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FLOYD MAYWEATHER UPDATE: ANNOUNCEMENT IMMINENT, BUT HERE'S WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW

By Brian Peterson | July 28, 2015
FLOYD MAYWEATHER UPDATE: ANNOUNCEMENT IMMINENT, BUT HERE'S WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW

With less than 7 weeks left to go before undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather makes his return to the ring, fans and media alike are eager to know all the details of what will be the final fight of his Showtime contract. Although an opponent has yet to be officially named by Mayweather, there have been numerous reports suggesting that former world champion Andre Berto has already landed the assignment. There have also been conflicting reports about whether or not the fight will take place on pay-per-view or perhaps on the CBS network.

Thus far, FightHype.com has kept you up to date on all the information that we know regarding Mayweather's next move, and as far as we know, not much has changed since Mayweather himself revealed the two names that he was considering as opponents. That being said, with so many confusing stories citing unnamed sources and "unauthorized" boxing officials, we felt the need to put together some surefire facts that you can take to the bank.

DATE: SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

In numerous interviews and social media posts, Floyd Mayweather has consistently stated that his next fight will take place on September 12, 2015. Although there's less than 7 weeks to go and an opponent still hasn't been named, you can rest assured knowing that fact won't change. With only one fight remaining, Mayweather is eager to finalize his Showtime contract. Whether or not he fights on remains to be seen, however, nothing is going to move him off of that date.

VENUE: MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA

Just like the date, this fact won't be changing either. Mayweather has fought his last 11 fights in "the big green building on the Strip" and that trend isn't going to stop on September 12, 2015. The MGM Grand, which proudly displays a Mayweather "Home of the Champion" banner on the exterior of the building, has a vested interest in the Mayweather brand and the undefeated champion is loyal to them.

OPPONENT: TBA

Less than 24 hours after his unanimous decision victory over Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather sat down with FightHype.com to discuss both his performance and his future plans. In that interview, he made two things crystal clear: 1) that he was indeed fighting in September, and 2) that he would face an opponent of his choosing. "My last fight, I'm fighting who I want to fight. I'm choosing a guy that's solid, of course. I mean, he may not be solid in some people's eyes, but he's going to be a solid competitor. And, you know, for my last hurrah, you know, I'd like to put a lot of champions on the undercard," he stated in that interview. A little over a month later, Mayweather appeared at a media workout being held at his gym and revealed, "We're looking at two different guys. We're looking at Andre Berto, Karim Mayfield; we just don't know." Some media members took his comments as a joke. Many assumed that former world champion Amir Khan was the real frontrunner to face Mayweather, with Berto and Mayfield simply being used as decoys to fool the public. However, Khan has continously told FightHype.com that neither he nor anyone on his team has ever been contacted about a potential Mayweather bout. Furthermore, Mayweather confirmed to FightHype.com that he was indeed "absolutely 100% serious" about considering either Andre Berto or Karim Mayfield as his next opponent. Although Mayweather himself has not officially announced who he's fighting, given the choice between a former world champion or a contender, I think it's safe to say that Mayweather will indeed choose former welterweight champion Andre Berto. While I would never rule out a surprise announcement from the pound-for-pound king, all signs point to Berto, who has been training relentlessly for the past several weeks for his own unannounced return to the ring (Berto last fought in March, winning a 6th round TKO over Josesito Lopez).

NETWORK: SHOWTIME PAY-PER-VIEW

Contrary to reports that Mayweather's next bout could take place on CBS, FightHype.com has been advised that the idea was simply a rumor and Mayweather will indeed still be fighting on pay-per-view. Although the topic of fighting on network television may have been brought up, Mayweather has consistently stated, "I'm a pay-per-view fighter!" Some may complain about the idea of a Mayweather vs. Berto fight being televised on pay-per-view, however, the reality is that Berto is really no less of a draw than Victor Ortiz or Robert Guerrero were at the times when they fought Mayweather. Obviously the pay-per-view numbers will pale in comparison to the record-breaking numbers that Mayweather just did in his bout with Manny Pacquiao, but what matchup wouldn't? Outside of rematches with Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez, there's really no opponent who can significantly move the needle when it comes to buys. Give or take a couple hundred thousand, the name Andre Berto likely resonates with casual fans the same as the names Amir Khan and Keith Thurman, and at the end of the day, it's the casual fans that really make up the bulk of pay-per-view buys. That's not to say that a pay-per-view with Amir Khan or Keith Thurman wouldn't necessarily do more buys. It's just that given their recent performances, they might not do much more. The fact of the matter is that it's clear that the powers that be have crunched the numbers, are content with their projections, and have come to the conclusion that, love him or hate him, Mayweather is the reason why fans tune in to his fights, and given that this could very well be his final fight, they're confident that they will do enough buys to make all parties happy when it comes to the finances.

UNDERCARD: TBA

As is tradition with any Mayweather fight taking place on the weekend leading up to Mexican Independence Day, one can likely expect a Mexican fighter to appear on the card. That being said, it looks like the anticipated rematch between former champion Orlando Salido and current WBO super featherweight champion Roman Martinez will indeed find it's way on the undercard. The latest in a long line of Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalries, their first match, which took place in April, produced enough fireworks to be considered an early candidate for Fight of the Year.

One can also expect to see a super middleweight showdown between Mayweather Promotions fighter and newly-crowned WBC champion Badou Jack and mandatory challenger George Groves. They were originally set to fight on August 22, but just last week, the bout was postponed for reasons unknown. Considering that both fighters are still currently in training camp, it's safe to assume that the bout has been moved to this undercard.

Over a month ago, FightHype.com was advised that there was a very strong possibility that the IBF jr. middleweight title fight between champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage and challenger Jermall Charlo could also take place on Mayweather's undercard. Their fight was originally set to take place July 18 on the PBC on CBS card headlined by undefeated IBF super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton, however, Bundrage suffered a deep cut over his left eye during training, which forced the postponement of the bout. As recently as last week, Bundrage has continued to express his belief that his title defense will indeed take place on Mayweather's card.

FightHype.com has also learned that a jr. middleweight showdown between Mayweather Promotions fighter and former champion Ishe Smith and contender Vanes Martirosyan may also be featured on Mayweather's undercard. It's unclear if their bout will be televised on the actual pay-per-view card or perhaps be featured on Showtime Extreme leading up to the pay-per-view. I would not be surprised if either Bundrage vs. Charlo and/or Smith vs. Martirosyan are moved around in some way, shape, or form. Either way, Mayweather's next event is shaping up and the undercard could have any combination of the following:

  • Roman Martinez vs. Orlando Salido 2

  • Badou Jack vs. George Groves

  • Cornelius Bundrage vs. Jermall Charlo [see update below]

  • Jose Pedraza vs. Jhonny Gonzalez [see update below]

  • Ishe Smith vs. Vanes Martirosyan [Showtime Extreme]
As for when we'll know for sure who Mayweather will be fighting and who actually will be fighting on his undercard, FightHype.com has been advised that an announcement will likely come some time this week. If you want to be one of the first to find out, make sure you download his app, Shots, as Mayweather will likely make the official announcement on there.

[UPDATE: FightHype.com has been advised that it looks like the IBF jr. middleweight title fight between champion Cornelius Bundrage and challenger Jermall Charlo has indeed been moved to a different card, potentially on the same day and televised on NBC. We're hearing that in it's place, there's a very strong possibility that IBF super featherweight champion Jose Pedraza could be defending his title against former world champion Jhonny Gonzalez. Keep it locked on FightHype.com as more details unfold in the coming days.]

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