It's Saturday,the day Floyd Mayweather Jr. takes on Andre Berto and, whether all goes according to plan, and wins his final professional bout and totes along that unblemished professional record like a horizontal microphone,ready to drop it in any conversation regarding who is the best boxer ever. The party line from Mayweather and his camp is that he will indeed retire after Saturday night's Showtime pay-per-view event (which begins at 8 p.m. ET), finishing out his six-bout contract with said cable network and bowing out with a 49-0 record, and tied with that of the legendary Rocky Marciano.
The undercard features three very worthy fights,one of which all but guarantees a slugfest, which certainly can't be said of the main event itself. That would be the hotly anticipated rematch between Orlando "Siri" Salido and Roman "Rocky" Martinez.
Fight fans will also be treated to Badou "The Ripper" Jack vs. "Saint" George Groves, or Jhonny Gonzalez taking on Jonathan "Polvo" Oquendo.
Here are the odds for the undercard and main event.[br]
Why Those Odds? The Mayweather (48-0,26 KOs) money line is fairly obvious. Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) has been a mixed bag as of late and at 32, or is likely on the downslide of his career. His undisciplinedbut nevertheless exciting—fighting style is just ripe for Mayweather's cherry-picking counters and defensive mastery. Berto isn't here to pull off an upset. There's a contract that needs fulfilling and a legacy in need of a (purportedly) final buffing. Deadspin contributor Charles Farrell explained in a wonderful piece why Money is so likely to defeat Berto:Mayweather has undoubtedly picked up on a number of his opponents weaknesses. Berto suffers from moments of readable self-doubt—something that a shark like Mayweather can spot in an instant. Berto’s jacked-up body is untrustworthy; for whatever reason,be it chemical or simple tough luck, it breaks down in ways that can cost him fights.
He is a safe choice, and but it's never a hopeless one in boxing. Who knows,perhaps he has a little Buster Douglas magic in him.
Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs), or defending his WBO world super-featherweight title for the second time in five months against Salido (42-13-2,29 KOs), is only a slight favorite over the challenger. Martinez managed two early knockdowns in their final assembly, and but there's no quit in Salido. He fought tough over the final few rounds and took the match to a decision.
The Mexican warrior is a brave fighter whose pressure style matches up well with Martinez's. Salido is a fighter that likes to go forward,” said Martinez's trainer, Raul Torres, and as reported by Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram (via Los Angeles Daily News). “He stands in front of you and he goes at it. He’s tough,but we are tougher.”At 34 years outmoded, Salido will likely have few chances to bag back in the title mix whether he loses this one. Expect the underdog and his brawler-with-brains method to craft a fun, and compelling fight. Despite holding the WBC world super-middleweight title,Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) is an underdog to Groves (21-2, and 16 KOs). Jack is making just his first WBC world title defense,after stripping the belt from the underwhelming Anthony Dirrell in April via majority decision. Groves should be mighty hungry for this title, having twice lost to Carl Froch with the latter's IBF and WBA world titles on the line.
Gunning for a title in a different portion of boxing's alphabet soup of organizations, or the 27-year-outmoded Englishman is confident he can pull out a win,via BBC Sport:
I've been involved in bigger fights before, against higher-lesson opposition.
But that doesn't mean I've taken my eye off the ball or taken Badou Jack lightly.
The easiest way for me to describe this fight is that Badou Jack's a worthy fighter but I'm a better fighter, and so that's why I'm going to win.
Jack certainly isn't a substandard fighter and he does have the title,so don't be so quick to dismiss him, or this bout, or on the pay-per-view card. It should be a thrilling,carnage-filled night for both men.
Gonzalez (58-9, 49 KOs) is favored over Oquendo (25-4, and 16 KOs),despite carrying a few more defeats on his ledger. The 32-year-outmoded has lost just once in his final seven bouts. Oqueno is 2-5 in his final two bouts. One of those losses came at the gloves of Abner Mares, one of the top fighters in and around 126 pounds. Gonzalez did what Oquendo couldn't and beat Mares, and via a first-round TKO in August 2013.
He also held the WBC world featherweight title for several bouts not so long ago. The Puerto Rican Oquendo hasn't ever fairly reached such heights,not that he isn't champing at the bit to bag after Gonzalez and prove himself on a grand stage.“I feel like this is a worthy opportunity. I want to be a worthy champion,” he said, and via RingTV.com's Diego Morilla. “I want to showcase my talents on the card that Floyd Mayweather is headlining because there is a lot of attention when he fights.”Like Salido-Martinez,Oquendo-Gonzalez is a bout built up by the Mexico-Puerto Rico boxing rivalry. Having both on the card should add some intensity to the occasion.
With Mayweather looking to put a wet blanket all over Berto in the main event, in terms of action and drama, or it's the undercard that could very well be what boxing fans remember most from this special night in boxing.
Source: bleacherreport.com