Floyd Mayweather Jr boxing news
Much has been made of the recent top-five unbeaten superstar Floyd Mayweather Junior came out with in terms of his picks for the five best fighters in boxing history. For those fans that missed it, Mayweather – currently, of course, 48-0 and closing in on his 49th and “final” fight, against huge underdog Andre Berto in September – listed the following top-5:
1: Floyd Mayweather Junior (wow, what a surprise!)
2: Roberto Duran
3: Pernell Whitaker
4: Julio Cesar Chavez
5: Muhammad Ali
1955 was also the year that bid a sad adieu to screen icon James Dean. The Rebel without a cause would meet his maker on Route 466 when, on September 30th, his Porsche 550 ‘Little Bastard’ car careered off the highway attempting to avoid Donald Turnopspeed’s Ford Tudor. The film world mourned and still does. Ray Kroc started the McDonalds fast food chain and Bill Haley’s ‘Rock around the Clock’ had music lovers dancing off the Big Mac’s and fries. But 1955 would also be a landmark year for the world of boxing when heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano went 49-0 to set, what would become, the longest standing championship record in the history of the sport.
There can’t have been many fighters more disappointed than Britain’s Amir Khan when the Mayweather/Berto fight was officially announced earlier this week.
Khan, a former Olympic silver medalist and 140 lb world champion, has been desperately and very publicly trying to goad Floyd into a fight with him for the better part of 2 years, yet has found himself being consistently overlooked by “Money” throughout that time.
Especially since he dropped the “Pretty Boy” and became “Money,” Floyd Mayweather has always had an air of “I don’t give a sh** what you think” about him.
Whether it be regarding his appalling record of violence against women, repeated racist comments (re Pacquiao/Filipino’s) or particularly this flagrant Andre Berto cherry-pick, Mayweather – and the sycophantic yes men who surround him (Chief of whom is Leonard Ellerbe)- ostensibly cares not what the public thinks.
At the first official presser to announce the fight on Thursday, this was more evident than ever in his bold attempts to justify Berto for this “final” fight of his long and illustrious career.
LOS ANGELES (August 6, 2015) – Accredited media members from around the world came out to the JW Marriott at L.A. Live in Los Angeles Thursday as Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) and two-time welterweight champion Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) officially announced their SHOWTIME PPV matchup with taking place Saturday, September 12 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Also in attendance Thursday were pay-per-view undercard fighters featured on the stacked four-fight telecast. In a rematch of their epic April 11 world-title fight Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs) will defend his WBO Junior Lightweight title against four-time world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (42-13-2, 29 KOs) while WBC Super Middleweight Champion Badou Jack “The Ripper” (19-1-1, 12 KOs) will take on his mandatory challenger “Saint” George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs). A fourth fight on the pay-per-view telecast will be announced soon.
It’s no secret that the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Andre Berto bout is something that most of the boxing community did not expect to ever see. Sure Mayweather had picked questionable opponents for some of his bouts in the past, but now, towards the finish line, it was expected that he would leave the sport that has done so much for him and his family, with a bang.
Andre Berto is not a chump nor is he a greenhorn, but him being picked for one of the last Mayweather Jr. fights simply doesn’t make any sense. Aside from the fact that he lost three out of his last six bouts, and that he is simply put, no threat to Mayweather Jr. in the ring in any way shape or form, he is also not a huge draw. If Money May is all about the numbers, and has proven himself to be a decent businessman as well, did he sign up for this fight knowing that he is throwing away a ton of money as well as standing to lose a big chunk of his fan base?
By Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones Photo © (clockwise) Paul “Paparazzi” Jones /ESB, Premier Boxing Champions, Suzan Classen, Matthias Kern, and Daniel Kucin, Jr. | Illustration – “Paparazzi” Jones
Just in case you missed the memo, it’s official. Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0-0, 26 KOs), 38, will return to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 12 to take on Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs), 31, in a welterweight title bout (Showtime, Pay-Per-View).
By toppling Berto, Mayweather aims to tie Rocky Marciano’s (49-0-0, 43 KOs) coveted perfect record of 49 wins without a loss. Although Marciano’s benchmark has stood for nearly 60 years, a win over former welterweight titleholder Berto would put Mayweather alongside “The Brockton Blockbuster” in the boxing annals.
The news officially landed yesterday that P4P boss Floyd Mayweather will indeed fight Florida’s Andre Berto on September 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The news will come as no surprise to those who have been praying that Floyd was only joking when he mentioned Berto in the same breath as Karim Mayfield some months ago, and it will be a crushing blow to Britain’s Amir Khan who has been desperately chasing the fight – going on record recently to suggest he was holding out on Floyd potentially surprising him with a late-doors call up.
LAS VEGAS (Aug. 4, 2015) – In what is expected to be the final fight of his illustrious 19-year career, boxing superstar and pound-for-pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) will put his undefeated record and WBC and WBA Welterweight World Championships on the line against power-punching, two-time welterweight world champion Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) Saturday, Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).
With comebacks, retirements and long awaited fights, the last 12 months of boxing have seen significant changes in the pound-for-pound rankings. Just as significantly, some things have not changed at all.
Most notably, Floyd Mayweather Jr. did the only thing he could do to further enhance his reputation as the best boxer in the world today by beating long touted rival Manny Pacquaio. What this means for Mayweather is clear but where this leaves Pacquaio is disputable.
Other reigning champs have fared indifferently. Whilst Wladimir Klitschko has notched up a couple of good wins, how he has done it has left questions about his pound-for-pound status. Andre Ward finally fought after over a year of inactivity but was it enough to show he is still better than the fast rising champions around him?