Mayweather vs Berto (Photo : MGM Grand Arena)
UFC Women's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey just found an ally in belittling unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Haitian boxer Andre Berto. On the eve of their bout, Berto poked fun at his opponent's literacy problems.
The New York Post quotes Berto as saying, "He can't read, write or spell, and these are facts." Berto continues, "There's a reason why he walks around with all that cash. You think he knows how to write a check?"
Rousey previously challenged Mayweather to text her about their fight with no rules when Mayweather learns how to read and write. It was in response to "Money May's" retort that Rousey should call him about the fight when she begins making $300 per fight, like he did for the May 2 "Fight of the Century" versus Manny Pacquiao.
However, for his Saturday bout, Mayweather would likely settle for a significantly lower income for his last professional fight. While his guaranteed purse is $35 million, he stands to receive less for his share of gate receipts and pay-per-view (PPV) buys as boxing fans are not buying tickets to the bout or PPV subscriptions.
CBS cameramen would surely avoid taking shots of empty seats in MGM Grand Arena as there are still hundreds of unsold tickets to the match even if the most expensive seat is $1,500 only. In contrast, the May 2 fight was sold out even if the most expensive ticket was $10,000.
Mayweather is blaming Pacquiao for the poor ticket sales of his Saturday fight even if he was the one who was running away from the Filipino champ. Mayweather won that bout, but got booed by the crowd, many of whom believe the judges as well as the referee were pro-Mayweather.
Not even the controversy on Thursday that Mayweather got an IV before the May 2 bout approved by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which the Nevada State Athletic Commission disagrees with, could convince boxing fans to watch the expected historic end of Mayweather's boxing career capped by an anticipated 49-0 record.
