It's Official. Berto Is Victim #49 September 12 At The MGM Grand. #SUBSCRIBE http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/13377557/floyd-mayweather-return-ring-sept-12-vs-andre-berto Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, four months removed from his historic victory against Manny Pacquiao in the richest fight in boxing history, said Tuesday he will return to defend his welterweight world titles against Andre Berto on Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) has repeatedly said the fight, which will be televised on Showtime PPV, will be the final fight of his brilliant 19-year career. According to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith — who originally reported that Mayweather texted him saying he'd be willing to give Manny Pacquiao a rematch — Mayweather is planning to use Berto as a "tuneup" for a possible rematch against Pacquiao or a more formidable opponent. "I've never believed [Mayweather was going to retire in September]. I don't believe that. I think Mayweather knows that," Smith said. "I think Mayweather is using this [fight with Berto] as a tuneup, and then he's going to give Manny Pacquiao a rematch. "It's almost one of those things where it's a tuneup, it's going to be perceived as a cake-walk in a lot of people's eyes. And he's like, 'I'm Money Mayweather, I'm giving you me on free TV. You don't have to pay for it at all. It's a tuneup similar to what Manny Pacquiao did to Chris Algieri. And then I'm going to come out of retirement and I'll fight a Manny Pacquiao, or a Miguel Cotto if Cotto is lucky enough to beat Canelo Alvarez.'" After initially saying he would give Pacquiao a rematch, Mayweather reconsidered and bashed Pacquiao for attempting to use his shoulder injury as an excuse for his poor performance. Mayweather called Pacquiao a "coward," and said he had no desire to grant the former eight-division title-holder a rematch. Despite this, the belief that Mayweather would actually reconsider, and end his career with one last rematch against Pacquiao, makes a lot of sense on a number of levels. For one, the timing makes sense. A few days after the fight Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, it was revealed Pacquiao had to undergo surgery on a torn rotator cuff. His 9-12 month recovery time would make him unavailable to fight in September — the date of Mayweather's presumed last fight — but available for a fight later the next year. This theory would also explain why Mayweather, who's made millions of dollars as a result of pay-per-view sales, is attempting to air his September fight for free on CBS. Many have speculated boxing fans would refuse to pay large amounts of money to buy Mayweather's next fight on pay-per-view since a fight would Berto would be so dramatically one-sided, and many were disappointed with Mayweather's last pay-per-view fight against Pacquiao. Airing the Berto fight for free would please fans. And, with his six-fight contract with Showtime/CBS complete, Mayweather could then air his last fight, a presumed rematch against Pacquiao, on pay-per-view with whichever network offers him the largest possible payout. The first Mayweather-Pacquiao fight shattered records, with Mayweather alone taking home a reported $200 million in total earnings. This would explain Mayweather's current standoff in contract negotiations with Showtime/CBS over the Berto fight. ESPN's boxing expert Dan Rafel suspects Showtime/CBS is worried about this exact scenario eventually taking place, and want to make sure if he does, in fact, come out of retirement for a 50th fight, then they have the rights to air it: Lastly, while many believe Mayweather's primary, and only, concern is money, Mayweather has still shown he cares about his legacy and wants to be known, not just as the greatest boxer of this generation, but, as the greatest boxer of all-time. This is a man who markets himself, and his brand, embodied with the acronym "TBE," The Best Ever. If Mayweather does fight two more times, and wins both, he could then retire with a perfect 50-0 record, surpassing the legendary Rocky Marciano and his undefeated record of 49-0.

• published: 04 Aug 2015
• views: 4