Floyd Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) made is final appearance under the bright lights of his beloved MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, taking on the 18 to 1 underdog Andre Berto (33-4, 23 KOs).
The fight was labeled “High Stakes” which in most peoples eyes, couldn’t have been further from the truth. Yes, Berto has been a champion before. And yes, he has quick hands. And yes, he has some pop in his punches, but none of that seemed relevant as the fight got under way. Mayweather cruised virtually through every round of the fight with ease.
It’s typical for fighters to open a fight against Mayweather by taking their time and feeling out the pound-for-pound king’s crafty movements. Berto didn’t seem to get that memo until later on. Most rounds consisted of a tightly wound Berto chasing down a relaxed “Money” Mayweather and was always second to the punch. Mayweather made good use of bodywork, landing solid combinations to Berto’s sides but didn’t seem to necessarily hurt him.
13,995 fans inside the MGM Grand watched Mayweather dance into his corner, high step, and stick his tongue out to his family sitting ringside, as he knew this was another easy-work fight in the books. Some of the trash talking between the two in the middle rounds could arguably be counted as the some of the most action between the two. While Virgil Hunter is considered one of the top trainers in boxing today, he didn’t seem to have any clear advice or game plan for his fighter, despite telling Berto in the late rounds that he was only down by one round.
The undercards for “High Stakes” outshined the main event, as far as action, but if you’re a boxing purist then you appreciate the always-impressive footwork, lightning fast reflexes, and of course unbreakable shoulder-roll defense.
“Andre Berto has a lot of heart and a tremendous chin. He came to fight,” Mayweather said, smiling after the fight. When asked if this was really the end of his career Mayweather stuck to the script. “I’ve been in the sport for 19 years and champion for 18 of them. You just have to know when to hang it up. I’m knocking at the door; I’m close the 40 years old.”
Mayweather would close out his interview with another catch phrase to cap off the night. “Money doesn’t make me, I make money.”
“I think experience played a big part in this fight. I want to thank my entire team, my family and all of Haiti that is watching,” said Berto. Berto may not have as much experience as Mayweather, but it doesn’t take a boxing expert to determine that Berto had little to no direction from his corner throughout the bout.
“I was in shape for this fight, he was just difficult to hold onto, he’s slippery. I used a lot of speed but he’s really crafty. He was using little things to get me off my rhythm,” said Berto who didn’t seem too upset with the decision loss.
Can Floyd Mayweather be content with 49-0? Does he have the will power to sit back and let the next generation of boxers attempt to break his records? Only time will tell, but if I had to give an educated guess, I would have to say that Floyd Mayweather will keep an eye out there for maybe one last trip into the MGM Grand Garden Arena for a chance at 50 wins.
