Boxing News 2015: Floyd Mayweather’s last fight won’t be against Andre Berto says Keith Thurman

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has stated multiple times in recent months that his fight in September 2015 will be the last in his career. However, one welterweight contender, Keith Thurman believes that the undefeated American will not walk away from the sport yet after his fight with Andre Berto later this year.

“There is no evidence that it [Andre Berto] will be his final opponent,” Thurman said to boxingnewsonline.net. “It’s the final fight of his Showtime contract that he signed three years ago. That is what it is officially, it does not mean it is the final fight of Floyd Mayweather’s career – that is up to him.”

Thurman, who is one of the rising boxers in the welterweight division, also respected his compatriot’s decision to pick Berto, who is not one of the popular fighters in the division or the sport and will enter the September bout as a huge underdog.

“As far as him fighting Berto, he just got done fighting Manny Pacquiao. I’m learning, just from my little bit of time of being in the spotlight – and trying to entertain everybody in the world of boxing – that at the end of the day, no matter who you fight, you don’t please everybody,” Thurman added in the interview.

Most boxing fans and observers have criticized Mayweather Jr. for selecting Berto in his supposed farewell fight when the bout was officially announced early in August. Berto, who is just 3-3 in his last six bouts, is a 14-to-1 underdog in most betting lines.

Mayweather Jr. beat Pacquiao last May via a largely uneventful and unexciting 12-round unanimous decision victory. The fight broke boxing records left and right including sales on gate tickets and pay-per-view buys. The fight against Berto is not expected to rival those numbers owing to Berto not being one of the top fighters in the division or boxing’s pound-for-pound list.

Thurman also stated that Berto, whom he considers a “great friend”, will provide a good challenge to the undefeated American but believes that Mayweather Jr. “knows what he’s going to have to do to win.”

The Mayweather vs. Berto fight is scheduled to take place on Sept. 12, 2015 (Sept. 13 in Australia) at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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