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11/25/2024 02:07:06 pm

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Boxing News & Rumors: Floyd Mayweather Finally Confirms Andre Berto As His 'Last' Opponent

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao

(Photo : Getty Images) After his "Fight of the Century" with Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. chooses Andre Berto to be his final opponent before retirement.

Undefeated pound-for-pound great Floyd Mayweather Jr. finally confirmed that the last antagonist of his 19-year career would be two-time welterweight champion Andre Berto, according to Time.

Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) is expected to finish his career still unbeaten against the old and battered Berto (31-3, 24 KOs) and tie the 49-0 record of boxing legend Rocky Marciano, although the latter had so much more knockouts in his profile with 43.

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As always, the match will be held at Mayweather's home floor, the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, and will be broadcasted under Showtime pay-per-view. This would be the sixth and last fight of Mayweather's 2013 deal with the station.

Immediately after he beat Manny Pacquiao during the "Fight of the Century" on May 2, Money announced that his final fight before retirement would be this fall. He has not changed his mind as of yet and continues to declare that this is really it, capping as some deems somewhat a "safe" boxing career.

"I'm ready to get back in the ring on Sept. 12 and prove again to the whole world why I'm the best ever," said Mayweather, as reported by ESPN's Dan Rafael. "I always bring my A-game, and this fight against Andre Berto is no exception. He's a young, strong fighter who is hungry to take down the best. Forty-eight have tried before, and on Sept. 12, I'm going to make it 49."

Many boxing analysts and fans are turned off by Mayweather's choice. Rafael said that Berto is "an easy mark" and a "massive underdog", but still the American-Haitian attempted to make something out of nothing by declaring that he intends to knock out the pay-per-view king.

Earlier in the month, it was speculated that the fight would be shown for free in CBS and not through Mayweather's traditional, lucrative PPV way to avoid ruining his brand, via Bleacher Report. But his latest announcement proved that the unbeaten American is ready to take the risk of not having the same PPV numbers as his most recent matches with this bout against Berto.

Mayweather passed over what experts believe were better opponents, such as Keith Thurman, Amir Khan, and Shawn Porter, who were all coming off wins against quality opponents. Fans around the world were clamoring for Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, but he was said to be the last person in Floyd's mind.

Berto lost three of his last six matches, and even though he won his previous two, it was against unheralded fighters.

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