Mayweather’s fight against Berto was lackluster; ends career a legend.
Floyd Mayweather may be boxing’s most notorious character. He doesn’t politic, he refused to schmooze and yet with a reported networth of over $400M, he is one of the highest paid athletes to ever dominate a sport.
Dominate has been the key term when it comes to Floyd’s career. He ended a twenty year career on Saturday with his 49th win against Andre Berto. The fight lacked the controversy and hype of his previous fight against Manny Pacquiao back in May of this year. Critics claimed the Berto fight was boring and Pacquiao himself posted a video of himself playing piano because he was so bored, still Mayweather exited with a less than strenuous win and $32M while Berto left with a cool $4M.
Mayweather has been criticized for his less than aggressive style that leaves him able to collect a win and still do press the next day. While fans lament seeing a bloody knock down, drag out fight, few won’t admit that Mayweather has proven to be one of the most technical fighters of all time. His unspoken mantra of “fight smarter not harder” might’ve saved him from the health issues some of his predecessors have experienced. His former moniker “pretty boy Floyd” still applies as the boxer rarely has been hit and never endured the type of beating that many names that share his success have. It would appear that Mayweather outstmarted the sport of boxing.
Most boxing legends leave the sport after experiencing loss in a public and very physical way. Disfigured features, slurred speech and at least a couple of fights that got away from them, is how most boxers exit the sport. It’s a lucrative game but you have to pay for the wear and tear it puts on your body, taking hits over and over, over a period of years. Saturday night, a 37- year-old Mayweather retired on his terms with little signs of fatigue or the collective “wear and tear” one would expect.
For a man who allegedly had little formal education, Mayweather has managed to walk away a multimillionaire with his health and legacy intact. And while there may be a return from retirement rematch with Pacquiao in the future, presently, Mayweather has efficiently beat 49 opponents and the sport of boxing combined, all while becoming one of the wealthiest African American males in the country. This may make him one of the most intelligent men to ever be paid to use their physical strength to entertain. Mayweather has benefited from every media outlet that villainized him, fans that paid to see him lose and even networks that attempted to pimp him out for their ultimate gain. At the end of this movie the black man won. Long live the champ!
