After it was revealed last week that Floyd Mayweather Jr. was in negotiations with Showtime/CBS to extend his exclusive deal by three fights, a majority of fans believe Mayweather will fight beyond his September 12th clash against former welterweight titlist Andre Berto at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
To many fans and ringside observers, concluding a Hall of Fame career with that type of a fight just had a sour taste to it, reminiscent to how people viewed Rocky V when it was conceivably the end of the series at the time.
Former title contender Gabriel Rosado spoke exclusively to Fight Hype, opining that Mayweather’s ego wouldn’t allow him to stay inactive for very long.
“I doubt that it’s Floyd’s last fight. He needs that high, man, so for this to be his last fight, I doubt it,” Rosado said. “I don’t want to see Floyd retire. If it’s really his last fight, then why fight Berto? What’s he got to prove?”
Mayweather doesn’t have anything to prove – he’s beaten the best of the best – but if he’s going to stay in the sport longer, why not fight guys like Amir Khan, Keith Thurman, Kell Brook, or Timothy Bradley?
To be fair to Andre Berto, he is the No. 1 WBA ranked contender, so based off his rank, the fight is merited. However, Mayweather knows very well that this is a mismatch. To be quite frank, most of the top-five – top-six would probably beat Berto easily.
The undefeated Mayweather is still in possession of his WBA/WBC light-middleweight titles, so theoretically, a rematch against either Miguel Cotto or Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, is not out of the question.
I just can’t see Mayweather retiring with a sub-par payday [from his standards]. There are still of big fights out there to be made.
Undoubtedly, many athletes aren’t able to leave on top because of a lack of control – they don’t know when it’s time to stop.
Unlike many athletes, Mayweather hasn’t experienced finishing second or being on the raw end of a loss.
The man has never lost. He has been on top since October 11, 1996, when he made his professional debut against Roberto Apodaca, and he’s going to attempt to surpass Rocky Marciano’s 49-0.
