We are less than 15 days away from the Mayweather v. Berto fight, but…who cares? Really, who other than Berto himself and Showtime really cares about this fight?
The answer is no one. The fight we’re really waiting for is Miguel Cotto vs. Saúl Canelo Alvarez on November 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
André Berto was once the next star in the welterweight division, but then he lost to Victor Ortiz, and Ortiz lost to Mayweather. Berto then followed with a loss to Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, and Floyd dominated El Fantasma in his next fight. To make matters worse, Berto then lost to tough Mexican fighter Jesús Soto Karass, who, despite his feisty style, has lost many times, and a few times against opponents far from the A-level. Somewhat recovering from his losses, Berto won his last couple of fights, but it was against minor opponents, neither of which merit the desired multi-million dollar shot against Mayweather, which he’s actually getting.
But to Berto’s fortune, May is known for cherry-picking his matches. Keeping an undefeated record is just not good boxing.
Floyd is choosing huge underdog André Berto.
Floyd Mayweather has stated this will be his last fight. A victory will take him to a historic record of 49 wins and tie him with Rocky Marciano. Although he has stated he will retire after the fight, this is unlikely to happen. He is always wearing his TBE (The Best Ever) merchandise, so it would be really surprising if the American boxer stopped one fight short of achieving that record. Floyd is choosing huge underdog Berto to get closer to that goal, free himself from the six-match Showtime compromise, and see if he can make some money by saying it will be the last time he steps in the ring.
Floyd’s ability to hype up fights – despite how disappointing they will be at the end – is out of this world.
Although his antics have worked amazingly in the past (he’s the highest-paid athlete in the world), people are not having it anymore. The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was a huge disappointment for everyone except Floyd, who made 300 million dollars. This is where Canelo and Cotto step in.
The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was a huge disappointment for everyone. This is where Canelo and Cotto step in.
Cotto vs. Canelo. Puerto Rico vs. Mexico. It’s a rivalry that started 81 years ago when Boricua fighter Sixto Escobar defeated Mexican Rodolfo “Chango” Escobar in 1934. The fight will remind us of a more glorious era of boxing, a time when it was less flashy and required more punching. Cotto vs. Canelo will have to live up to great duels, like Félix “Tito” Trinidad vs. Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chavez vs. El Macho Camacho if they want to take advantage of the current disenchantment of boxing fans towards Mayweather. And I think they will. Cotto is on a second wind after hiring Freddie Roach as a coach, and Canelo fought like a mad dog against James Kirkland. So on November 21, 2015, the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico duel will return, and it will do so with great success.
The Mexico-Puerto Rico duel currently favors the Mexicans, with a score of 73 to 53. We’ll have to wait until November to see if the Boricua can close the gap.