LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. said it was his last dance. If it was, he also got the last laugh.
In what he promised was his farewell fight Saturday night, Mayweather mocked Andre Berto. Beat him. too, for most of 12-one-sided rounds for a unanimous decision that put him alongside Rocky Marciano in the historical ledger at 49-0.
Everything, including his body language, said he would not fight again. He hugged and kissed his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., on the cheek before the start of the 12th and perhaps his final round.
After the 118-110, 117-110 and 120-108 scores were announced, he knelt at the center of the ring, pointed one of his green-gloved hands toward the ceiling and look up as if he were saying a goodbye prayer.
“My career is done,’’ Mayweather said.
After the ninth, he complained to his father about an injury to his left hand.
“It doesn’t matter whether I hurt my left hand or my right hand,’’ said Mayweather. who collected another $32 million guarantee in the sixth and final fight on his Showtime contract. “My career is over.’’
As definitive as his statement was in the wake of his victory over Berto, speculation will continue about whether he will pursue a 50th victory sometime in the spring, perhaps at a brand new Las Vegas arena scheduled to open next spring.
His decision to face Berto had been mocked the day it was announced. In the end, Mayweather managed to mock Berto, if not the mismatch, himself.
Sometimes, he moved robotically as if to mimic a tiring and clueless Berto. Sometimes, he moved as if had been hurt. He wasn’t. Mostly. He just made fun of Berto. At the strta of the 10th, Mayweather talked non-stop at Berto. Finally, referee Kenny Bayless called timeout and warned both.
“Just trash talk,’ said Mayweather, who hasn’t knocked anybody in eight years.
Berto was cheered for just about anything he attempted from the 13,395 in a crowd that began to fill a Grand Garden Arena that about 90 minutes before opening bell appeared to be nearly half empty.
In the early rounds, however, Berto must have felt like he was playing dodge-ball with a target always close enough to hit, yet always elusive enough to make him miss.
“He a great fighter,’’ said Berto, who didn’t call him greatest when as if he thought Mayweather was The Best Ever.
Berto will let history decide that one.
The rematch was supposed to settle the argument. It didn’t.
Instead, Orlando Salido and Roman Martinez have more to fight about after battling to a draw Saturday night in junior-lightweight bout on the Floyd Mayweather Jr .-Andre Berto card at the MGM Grand.
“I won this fight,’’ said Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs), a Puerto Rican who scored a unanimous decision over Salido in April
Salido (42-13-3, 29 KOs) was credited with a knockdown in the third. Martinez complained to no avail. Turns out, Martinez was right and referee Vic Drakulich wrong in ruling it a knockdown. Video replay showed that Salido stepped on Martinez’ foot, knocking him off balance and onto the canvas.
Later in the third, Martinez scored a legit knockdown, landing a big right that sent Salido back on his heels and onto his rear end. Salido was clearly hurt. But he was able to survive and then managed to drag the fight into the kind of bruising exchange he so often wins. He threw 1,037 punches. Martinez threw 691.
“I should have won,’’ Salido said. “That’s not fair.”
Anybody for a trilogy?
Badou Jack scored a first-round knockdown that proved to the key to a split-decision over George Groves in the first defense of his WBC super-middleweight bout.
Jonathan Oquendo of Puerto Rico and Johnny Gonzalez of Mexico opened the PPV part of the card in a super-featherweight bout that began with fireworks and then settled down into a battle of wits, survival and some blood. In the end, Oquendo (254, 16 KOs), prevailed, winning a 10-round majority decision after suffering a knockdown in the first round, knocking down Gonazlez (58-10, 49 KOs) in the second and sustaining a nasty cut on his legs ye;id in the sixth.
The Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto show opened Saturday during the noon hour, or probably before Mayweather rolled out of bed.
In an empty MGM Grand Garden Arena, Atlanta junior-welterweight Trakwon Pettis didn’t waste any time in his pro debut. Pettis stopped Devante Seay (0-1) of Martinsville, Va., at 2:24 of the first round. He was done in time to catch a late lunch.
In the afternoon’s second matinee, London junior-welterweight Ashley Theopane (39-6-1, 11 KOs) outworked Steven Upsher (24-5-1, 6 KOs), winning a one-sided decision over the Philadelphia fighter who lost to Berto last year.
Then, Baltimore lightweight prospect Gervonta Davis (12-0, 11 KOs) took over with a fast and furious beating of Filipino Recky Delay (8-2, 5 KOs), who was down twice in the first and signaled to referee Russell Mora that he was done at 1:34 of the round.
In another afternoon beating, Romanian super-middleweight Ronald Gavril (13-1, 9 KOs) punished Scott Sigmon (25-7-1, 14 KOs) before the ringside physician ended it before the ninth.
A disciplined, patient Vanes Martirosyan waited as if he knew Ishe Smith would leap and lunge. Smith did. Not once, but twice. Martirosyan (36-2-1, 21 KOs), a middleweight from Glendale, Calif., capitalized both times, scoring knockdowns with well-timed counters late in the third round and again in the eighth for a majority decision over Smith (27-8, 12 KOs), a Mayweather-promoted fighter.
Dayton middleweight Chris Pearson (13-0, 10 KOs) rocked Canadian Janks Trotter (9-2-1. 9 KOs) repeatedly in the sixth and finally floored him in the seventh for a stoppage at 2:59 of the round.
In the last fight before the pay-per-view portion of the card, Uzbekistan junior-welterweight Sanjarbek Rakhmanov (2-0, 1 KO) rocked an overmatched, yet durable Farkhad Sharipov (4-5, 1 KO) of Kazakhstan repeatedly in scoring six-round unanimous decision.
