Floyd Mayweather’s upcoming fight with Andre Berto is being billed as his last, but iconic trainer Freddie Roach isn’t buying that assessment, insisting the unbeaten star will fight on.
“I don’t know where Mayweather’s going right now,” he told George Gigney of Boxing News (h/t Edward Chaykovsky of Boxing Scene). “I don’t think he’ll stop at 49 fights, I think he’ll fight to 50. I’m hoping that he promotes himself, maybe if he does he can make more money.”
Roach, who trained Manny Pacquiao for his bout with Mayweather earlier this year, also said that if the American and the Filipino were to square off again, the result—Mayweather won via unanimous decision last time out—would be different. After the fight, Manny revealed he had torn a shoulder muscle in his preparations, per Ben Dirs of BBC Sport.
“Manny would do much better in a rematch, if the shoulder gets better,” said Roach, per Gigney. “We were doing well until the shoulder went in the fourth round and we had a tough time after that. I do think we can beat Mayweather 100 percent.”
When you consider Pacquiao-Mayweather was the most lucrative boxing event of all time, per Alan Hubbard of the Independent, that fight might have been the ideal time for Mayweather to hang up his gloves. Needless to say, the bout with Berto has done little to whip up hyperbole to a level anywhere near what accompanied the May showdown.
Skip Bayless of ESPN thinks that Mayweather should get in the ring once more and give a recuperated Pacquiao another chance:
It’s impossible to calculate just how much Manny’s injury hindered him on the night, but even if Mayweather declines the opportunity of a rematch with the Filipino, he still has nothing to prove. The prospect of going 50-0 may be a tantalising one for the American, though, as will be bettering Rocky Marciano’s mark of a perfect win record from 49 fights.
Mayweather claims the fight with Berto will be his last.
But Mayweather has previously insisted that the outing with Berto is definitely going to be the curtain call on his distinguished career. “September 12th is my last dance,” he said on ESPN’s SportsCenter, via Gareth Davies of the Telegraph. “On September 13 I just want to sit back and watch some football.”
Could Mayweather have potentially opted for a better opponent in his final fight? ESPN's Dan Rafael thinks so:
After the underwhelming manner in which the first fight ended, a Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch may not be the best course of action for the sport. But Mayweather potentially chasing 50-0, plus the lucrative gains to be made, would surely appeal to both men and be an intriguing slant if they were to go at it once again.
Mayweather seems content with his current legacy, though, with the win over Pacquiao adding the gloss to an immaculate career. The Berto fight may be a damp squib and an unfitting finale for one of the greatest boxers ever, but Mayweather seems to have achieved all he wanted in the sport, meaning Roach’s assessment of a rematch is likely to remain hypothetical.
