The 38-year old boxer, beat his challenger, Berto 120-108, 118-110 and 117-111 to win the fight in a unanimous decision.
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In doing so, Mayweather matched the illustrious 49-0 record set by heavyweight Rocky Marciano when he knocked out legendary Archie Moore in the ninth round of a competitive fight in 1955.
The 38-year-old brought the heat in round six with three quick blows followed by a uppercut to take the fight away from Berto, but the former world champion responded in the seventh with his best form.
Five-division world champion Mayweather, 38, dominated most of the exchanges in the MGM Grand Garden Arena with his lightning jabs, control of space and agile movement about the ring. The body isn’t really breaking down from taking punishment, it’s just from all of the hard work, so it’s time for me to hang them up.
“I have been in the sport of boxing my whole life. I’ve broken all records”. “I’ve accomplished everything in the sport, so now it is time for me to help these young fighters break my record”, he explained.
However, he has also been a polarising figure because of his arrogance and flamboyant showmanship, and has certainly not always endeared himself to boxing fans with his repeated claims that he is TBE (The Best Ever).
Every champion. Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson, they paved the way for me to be the boxer that I am today. “But everybody could see that, like I said, I came to fight”. And we all know how “Money” likes to be one better than everyone else.
His career winding down to its final seconds, Floyd Mayweather Jr took a victory lap around the ring, his fist raised in triumph.
Andre Berto seems pretty pleased with his performance against Floyd Mayweather, even while admitting he could have done some things differently. I’m knocking at the door now. “I’m not ideal, but I strived to be a perfectionist”, he added.
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“I’m going to miss Floyd’s action-packed fights with prime fighters”, De La Hoya also tweeted, piling on the criticism of the unbeaten American who has been accused of ducking his toughest opponents. In his most recent fight, he was able to land 232 out of 410 punches, while Berto landed only 83 punches out of 495.
