Floyd Mayweather Next Fight: 'Money' is Afraid of Gennady Golovkin, Says Larry Merchant
Clearly, Larry Merchant thinks the undefeated boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. should have chosen the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Organization middleweight king Gennady Golovkin for his 49th and farewell fight rather than former titleholder Andre Berto.
The famous boxing commentator wanted to see "Mayweather" fight great boxers like "Triple G" so much that he would rather miss the "Mayweather vs. Andre Berto" bout scheduled on Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, TMZ Sports informed.
"I didn't even know that was happening. Why would anyone watch that kind of a fight? Berto [30-3, 23 KOs] has lost three of his last six fights. There are a lot better potential serious opponents. I think serious fight fans are asking themselves -- why? " Merchant said, as quoted by Boxing Scene.
However, even though he wanted to see an exciting battle against "The Money" and "GGG," the veteran boxing analyst also knew that it may not actually happen as he felt the reigning pound-for-pound king is running scared of the Kazakh warrior, who posts a 91 percent knockout rating (33,-0, 30 KOs), per BoxRec.
"The most interesting fight would be Golovkin. But he's afraid of Golovkin so he's not going to fight him. But there half a dozen other really good, young welterweights who might give him a little bit more trouble than he wants right now," Merchant said via Boxing Scene.
Berto will be an easy fight
Other boxers were also disappointed in Mayweather's choice for his final performance in the ring, including former champion and returning boxer "Sugar" Shane Mosley. Mosley knew why this year's highest paid athlete wanted Berto for his last bout.
"My thoughts on Mayweather fighting Berto ... he's trying to get a KO. Berto doesn't have the best chin in the world. I mean, he has punching power, but he doesn't have the best chin and he's not the best fighter he could've fought. I mean, there's a lot of different people he could've fought," Mosley told Fighthype.com.
According to Mosley, the unbeaten champion wants a victory via a stoppage because it is something he had not done for quite a while.
Hatton on Mayweather's defense
Former titlist Ricky Hatton, who bowed to Mayweather in 2007, defended him by saying it is not fair to criticize him of being scared of any fighter, per Daily Star.
"I don't think it is fair to say he picks easy fights. I wouldn't say he has ducked anyone or picked anyone at the right time. He has fought the up and coming young bulls, the old seasoned professionals. He has fought everyone," Hatton told the news outlet.
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