Floyd Mayweather, Jr. of the U.S. poses with his title belts after defeating Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines in their welterweight WBO, WBC and WBA (Super) title fight in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 2, 2015. (Photo : REUTERS)
Boxing analysts see an easy victory for unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his last professional fight on September 12 at the MGM Grand. "Money May" confirmed on Tuesday speculations that he picked boxer Andre Berto as his opponent.
Berto, who holds an interim belt and twice held a welterweight world title, has a fight record of 30-3 with 23 KOs. In explaining his choice of Berto for the last of his six-fight deal with Showtime/CBS, Mayweather said, "He's a young, strong fighter who is hungry to take down the best," quotes ESPN.
As usual, Mayweather - who won the May 2 bout against Manny Pacquiao in a unanimous but controversial decision - used the announcement to boast of his 0 loss record. He emphasized, "Forty-eight have tried before and on Sept. 12, I'm going to make it 49."
He added, "I always bring my A-game and this fight against Andre Berto is no exception." The easy victory forecast is supported by Sports Book William Hill which placed the odds of Mayweather at -2,400 and Berto at +1,200 on Tuesday after the announcement. Two weeks ago, when Berto's name was swirling as the next Mayweather foe, Mayweather's odds was -1,600 favorite.
Like other boxers who want a crack in boxing history by dealing Mayweather his first professional loss, Berto promised to kick Money May's ass when they met on the ring on May 12. Berto said, "I plan to bring it to Floyd and I'm not concerned about what 48 other fighters have been unable to do. Somebody is getting knocked out and it won't be me."
More details about the career of the Haitian boxer are in this video.
The fight will be televised on Showtime PPV, although CBS could also show it for free. Washington Post believes the offer to show the bout for free could be because boxing organizers are wary pay-per-view buys for September 12 would not break the sales of "The Fight of the Century." Mayweather's bout versus Pacquiao disappointed boxing fans because all they watched for the big money they spent on tickets or PPV subscriptions was 12 rounds of Money May running away from Pacquiao.
There is also no word yet on the guaranteed purse of the September 12 bout for the two boxers. In the May 2 bout, Mayweather and Pacquiao earned a career-high of $230 million and $160 million, respectively, earning for them the 1st and 2nd spots in Forbes's highest-paid celebrities in the last 12 months.
