Undefeated champion, Floyd Mayweather has finally retired from boxing after a convincing victory over Andre Berto.
For the final 30 seconds, the crowd of 13,395 at the MGM Grand Garden stood, their camera phones in their hands, documenting the end of the unbeaten star’s legendary career.
Berto offered little in the way of a serious challenge and Mayweather cruised to an easy victory, running his record to 49-0 in what he insists will be his last fight.
Few believe he’ll be able to stay retired, but he earned at least another $32 million and, with television upside, his 2015 earnings could push past $300 million.
He again insisted his career was over, and while he didn’t always fight the way many fans wanted, he leaves the sport with his faculties intact and hundreds of million in the bank.
“You’ve got to know when it’s time to hang it up, and it’s my time to hang up,” Mayweather said. “I’ve been in the sport 19 years and been a world champion for 18. I have nothing else to prove in the sport of boxing.”
He told his father, Floyd Sr., following the ninth round that he injured his left hand, but dismissed it later.
“It doesn’t matter if I hurt my left hand or my right hand,” Mayweather said. “My career is over.”
The fight was like so many of the 48 Mayweather bouts that preceded it. Berto simply wasn’t good enough to force Mayweather to fight and so Mayweather fought at his range and at his pace. Mayweather pounded Berto with his jab, did a nice job going to the body and largely controlled the action.
Mayweather seemed to hurt Berto twice, but there were no knockdowns and no classic back-and-forth exchanges. Mayweather was, yet again, a defensive master, and made it impossible for Berto to hit him.