Mayweather chooses new opponent, Mundine dreams dashed

Floyd Mayweather will return to the ring on September 12 against Andre Berto, he announced via social media on Tuesday.

Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) grossed in excess of 0 million for his May 2 win over Manny Pacquiao, a fight that shattered all boxing revenue records. Perhaps Mayweather can lend some clarity to his future at Thursday’s news conference in Los Angeles to help promote the fight, which is less than six weeks away.

The unbeaten boxer handled his last fight very well, considering that it was his debut in the welterweight division. He won his first 27 fights and captured the vacant WBC championship at 147 pounds during a Mayweather hiatus that stretched across 21 months from 2007 to 2009, but lost the title to Victor Ortiz in 2011 and is just 3-2 in five fights since.

Espinoza declined to say what he thought the Berto fight would sell on pay-per-view, coming on the heels of the record-setting 4.4 million buys of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. “I’m very excited and I’m preparing for the toughest fight of my career against George Groves”, said Jack. He emphasized, “Forty-eight have tried before and on September 12, I’m going to make it 49”. While those prices dropped closer to the fight, it was easily the most expensive boxing match since 2010.

On the other hand, although the possible title fight against Brook or Bradley is a crowd-drawer, it would be more fitting for him to face Mayweather, if and only if Mayweather will pick him on his next bout. Holding his possible final fight on pay-per-view with what could be more of a ceremony than sporting event certainly follows that beat. Th fight will now be on Showtime pay-per-view and the venue will be the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Will Mayweather ultimately decide to fight at least one more time, giving him the opportunity for a 50-0 record and perhaps another huge paycheck from a rematch with Pacquiao?

Indications are that the Floyd’s next is on PPV is still the working plan, someone who should know told me…and we should get final word on that from the only source that matters, “TBE” himself, by this weekend, I am told.

Berto is seen as such an walkover that there were rumors that the fight would be broadcast for free on CBS.