las Vegas, but he didn't do it the way he said he would.
When this fight was announced, Mayweather talked about knocking Andre Berto (30-4) out. Instead, he slightly varied his normal defensive approach en route to an easy unanimous-decision victory.
ESPN.com's Dan Rafael provided the official scorecards.
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During his post-fight interview with Showtime's Jim Gray, Mayweather confirmed his plans to retire: "This is it. It's official. I'm retiring."
Pure Domination
From the beginning to the end, Mayweather was the better man in every way. He was quicker, slicker and even stronger in the clinches. He made some attempts to finish Berto, but whenever Mayweather did land shots that had an effect, he was content to move away and lean on his boxing prowess.
In the 12th round, Mayweather landed the most significant punch of the fight. A hard right uppercut jutted Berto's head back and wobbled his legs. Mayweather rallied with combinations, but there wasn't enough time left in the round to finish.
CompuBox tweeted this image, which displays just how dominant Mayweather was Saturday night:
Actor Michael Rapaport noticed Mayweather's attempt to get the stoppage, and he called out anyone who fails to see Money's effort to get the knockout:
This dramaless bout only fed the Mayweather haters who have pelted the champion with insults about his lack of action in recent bouts. Chief among the haters is former opponent and business partner Oscar De La Hoya.
It seems clear: The Golden Boy has three purposes in life these days—promote Canelo Alvarez, sue Al Haymon and troll Mayweather, not necessarily in that order.
On Saturday night, the latter cause took center stage. De La Hoya was in such rare form that he inspired the next section of this article:
Mayweather Hate
De La Hoya started early, tweeting this barb at Mayweather just before the fight began:
While Berto wasn't the best contender in the weight class, he is a two-time world champion and an athletic fighter. Despite the near shutout Mayweather pitched, it was disrespectful to disregard Berto's chances to win the fight or his accomplishments.
That said, the action didn't necessarily match what Mayweather promised. Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel captured this image of a fan in the front row who seemed preoccupied with his mobile device:
Kevin Iole, also of Yahoo Sports, might have misinterpreted this situation:
Iole was referring to a portion of the fight when the fighters were clinched, and Mayweather stuck his tongue out toward the crowd. Andreas Hale of the Corner saw Money's actions in a different way.
It's funny how perspective can change perception and reaction.
De La Hoya checked back in to let us know he decided to spend time watching a Disney movie with his kids instead of Mayweather's fight:
That's well and good, but with as much tweeting as De La Hoya was doing, it's hard to imagine he saw a lot of that movie. When the fight was over, he had one last parting shot at the retiring legend and a plug for his next fights:
Mayweather Congratulations
A good amount of mud was slung at Mayweather and Berto on this night, but there were also congratulations and acknowledgement from the likes of boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and Bad Left Hook's Tom Craze:
The people who can't appreciate Mayweather's brilliance are like the casual hoops fans who don't understand why people say Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time. When calling an athlete great, it's not about flash or action; it's about winning and effectiveness.
No fighter in the last 25 years has won as much, or been as effective, as Mayweather. Whether you believe he has changed the sport for the better or worse, there's no disputing he has, indeed, changed the game.
If this was his last fight, as it should have been, true fans and students of the sport should appreciate his in-ring genius. The strategy may not fit every fan's preference, but boxing is about styles and fighters figuring out ways to counter and defeat their opponents' approach.
In Mayweather's career, 49 opponents tried, but not one cracked the code. There's something to be said about that.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.
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