By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. of Grand Rapids, Michigan takes on Andre Berto of Winterhaven, Florida at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday, September 12. The 12-round welterweight tilt will be for Mayweather’s WBC and WBA Welterweight Championships. Like it or not, fans in Canada and the U.S. will all have to shell out some cash to catch it live on pay-per-view. However, over in the UK, fans can catch it live on BoxNation.
The 38-year-old Mayweather enters the ring with a perfect record of 48-0 with 26 Kos. Of course, he’s attempting to tie Rocky Marciano’s record of retiring undefeated as a champion at 49-0. However, it’s hard to believe Mayweather won’t return for a 50th appearance, perhaps for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao. The last time Mayweather tasted defeat was as an amateur back at the Summer Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta and it seems that Berto was handpicked by him to run that record to 49-0.
Looking at the tale of the tape, Mayweather stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and has a 72-inch reach while Berto is just over 5-foot-6 and has a wingspan of 68.5 inches. Mayweather has fought 375 rounds since turning pro back in 1996 while Berto has gone 189 since 1995. Mayweather has also fought a total of 252 world championship rounds without losing too many of them. He’s fought so many rounds because he’s basically an elite boxer and not a knockout artist at all as his knockout rating of 54 per cent shows.
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The 32-year-old Berto is a former IBF and WBC World Welterweight Champion and it appears he hit his peak a few years ago. However, he might still have enough left in the tank to be a legitimate contender and could possibly work his way to another title shot in the next year or two. He’s been set back by injuries over the past couple of years and is eager to get back into the spotlight. He’s undergone shoulder surgery and appeared to be in good shape when he stopped Josesito Lopez in the sixth round earlier this year. But he’s just 3-3 in his last six fights. He does have decent power though with a knockout rate of 70 per cent.
Berto will enter the ring with a record of 30-3 with 23 Kos to his name and he’s fought 183 rounds since turning pro back in 2004. After two straight losses to Jesus Soto Karass and Robert Guerrero he beat Steve Upsher Chambers by a 10-round unanimous decision in last September before stepping up in class and meeting Lopez. Berto has a decent chin, but Karass stopped him in the 12th round in July of 2013. His other loss was a 12-round unanimous decision to victor Ortiz in 2011.
Mayweather has all of the tools of an elite boxer except power at the moment. His last stoppage came back in 2011 when he dropped a defenseless Victor Ortiz in the fourth round when Ortiz attempted to touch gloves with Mayweather in the middle of the ring in a sporting gesture. That turned out to be a huge mistake as Mayweather clocked him. It was legal, but arguably unsportsmanlike. His last legitimate knockout came back in 2007 when he stopped Ricky Hatton of England in the 10th round. Mayweather’s defence, chin, and ring generalship is second to none and this guy knows how to adapt in the ring. He’s one of the smartest boxers of his and any other generation, but doesn’t like fast-paced action from bell to bell.
Prediction
Berto isn’t too hard to find in the ring and is tailor made for Mayweather’s boxing skills. Mayweather should be able to tag him at will if he’s willing to throw punches. Berto has a decent chin, but has been stopped once and down a couple of other times. Mayweather will hopefully want to put on a more offensive-minded showing than he did against Pacquiao to appease the fans. Since Berto doesn’t really pose a serious threat to the champion, look for Mayweather to actually go for a stoppage when he sees and opening an score one late in the fight.
