Floyd Mayweather Jr. is billing Saturday night's fight vs. Andre Berto as the last time to see a legendary fighter inside the ring. Veteran referee Joe Cortez is calling his bluff.
Mayweather, whose nickname is "Money," would potentially leave a lot of it on the table if he retired after Saturday night instead of trying to improve his record to a historic 50-0 mark, says Cortez.
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"I think Floyd Mayweather is a smart fighter and he has managed to sell and market a fight better than anyone, even Don King," Cortez said via Boxing Scene. "He claims this is his last fight. For me, he is not fooling me that this is his last fight, knowing that going for 50 in the new MGM arena in Las Vegas might get him roughly 50 million as a guarantee."
Billing this as his final fight could be a marketing ploy to drum up interest in a fight most see as an easy night at the office for Mayweather. The matchup has been criticized because Berto (30-3, 23 KO) is 3-3 in his last six fights, with the three losses coming vs. underwhelming competition. Two of the defeats came vs. ex-Mayweather opponents-Victor Ortiz and Robert Guerero-and the third was against Jesus Soto Karass, a man with eight losses when he knocked Berto out.
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A win vs. Berto would push Mayweather's record to 49-0, the same mark of former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.
"The fight will sell well and it would be against an opponent that people are willing to pay to see. At the same time, I know that he wants to break the record of Rocky Marciano."
Berto, is making big claims about spoiling all these plans.
"I'm going to bring a combination of speed and power to the table and I believe I have better athletic ability than Mayweather's previous opponents," Berto said.
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