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 I’ll start this off short and sweet: this is not a very good fight to be spending money on. I’m watching it, and I’m sure a lot of other boxing fans will watch it, because it’s Floyd Mayweather and we watch all of his fights. He’s a superb talent, with an amazing variety of skills he brings into the ring, and has proven those skills against the best of the best. This is not a superb fight, though, as Mayweather’s opponent Andre Berto holds the distinction of losing twice to fighters that later lost to Mayweather. However, that does not mean that the fight won’t be entertaining or worth watching, or that the undercard won't be entertaining or worth watching either (the undercard is pretty competitive all the way down). It’s just not one you should go too far out of your way to spend money on.  Saturday, September 12th Showtime PPV - Undercard starts 8:00pm e / 5:00pm p, main event ~10:30/7:30 (online streaming via CBS) Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs Andre “The Beast” Berto - welterweight (147 lb) world championship Roman “Rocky” Martinez vs Orlando “Siri” Salido - rematch, WBO super featherweight (130 lb) title fight Badou “The Ripper” Jack vs ”Saint” George Groves - WBC super middleweight (168 lb) title fight Jhonny “Bombadero” Gonzalez vs Jonathan “Polvo” Oquendo - super featherweight (130 lb)  Though billed as a farewell night for Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0, 26 KO), most fans are pretty skeptical that this will really be his last night in the ring. Rocky Marciano’s lauded undefeated record at heavyweight stands at 49-0, just one win above Floyd's current score of 48-0, and it’s hard to imagine Mayweather’s ego letting him simply match Marciano. Besides, 50-0 may just be too pretty of a number for a fighter once known as “Pretty Boy Floyd” to pass up. The money-obsessed boxer earned a career-defining $250,000,000 payday fighting longtime media rival Manny Pacquiao last May, and yes, there are eight zeroes in that number. It's easy to imagine he’d be set to make a comparable payday marketing a record-breaking fight to hit 50-0 against a suitable opponent. Manny Pacquiao has reportedly recovered from the shoulder injuries he claimed plagued him during the May fight and is asking for a rematch. Meanwhile, the lineal middleweight championship is being contested between Saul Alvarez and Miguel Cotto later this year, and both are opponents that Mayweather has fought and beaten already. There could be serious dollars in Mayweather going for the lineal championship in a third weight division; a win would not only break that 50-0 barrier, but cement him as a concurrent lineal champion in the welterweight (147 lb), super welterweight (154 lb) and middleweight (160 lb) divisions.  Perhaps it’s a little understandable, then, why Andre “The Beast” Berto (30-3, 23 KO) was chosen as Mayweather’s opponent. Hailing from Haiti, Berto came up on HBO and is seen as the original blueprint for Al Haymon to overhype fighters and over-inflate their purses. Berto was billed as the next big welterweight, a title it was soon apparent he could not quite live up to, but since then he has turned into at least a dependable and entertaining action-fighter. Andre Berto is a boxer-puncher, with a style reminiscent to Shane Mosley’s “power boxing,” and gained a reputation for being a knockout artist on his way up. As a natural welterweight, Berto has real knockout power and has dropped foes even in the fights that he has lost. However, even in winning Berto has trouble against other boxers on the inside and outside, and his defense and stamina leave plenty to be desired. Of Berto’s three losses, two of them came at the hands of opponents who then parlayed the win into fights with Mayweather. Victor Ortiz fought a competitive, spirited war with Berto many viewed as a Fight of the Year candidate for 2011, but later went on to get sucker-punched out by Mayweather after three rounds of missing him; Robert Guerrero roughed Berto up in an entertaining, grueling inside fight, and then failed to find Mayweather in the course of twelve one-sided rounds. Berto’s third loss was against Jesus Soto-Karass, a gatekeeper-level opponent at best, and it was a struggle for Berto all the way until he was finally stopped. He is coming off a knockout win against Josecito Lopez, but it was not a fight he looked particularly great in before the stoppage.  Why, then, is Floyd Mayweather fighting what appears on the surface to be a very unqualified opponent, instead of other welterweights who aren’t quite so shopworn, like Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Timothy Bradley, or Amir Khan? I think it’s for that 50th fight. Mayweather has to get to 49-0 before he can sell the record-breaker, and because there’s so much on the line he has to do it safely. This is a stay-busy fight for Floyd Mayweather, something fighters do all the time both these days and in the old days. Mayweather knows there are bigger and tougher fights for him out there, but he also knows that a loss against someone like Keith Thurman or Amir Khan at this point in his career would be legacy-shattering. Mayweather’s undefeated record is his stained glass window, and he’s not about to let an up-and-comer wreck it before it’s finished.  Provided this isn’t truly Mayweather’s last fight, there’s no real problem with him doing that. It’s not like there’s zero risk in fighting Berto, either. He’s very athletic, is natural for his weight, and has been competitive with everyone he has fought. It’s still a boxing match and he always has a puncher’s chance. Remember that Buster Douglas was a 42-1 underdog when he knocked out Mike Tyson. Just keep in mind that this is a tune-up fight you’re paying for (if you choose to pay for it). It could be of the exciting kind. It could be a fight where we see Mayweather styling on Berto for twelve rounds. It could be a Mayweather knockout. Or it could be really boring. Judge for yourself how much this fight is worth to you.  My Prediction: Not really hard to predict this one. I think Mayweather starts the fight off going in and coming forward to make a statement, maybe to force Berto back a bit and get him into defense mode. If he sees some great hand speed and reaction time from Berto, or if Berto comes out throwing punches like crazy, then I’m expecting Mayweather to back up and get into counter-punching, which should do a nice job battering up Berto’s face. I think it’s more likely that Berto tries boxing Mayweather, using his power at distance and making Mayweather come to him a bit. This is a fight in which Berto just has to land one or two punches to win, and so I think he’ll try to surprise Mayweather from range. It’ll take a lucky punch that Mayweather doesn’t see or perhaps slips into, like the one Shane Mosley caught Mayweather with, to give Berto an opening to finish it. But I don’t expect Mayweather has deteriorated to the point where he’ll lose a boxing match with Berto. I think he’ll be the one landing tricky power punches, and I think that right hand of Floyd will land all night for as long as the fight lasts. Mayweather by knockout. The Ninth Layer fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Sep 12, 2015 |
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Sep 12, 2015 21:51
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hope groves wins for the degale unification fight in front of 80k frochamaniacs at wembley. not really interested in anything else so won't be staying up tho
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Sep 12, 2015 21:58
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Mayweather by decision. His last KO was the Ortiz cheap-shot (not that it wasn't 'fair', but it was a cheap shot). I don't want to watch this fight, but I will 
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Sep 12, 2015 22:22
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Gonna see it at a Buffalo Wild Wings near me, beats loving around with streams.
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Sep 12, 2015 23:25
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Holy gently caress do I want tonight to be one of those historic Didn't take the challenge seriously Upsets , but its just gonna be business as usual, a really great but lovely performance somehow at the same time, just weird and confusing, somewhat memorable in a flash or two and then bam Floyd Fight 59 is right around the decade. That's a pretty solid undercard to have going on for 2.5 hrs. Ninja PD fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Sep 12, 2015 |
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Sep 12, 2015 23:34
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Floyd is going to run from Berto, he'll never get another KO
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Sep 13, 2015 00:39
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Headed to the bar. Jhonny Gonzalez George Groves Rocky Martinez Floyd Mayweather
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Sep 13, 2015 00:42
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meat CRime posted:Floyd is going to run from Berto, he'll never get another KO This is what I feel. Given Floyd's age and that a KO win doesn't really do much more than another UD win would, eh, I just don't see Floyd gunning for a KO/TKO.
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Sep 13, 2015 00:56
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Meh-not even going to movie theater this one. Errands + Michigan State/Oregon wins the night for me. Wake me for Floyd/Canelo 2
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Sep 13, 2015 01:08
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Gonzalez/Oquendo is pretty loving good so far, you guys.
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Sep 13, 2015 01:23
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Haha this first fight is crazy, both dudes down in the first 2 rounds e: kind of amazed that this has made it 9 rounds, and gently caress that's a nasty cut on Oquendo meat CRime fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Sep 13, 2015 |
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Sep 13, 2015 01:23
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Wtf Groves, don't go down in the 1st
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Sep 13, 2015 02:16
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Three bars around me advertising the fight on their websites, all three pulled out of getting the fight
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Sep 13, 2015 02:23
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The Ninth Layer posted:Three bars around me advertising the fight on their websites, all three pulled out of getting the fight i can sort of see why but hosed up nonetheless jack looking good though
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Sep 13, 2015 02:28
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The boxing gods didn't want me to pay for this fight, I guess.
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Sep 13, 2015 02:30
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What good is Mayweather tying or breaking Rocky's record if he kills public interest in boxing by fighting mediocre opponents and doing miserable buy rates?
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Sep 13, 2015 02:31
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There will be big interest in his 50th fight unless he loses tonight.
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Sep 13, 2015 02:34
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The Ninth Layer posted:There will be big interest in his 50th fight unless he loses tonight. Yep. Mayweather vs Pacquaio II won't do anywhere near the business of the first match, but there is a chance that Canelo vs Mayweather II could do as good if not better than the first match. That's because you can sell the narrative that the first match was too soon for Alvarez, Mayweather is a few years older now so he might be within reach, and the first match ended by majority decision (which was bullshit though but whatever). And Canelo should be coming off an impressive win over Cotto soon. That would be a proper fight for Mayweather to go out on. This Berto fight is just getting there as safe as possible really.
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Sep 13, 2015 02:39
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Serious question - Why not Khan over Berto? From a business perspective it's been shown time and time again that the UK will pay out of its rear end for boxing and Khan is one of the bigger names here and a drat good showman so a Khan/Mayweather fight would definitely draw more than Berto/Mayweather imo anyways.
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Sep 13, 2015 02:51
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The Cosby Mysteries posted:Serious question - Why not Khan over Berto? From a business perspective it's been shown time and time again that the UK will pay out of it's rear end for boxing and Khan is one of the bigger names here and a drat good showman so a Khan/Mayweather fight would definitely draw more than Berto/Mayweather imo anyways. Khan has the handspeed and arguably the boxing skill to give Mayweather problems if not outright beat him. It would have been a better fight (and I think boxing fans would have preferred it universally) but it wouldn't be as easy for him. I also think Mayweather doesn't like Khan and didn't want to give him the fight.
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Sep 13, 2015 02:54
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Thought Groves was better than 116-111
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Sep 13, 2015 03:06
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It's not looking too great for my picks so far.
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Sep 13, 2015 03:07
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The Cosby Mysteries posted:Serious question - Why not Khan over Berto? From a business perspective it's been shown time and time again that the UK will pay out of its rear end for boxing and Khan is one of the bigger names here and a drat good showman so a Khan/Mayweather fight would definitely draw more than Berto/Mayweather imo anyways. Because Amir Khan poses some form of risk (however small), whereas Berto is a gimme (which is what Floyd is looking for so he can sell #50 in the future) The Ninth Layer posted:It's not looking too great for my picks so far. You're doing god's work. Two more to go.
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Sep 13, 2015 03:07
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The Ninth Layer posted:Khan has the handspeed and arguably the boxing skill to give Mayweather problems if not outright beat him. It would have been a better fight (and I think boxing fans would have preferred it universally) but it wouldn't be as easy for him. I also think Mayweather doesn't like Khan and didn't want to give him the fight. Floyd being Floyd.. Khan is on the Boxnation feed so I'm not too upset. That last judge for Groves though.. Jesus..
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Sep 13, 2015 03:08
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Another good fight, this undercard is delivering
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Sep 13, 2015 03:35
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drat this Martinez/Salido fight is good poo poo!
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Sep 13, 2015 03:37
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Salido doing some work that round.
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Sep 13, 2015 03:41
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this is good professional fighting.
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Sep 13, 2015 03:41
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The Cosby Mysteries posted:drat this Martinez/Salido fight is good poo poo! 
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Sep 13, 2015 03:41
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The is a great fight, worth the purchase.
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Sep 13, 2015 03:44
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Salido moves like a killer although it wouldn't surprise me if he's seen a few murders.
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Sep 13, 2015 03:50
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Martinez might get stopped next round.
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Sep 13, 2015 03:53
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Slaine posted:Martinez might get stopped next round. i don't know what's holding him up. his legs are gone.
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Sep 13, 2015 03:57
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solido finally slowing down. his pace has been remarkable
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Sep 13, 2015 04:01
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Christ. Good fight. time for some screwball judging.
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Sep 13, 2015 04:04
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I would REALLY like to see these guys again.
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Sep 13, 2015 04:10
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don't even care floyd's fighting a can. this card is quality.
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Sep 13, 2015 04:10
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What a badass fight, shame its going to be followed by some mayweather bullshit
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Sep 13, 2015 04:10
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I watch boxing twice a year and don't know poo poo, that was a cool fight welp time for floyd
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Sep 13, 2015 04:13
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i actually had it a draw. had martinez winning the first and last three. let's do this again
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Sep 13, 2015 04:14
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