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Floyd
Mayweather Concludes Remarkable Career With Win Over Andre
Berto And Perfect 49-0 Record
Photos: Esther Lin - SHOWTIME
Floyd “Money” Mayweather performed one last masterpiece
on Saturday live on SHOWTIME PPV® in what he insists was
the final fight of his distinguished 19-year career.
Before 13,395 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena,
Mayweather improved to 49-0 (26 KOs), matching the
record of the late heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano
with a 12-round decision over former two-time
welterweight world champion Andre Berto (30-4, 23 KOs).
In total control from the outset, Mayweather was
victorious by the scores of 120-108, 118-110 and
117-111.
Following the final bell, Mayweather dropped to his
knees in reflection of his final act.
“You have to know when to hang it up,’’ he told
SHOWTIME’s Jim Gray in the ring afterward. “I’m knocking
at the door; I’m close to 40 years old.
“I’ve been in this sport 19 years, been a world champion
18 years, broke all the records. There’s nothing else to
prove in the sport of boxing.
“My 49-0 record is a part of boxing. Records are made to
be broken. Hopefully someday we can find the next Floyd
Mayweather.
“Now it’s time to spend time with my family and
children, make sure they get the proper education. I
also want to help the fighters under the Mayweather
Promotions banner.
“I’m leaving the sport with all my faculties; I’m still
sharp and smart. I’ve accomplished everything in this
sport, there’s nothing else to accomplish.
“Money doesn’t make me. I make money.
“I don’t want to rank myself, but I am the best at
boxing.
“I want to thank all the fans that came out to support
this event. For 19 years I wouldn’t be able to do it
without these fans.
“Andre Berto has heart, a tremendous chin. He wouldn’t
lay down, it was a good fight. He was a tough
competitor, but experience played a major role tonight.
What can I say? I was the better man tonight. It doesn’t
matter if I hurt my left or my right hand, my career is
over. It’s official.’’
Berto was satisfied with his performance, but conceded
he was not at Mayweather’s level.
“Experience played a big part in this fight,’’ he said.
“I want to thank my entire team, my family and all of
Haiti that is watching.
“I was in shape for this fight; he was just difficult to
hold on to. He’s slippery. I used a lot of speed but
he’s real crafty. He was using little things to get me
off my rhythm.
“A guy like me has a lot of pride. I told him that every
time I caught him with a good shot that I was here to
stay. I put on a great performance, pushed him to the
limit. But, we fell short.”
In the second of two world title fights on the
pay-per-view undercard, Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-3,
17 KOs) retained his WBO Junior Lightweight title with a
thrilling 12-round majority draw in a rematch against
four-time world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (42-13-3,
29 KOs).
Picking up where they left off when they fought in a
Fight of the Year candidate last April, won by Martinez,
both fighters exchanged punches for 36 minutes of
ferocious action. Each went down in the third round. At
the end of a slugfest, in which more than 1,700 punches
were thrown, one judge scored it for Martinez (115-113),
one had Salido (115-113) in front and the other called
it even (114-114).
Both Martinez and Salido thought they should have got
the decision and are in favor of a third fight.
“I definitely won the fight,’’ said Martinez, who was
making the first defense in his third stint as WBO
Junior Lightweight World Champion. “They counted a
knockdown that wasn’t really a knockdown.
“He threw a lot of punches but most of them didn’t
connect, they landed on my arms. Anywhere you want that
third fight between us, I will take it.”
Said Salido, a two-time featherweight world champion who
was the aggressor throughout and delivered more than
1,000 punches, “I did all the work and I thought I won
the fight. I thought the first couple of rounds were
even but then I took control of the fight afterwards.
“I was definitely looking for the championship. As you
all saw I threw more of the punches and I thought I won
the fight.
“I dedicated so much for this fight, for them to take it
away from me is not fair. Definitely, I am ready for a
third fight.”
In another world title fight, Badou Jack “The Ripper”
(20-1-1, 12 KOs) successfully defended his WBC Super
Middleweight World title with a hard-fought,
crowd-pleasing 12-round majority decision over mandatory
challenger “Saint” George Groves (21-3, 16 KOs). Jack,
who dropped Groves late in the first round, triumphed by
the scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 113-114. The
hard-luck Groves, who abruptly fled the ring in
disbelief after the announcement, fell to 0-3 in world
title fights.
Jack was impressive in what may have been his toughest
fight to date.
“Groves has a lot of heart,’’ said Jack, who was making
the initial defense of the WBC belt he took from Anthony
Dirrell in April. “Body work is becoming my signature. I
wasn’t effective enough because I couldn’t knock him
out. I felt like after the first round I could but I
just couldn’t. I didn’t go to the body enough.
“I haven’t thought about my next fight yet, but there’s
a lot of big fights for me. I heard Julio Cesar Chavez
Jr. wants to fight me. I want to enjoy this win but I
will fight anyone.”
The victory was Jack’s fourth in a row since suffering
the lone loss of his career on a shocking first-round
knockout loss to Derek Edwards in February 2014.
Groves, whose only other losses were in back-to-back
fights against then-world champion Carl Froch, didn’t
dispute the knockdown but had a problem with the
decision.
“I thought I won the fight decisively,’’ he said. “I
thought I controlled the fight with my jab and that I
was in control throughout, though, it appeared closer to
the judges.
“It was a legit knockdown in the first round. He landed
the right hand over the top, but I have good fitness and
I thought I got back in control of that round. But all
credit to him though scoring the knockdown in the first
round.
“Congrats to Badou. I hope he has a successful reign as
champion. I'd love to fight him again and hopefully I
will do better next time. I am going to take some time
to work out what's next. Losing a world title fight is
the worst feeling in the world.”
Puerto Rico’s Jonathan “Polvo” Oquendo (26-4, 16 KOs)
overcame a first-round knockdown, scored a knockdown of
his own and upset former two-division world champion
Jhonny Gonzalez (58-10, 49 KOs). Oquendo won a 10-round
majority decision in a good action fight that opened the
pay-per-view telecast. Oquendo won the biggest bout of
his career by the scores of 95-93, an out-of-line 98-90
and 94-94.
For Oquendo, the victory in his sixth appearance at MGM
Grand Garden Arena was the 12th in his last 14 fights.
"I feel very happy,’’ said Oquendo, who was dropped by a
left hook with about one minute left in the first.
“Jhonny Gonzalez is a great champion. I knew I had to
throw a lot of punches and work to get inside to get the
victory. I was able to implement that game plan
tonight.”
Gonzalez, a former two-time WBC featherweight and WBO
Bantamweight World Champion, was displeased with the
scoring as well as all the unintentional headbutts. He
was dropped by a straight right hand at about the 2:00
mark of the second.
“The judges favored him too much,’’ Gonzalez said. “He
kept head butting me. It just didn't go well. As soon as
he knocked me down, nothing happened. I just got right
back up.”
In a fight Saturday that aired during “COUNTDOWN LIVE”
on SHOWTIME before the pay-per-view telecast, longtime
junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan (36-2-1,
21 KOs), of Glendale, Calif., scored two knockdowns en
route to winning a 10-round majority decision over
former IBF 154-pound champion Ishe Smith (27-8, 12 KOs)
of Las Vegas, by the scores of 97-91 twice and 95-95.
“I feel awesome. I worked hard and it paid off. I hadn’t
seen my family in 10 weeks. I was in training in the Bay
Area,’’ Martirosyan said. “Ishe was eating 100 jabs a
round. I knew he was a Mayweather fighter and I was
going into the fight already down five rounds.
“I knew I had to win. My corner told me to go in and
have fun, but I wanted to knock him out.
“I knew as soon as I landed the first knockdown that I
had to keep going. I didn’t think he would get up from
the second knockdown. He had never been dropped before.
He has fought a lot of great fighters and I dropped him
twice.”
Smith, the first native Las Vegan to capture a world
title, felt the fight was much tighter.
“The first knockdown wasn't serious. He just caught me
in the back of the head. The second one was legit, but I
got up ready to come back at him,’’ Smith said.
“Six points is ridiculous. I thought it was closer to
95-95 or 95-94. I just thought it was a lot closer than
those two judges, and my corner kept telling it was real
close. But we expected a tough fight out of
(Martirosyan). He's long, rangy and a good puncher, but
that's why I wanted to get inside and fight him there.
“I just fought a hell of a fight against the No.
3-ranked fighter in our division. I have a lot left. I'm
pushing these guys to the limit. I take nothing away
from him. He's one of the best in the world and I'm a
former world champion. We gave the fans a great fight
tonight and I'll be back again soon."
Also on “COUNTDOWN LIVE,” promising unbeaten lightweight
Gervonta Davis of Baltimore improved to 12-0 with 11
knockouts by registering a 1:34, first-round TKO over
Recky Dulay (8-2, 5 KOs), of Manila, Philippines.
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