Floyd Mayweather vs. Andre Berto – High Stakes To Say The Least

Photo by Herbert Diaz

For as far back as history has been documented man has searched for the secret of eternal life; be it the fountain of youth, or a magical potion that may reverse the effects of aging.  Low and behold a few centuries ago, warriors secretly found the key to walking amongst men with the stature of gods through the merits of the fight game.  Thanks to its candid structure based on singles competition; boxing has withstood the test of time simply due to its brutal honesty.  Now for those who have gone to battle waging wars that will forever be remembered overcoming unbelievable obstacles, the rewards became a chance to be spoken about forever, years past their existence making their stories and themselves, legendary.

This weekend from the world-famous MGM Grand Casino & Hotel in Las Vegs only one man stands in-between undefeated title holder, Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0 w/26 KOs) and boxing immortality; he is “The Beast” Andre Berto (33-3 w/23 KOs). The hard hitting Haitian-American awaits his foe as the only obstacle left to challenge Mayweather’s professional career which has spanned almost two decades.  Besides the Michigan native’s incredible merits of helping to sell out arenas, clear 1 million pay-per-view buys countless times over, or be the highest paid athlete according to Forbes, he is a single win away from tying Rocco “Rocky” Marciano’s perfect 49-0 record. An accolade which has stood unshaken since it was etched into stone via Marciano’s 9^th round KO over Archie Moore on September 21^st, 1955.

While it’s a foregone conclusion for some that the 30-1 favorite has this one in the bag, only Floyd Mayweather and Andre Berto can realistically give their equation an answer as they headline their “High Stakes” Showtime PPV from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. However, let us fast forward and analyze both possible outcomes this Saturday. On the one hand we have a triumphant Berto, singlehandedly shushing all doubters and naysayers with unquestionably the biggest win of his entire career.  He is already a winner in Uncle Sam’s eyes as he is making a guaranteed $4 million, his highest payday ever. Yet, the bragging rights of taking away his rival’s unbeaten streak while simultaneously conquering the best fighter of this generation and #1 pound for pound champion would more than likely crash the internet. If he is “already” supposed to lose, what can Andre Berto do other than march towards the inevitable or shock the world? There is no pressure on him to lose and he can always hold his head up high knowing that his matches have all been exciting, fan-friendly outings, and his name will forever be synonymous with boxing history, one way or another, after taking on Mayweather.

The other scenario of course is Mayweather doing what another top “Pound for Pound” star in Joe Calzaghe (46-0 w/32 KOs) did and that’s ride off into the sunset, untouched, undefeated and financially secure while commanding the respect of his peers.  The Brit did it in 2008 and now seven years later “Money May” is on the cusp of securing the same fate after years upon years of negativity plagued his stellar career by those critics and analysts that shall never be satisfied. He is a made man in a grueling sport where one shot can drastically change things for the worst.  After 19 years in the game, titles in 5 different weight classes, and grand total revenue of close to $800 million USD, the man from Grand Rapids has definitely done it his way.

Of course the haters will try to cloud even that. They said that he couldn’t succeed after leaving former promoter, Top Rank.  He did. They said that Mayweather would not fight a serious threat in Miguel Cotto, nor could he beat him. He did. They said that he would not go on to do big box office numbers after riding out his HBO contract. He did. They said he would not honor the 6 matches that he signed on to fight with the Showtime network. He did. They said that he would not dare to face a prime, young, unbeaten Saul “Canelo” Alvarez,nor could he defeat him. He did.  They said that he would never face the one man that could match his speed and power, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, nor could he triumph over him. He did.

Maybe Mayweather is going to stick to his word of retiring after his battle on September 12^th , 2015 since he has done everything that critics said he would not do and he is just tired of being right. They are now saying that former 2-time title holder Andre Berto cannot give Floyd “Money” Mayweather any type of real challenge as the headliner for the Showtime “High Stakes” PPV event at the MGM Grand Casino. There is a lot at stake when this fight goes down besides the WBC welterweight title, the WBA Super World welterweight title and an undefeated streak.  There is also the biggest “I told you so” that boxing has seen in decades, and if that is not a reason worth tuning I don’t know what is.

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