Would you knock floyd for fighting andre berto?

You think I'm criticising Floyd Mayweather Jr don't you? Pause and reflect a little. Forget the titles, when you have the likes of Edwin Valero and Jorge Linares as two weight world champions, that puts it in perspective of just how credible titles are these days. He has more than enough titles to his name already. Like I said before, Floyd is at a point in his career where all he should be concerned about are legacy fights. In my opinion, that can come in the form of Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao. It can also come in teh form of testing himself against much larger men.

Andre Berto is a great fighter in his own right, but he isn't on the same level as Floyd Mayweather Jr. At least not yet.

That's the problem.

 

Not at all. Manny Pacquiao can be considered a legacy fight, but I also view this as a mismatch. I'm not sure this is filtering at all. I'm actually praising Floyd. He is so good, so far ahead of the competition, that he really needs to fight a bigger man to even out the playing field. If he can do that and still win, I'm sure a lot of his detractors will be silenced, and his legacy would have enhanced. Last night I can accept as a tune-up fight, but it didn't enhance his legacy.

 

Based on his present opitions the Pacquio/Cotto winner or Mosley. Breto is not as good of a boxer than they are. I think in a year or two he will be just as good but he is not right now. If negoitions break down between Mayweather and Pacquaio or Cotto or Mosley Breto is not a bad option.

 

Bro this fight will never happen and its not because Floyd isn't up to it, but I think that Berto idolizes Floyd and will never fight his idol in the ring ... you see in the interviews how much respect he has for FLoyd and you see in his fights how he tries to immulate Floyds style ...

Floyd leaving the game opened the door for Berto to climb up the ranks but he's far from being on the level of a PPV fighter ... he doesn't have much drawing power and hasn't done enough against elite talent to get such a fight. I think it would be a stepping stone to go against Mosley and win, but that fight might not happen given the comeback of Floyd ... I don't even think the Mosley vs Clottey fight is going to happen because I can see a bigger fight getting in the way. (Mosley vs Mayweather)

THe best thing for Berto to do is fight Hlatshwayo and Clottey ... then go after the loser of Pacquiao vs Cotto (should Cotto lose) or then go after one of the big dogs on PPV. and thats if he still is undefeated ... CLottey would be too tough and he still has Collazo looming.

 

I have a hunch that Floyd will indeed seek out a fight with Berto in his next fight. The risk reward presents excellent value in fighting Berto and that frankly about sums up Floyd's opponent selection philosophy.

 

Berto isn't PPV material and the jury is still out on him thats why his stiffest challenge to date was Luis Collazo ... He would agree to fight Floyd for the money but I don't think it would make a difference in the outcome.

 

Laughable theory. Berto and Dibella are yearning for a chance to fight for big money and I highly doubt that they will let Berto's admiration for Mayweather get in between such an opportunity.

 

Who is PPV material?

 

big money doesn't equal a good fight ... just because they yearn for money doesn't mean that they will be up for the tast of winning the fight ... the big stage, the atmosphere, the event, will kill Berto ... once he hears Buffer announce Floyd's accomplishments, thats going to change Berto's who attitude for the fight ...

PPV material is someone who's ready for the big stage and who has been prep'd for the big stage ... guys who've been there before are more PPV material than someone who hasn't been there. You seen what PPV did to Jermain Taylor ...

 

Yeah Berto has headlined a venue but he hasn't took center stage in a big event ... his biggest fight was against Urango ... and i'm sure thats probably the biggest turn out for him as well. There are too many distractors for Berto in this fight ... I don't think he can handle the spotlight.

 

In short, yes I would be critical.

Simply because there are 3 or 4 better options out there that also make more money. So there isn't any excuse for it.

Berto should be more concerned with proving that he deserves to be a world champion after his 'win' over Collazo.

 

PPV material is someone who can draw a viewer to pay to watch. Their have been many lesser known fighters than Berto to the casual fan in recent years who have fought on a PPV main event. Berto has been on HBO many times over, is the current occupier of Floyd's WBC strap, and is undefeated. HBO and Golden Boy will have all the ammunition needed to sell this fight to the casual fan.

 

I just read an article on ESPN.com (Dan Rafael) saying that HBO was over paying Berto and that he's not that big of a draw ...

When you have fighters who aren't PPV material, then that causes the fight to be a bust ...

Look at Pavlik vs Hopkins ...
Calzaghe vs Jones
Hopkins vs Wright