Mayweather solves what may be his only issue vs. Berto

Associated PressSep 9, 2015, 9:56 AM EDT

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LAS VEGAS (AP) Floyd Mayweather Jr. found himself with a problem as he headed to work Tuesday to try and sell skeptical fans on what he insists will be his last fight.

It wasn’t with Andre Berto, his hand-picked opponent Saturday night for the 49th fight of his long career. It’s hard to find anyone – much less Mayweather – who thinks Berto is going to give Mayweather many problems in his final fight.

The issue Mayweather was dealing with came in a text from one of his daughters. She was in Los Angeles wondering if she had to fly commercial to come see her father or if he would send his private jet.

“I said I’d send the jet,” Mayweather said.

Just another day in the life of the highest paid athlete in the world, who pulled down more than $200 million for his fight in May with Manny Pacquiao. No need to get too hyped up for Berto, not that Mayweather gets too worked up about any of his opponents, including Pacquiao.

“This is normal for me,” Mayweather told a small group of reporters after his official arrival for fight week at the MGM Grand hotel. “I’ve been here before, met with all you guys before. And the results will be the same as before.”

There are some things, though, that are quite different than the last time Mayweather went into the ring.

The opponent is Berto, not Pacquiao. There is little hype, and little chance Berto will rise to the occasion and become the first boxer to ever beat Mayweather as a pro.

Instead of $200 million, Mayweather will settle for a reported $32 million. And instead of seats going for thousands of dollars, there were still a lot of tickets for sale for just a few hundred dollars for a fight that is getting little buzz.

Not that Mayweather seemed terribly concerned about it.

“I just try to stay positive and keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best,” he said about the slow ticket sales.

Mayweather is a 20-1 favorite in man-to-man betting to keep his titles in the welterweight fight, which will be televised on pay-per-view for a suggested price of $74.95. He said again Tuesday that this will be his last fight, and he will not be tempted to break Rocky Marciano’s mark of 49-0 or to open the new arena on the Las Vegas Strip with a big bout next spring.

“I’m not breaking that 50-0,” Mayweather said. “Don’t worry about that.”

Mayweather defended his choice of Berto as an opponent, even though Berto has lost three of his last six fights, two of them to fighters Mayweather easily beat.

“He’s a former world champion so it’s obvious he did something right,” Mayweather said.

Mayweather said he was secure in his place in boxing history and wants to step back and promote other fighters.

“I’m really ready to see another fighter at the top,” he said. “I’ve done it all. I’ve broken so many records I don’t even know all the records I’ve broken.”

After fighting for Ukraine, Lomachenko fights again in ring

Associated PressOct 28, 2022, 10:06 AM EDT

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NEW YORK – When Ukraine was invaded, the only fight Vasiliy Lomachenko would consider was the one for his home.

Boxing plans were put on hold, even though they appeared set to include a title match. Lomachenko calls being undisputed champion his dream, but his country’s war with Russia is real life.

“I couldn’t understand anything about what’s happening militarily,” Lomachenko said through an interpreter, “but inside you, you have a feeling of what you need to do.”

Now he’s resuming his career, starting Saturday night in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden against unbeaten Jamaine Ortiz in a bout that will stream on ESPN+.

Win, and Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) could move on to another chance to fight for the lightweight titles he once owned. But either way, first he’s headed back to Ukraine, which he believes is secure enough now to allow his family to return home this week after staying with him in California while he trained.

Nobody was sure that would be the case when Russia launched the invasion in February. Lomachenko was in Greece at the time, with an expected fight against then-lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. being planned for later in the year.

He went back to Ukraine and joined a territorial defense battalion, telling his advisers he would be unavailable to take that fight.

“When this was happening, when this started, nobody really knew anything about anything,” Lomachenko said. “And when you really have no understanding about what’s going on, every normal person, every normal citizen would go and defend his country and that’s what the majority of men do in our country.”

For Lomachenko, that meant being part of a team that enforced a 10 p.m. curfew, patrolling the streets to make sure there were no cars in sight. After about a month of that, he was trained to take part in several other duties.

“No military operations, but certain tasks,” Lomachenko said. “For example, a suburban area in the outskirts of the city that we needed to go out and do some reconnaissance, make sure that no alien people, no one unknown is basically located in that area.”

Lomachenko is one of Ukraine’s greatest athletes, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who compiled a 396-1 record as an amateur. After turning pro, he won a title in his third fight and was a champion in three weight classes after his 12th.

He eventually owned three lightweight belts before losing them to Teofimo Lopez in October 2020. Two straight wins following shoulder surgery had him on the path back toward a title shot before the war.

Lomachenko was given breaks during his service to train, so he doesn’t believe his time away will affect the rhythm and footwork that are among boxing’s best. Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs) doesn’t expect to see slippage from the fighter the Worcester, Massachusetts product has sparred against.

“I think the opponent in front of you brings out the type of fighter you are,” Ortiz said, “and I think Lomachenko is going to bring out the best Jamaine Ortiz, the fighter that everybody around me in the gym and in New England and where I come from knows.”

Lomachenko likely would have been favored to beat Kambosos, who had won the titles from Lopez. With Lomachenko unavailable, the Australian instead fought Devin Haney and dropped them in a lopsided decision, then lost the rematch two weeks ago by another wide margin.

Lomachenko doesn’t fret about the opportunity that was lost, just as he doesn’t wonder what if about the fight with Lopez. That was originally expected to take place in the spring of 2020, perhaps in what would have been a packed Madison Square Garden, where Lomachenko is 5-0. Instead, it was pushed back months because of the coronavirus and held in a mostly empty setting in Las Vegas after a nearly 14-month layoff for Lomachenko. Maybe things would have been different without the pandemic.

“I don’t have any regrets at all,” he said. “Everything happens the way they’re supposed to happen.”

Nor does he worry that the likelihood of regaining the belts will be tougher now that Haney has them. Lomachenko is small for the 135-pound weight class and would have to beat a skilled, naturally bigger man, similar to Lopez.

“The sweeter the victory shall be,” said Lomachenko, with a smile.

Tyson, 54, to return for exhibition match against Jones Jr.

Associated PressJul 23, 2020, 5:21 PM EDT

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CARSON, Calif. — Mike Tyson is coming back to boxing at age 54.

The former heavyweight champion will meet four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition match on Sept. 12 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when he won the title in 1986 at age 20 and for a time was the most feared fighter in boxing. But his career became littered with distractions and he hasn’t boxed since 2005 after losing his second straight fight.

He has occasionally teased a return with workout videos and it’s finally scheduled to happen.

Jones, 51, won titles in the middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight before moving up to win the heavyweight title in 2003, becoming the first former middleweight champion to do so in 106 years.

The event will air on pay-per-view and the social media music platform Triller. Further matches on the card and musical entertainment will be announced in the coming weeks.