On September 12th, Floyd Mayweather will be facing Andre Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada aka “The house that Floyd built.” It’s no secret that, even for die-hard boxing nerds this fight creates more frustration than satisfaction. Virtually everyone except the combatants wanted Mayweather to face a different, far more competitive opponent. Yet, we will go out on a limb here and say there are still a few reasons to tune into Mayweather vs. Berto. Read on to find out.
1. Tying Rocky Marciano’s Record
Should Mayweather win, he will (provided he stays true to his word and retires) have tied one of boxing’s longest and most treasured records. Matching Rocky Marciano at 49-0 and completing his career as an undefeated champion. If it gives you any sense of how difficult this has been to accomplish. The last man that came this close was Larry Holmes over 30 years ago. Yes that was 1985 – when 15 round fights still existed, Ronald Reagan was in the White House and a young up and coming recording artist named Madonna released an album called “Like a Virgin” – yes it been that long.
2. Shock the World
Conversely, should Mayweather somehow lose this bout, it would truly be a moment that shocks the boxing world. Although we are the first to admit that a Mayweather defeat is highly unlikely, don’t dismiss the notion. In the 60’s a braggadocios young man named Cassius Clay did just that in knocking out the heavily favored Sonny Liston. The 90’s saw Buster Douglas take apart another heavily favored shoe-in named Mike Tyson. This is boxing and anything can happen with just one punch. Wouldn’t it be even more fun to see it unfold as it happens?
3. Underlying Social Media Commentary
Some may feel this should be filed in the TMZ, Twitter beef wars file. However, because Mayweather has invited Jen Welter the first NFL female coach to be his guest at the fight and walk him out to the ring some controversy has arisen. Mayweather is no stranger to domestic violence and has been the subject of heavy criticism by the media, fellow pugilists and many advocacy groups which oppose domestic violence. Many of these folks have been vocal in their displeasure with Welter’s acceptance of Mayweather’s invitation. Although Welter has defended her decision, this story has some legs to it and doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. It would not be a total surprise for some mean tweets to arise prior to fight time.
4. Mayweather’s Swan Song
If he is to be believed, and that is a BIG IF, this will be Mayweather’s final fight. Love him or hate him, he has been a defensive maestro, virtually carried boxing over the past decade and made quite an impressive and entertaining run. If this is indeed his last fight it is the end of an era in boxing.
