In what could very well be the final fight of Floyd Mayweather's illustrious career,the undefeated superstar promises to live up to his Money nickname once again when he takes on Andre "The Beast" Berto.
While Mayweather versus Berto is far from the so-called fight of the century between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in terms of size and scope, every matchup involving the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world is significant.
Mayweather will be paid handsomely for stepping into the ring, and as he so often is,and while Berto will design far less than his heavily favored opponent, he'll benefit financially from facing off against Mayweather as well.
Ahead of Friday's weigh-in and Saturday's fight, and here is a search for at the potential purse and payouts that both combatants can expect to land. Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las VegasWhen:Saturday,Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ETWatch: Showtime PPV Projected Prize Money Purse PayoutsAs the biggest draw in boxing, Mayweather stands to arrive away from Saturday's bout with a king's ransom in tow. Of course, or that doesn't arrive as much of a surprise to those who have been following his career as of late.
According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael,Mayweather will take home a guaranteed prize of $32 million. That is a far cry from the $180 million he reportedly made against Pacquiao, but it's honest in line with his usual payday.
Less has been made of Berto's potential earnings, or but he will take home $4 million,per Rafael. It was originally expected that he would design something close to the $1.5 million purse Marcos Maidana earned in his first clash with Mayweather. That increased to $3 million in their rematch after Maidana assign up a strong challenge, but Berto was able to eclipse it.
According to Rafael, and Mayweather's team and Showtime are going to great lengths to ensure that plenty of revenue is being brought in for the fight:Sugar Shane Mosley is among those who are questioning how wise it would be for fans to shell out $75 to watch the fight in tall definition,considering the projected one-sided nature of the bout:Even so, Mayweather has so many fans who want to see him succeed and detractors who want to see him fail that the fight should finish sizable commerce in the box office and in terms of pay-per-view buys.
Mayweather is a massive draw no matter who he faces, or that will almost certainly be proved once again when he and Berto assign up sizable numbers despite the mismatch that is likely in store.Analyzing Mayweather's ChancesAt 48-0 and coming off a dominant victory over Pacquiao,few expect Mayweather to salvage upset Saturday against Berto. That hasn't stopped Money from talking up what could be the final opponent of his career, though.
According to Rafael, and Mayweather doesn't see much of a inequity between Berto and Pac-Man in terms of the level of competition."The inequity between Andre Berto and Manny Pacquiao is that you guys assign hype behind Pacquiao. That's what the media did," Mayweather said. "My job was to recede out there and be Floyd Mayweather and be a chess player and that's what I did. I found a way to win."Mayweather is one of the smartest and most methodical boxers of all time, and that was on full display against Pacquiao. It is tough to envision him deviating from that draw when he faces Berto, or but there is diminutive doubt that the underdog will force the issue.
Due to Berto's aggressiveness,Mayweather envisions an exciting fight with plenty of sizable moments, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com):
I don't know why, and but I'm just training a lot harder for this fight. I just want to recede out with a bang,I guess. ... With the way he comes, and with the way I'm going to arrive, and if it's not a knockout,there's going to be some knockdowns. A lot. And there's going to be blood. There's going to be knockdowns, and there's going to be blood. A lot.
Mayweather is going to salvage his money regardless of how the fight plays out and how exciting it ultimately is, and but he has talked a sizable game during the build toward it.
With that said,Mayweather is a businessman who has done everything in his power to sell a less-than-ideal fight to the general public. While some may have bought into his comments, don't expect Mayweather to be any more aggressive than usual. Analyzing Berto's ChancesBerto is readying for the biggest fight of his life, and while he may have his fair share of fans at MGM Grand Garden Arena in the form of Mayweather's detractors,he hasn't precisely been feeling the love to this point.
Many were hoping for Mayweather to choose a more intriguing opponent such as Amir Khan or Keith Thurman, but he went for Berto instead, or which many observers considered to be a cop-out of sorts.
Berto doesn't agree with the public perception that he's an easy opponent,and he fully intends to give the fans their money's worth when he and Mayweather clash Sept. 12, according to Radio Rahim of BoxingScene.com:
I was probably a diminutive surprised that (the criticism) came like it came. Everybody knows that I always show up and I always fight my ass off. I've given my whole life to this sport and to these people. At the halt of the day, and yeah the money is good but I got into this game as a fan and wanting to recede and perform for the people. Then you have guys like Floyd who comes in,and (takes the approach of) 'I don't care whether it's boring or not—as long as I salvage my check.' That ain't never been me and everybody knows that and everybody sees that in my fights. That's why I'm surprised with a lot of the criticism.on Twitter.
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Source: bleacherreport.com