By Keith Idec
More than anything, Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants to retire after facing Andre Berto because he is concerned about his long-term health.
With his uncle/trainer, former 140-pound champion Roger Mayweather, experiencing serious health issues that stem from a 72-bout boxing career that spanned 18 years, Mayweather emphasized on a conference call Wednesday that he wants to walk away from boxing with his health and his immense wealth intact. The younger Mayweather’s defensive style has helped keep him out of wars in the ring, but he, too, has been a professional fighter for 18-plus years.
“No one is in my shoes,” Mayweather said. “I think my health is more important. You stay around anything too long, anything can happen. I’m not really worried about losing. But I want to have a sharp mind. … You can make a lot of money, but you still want to be able to talk, walk and have a sharp mind.”
The 38-year-old Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) reiterated on the conference call that the Berto bout Sept. 12 in Las Vegas will be the last of an illustrious career in which he has won world titles in five weight classes, become boxing’s biggest star and made more money than any fighter in the sport’s history. His 12-round WBA/WBC welterweight title fight against Berto (30-3, 23 KOs), of Winter Haven, Fla., is the last of the six-fight, 30-month contract Mayweather signed with CBS/Showtime in February 2013, an unprecedented pact that guaranteed him a minimum of $32 million per bout.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.