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After weeks of speculation, boxing’s pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather finally confirmed he plans to fight Andre Berto September 12th on Showtime pay-per-view.
When reports first surfaced two weeks ago, the fight was heavily scrutinized. Experts thought Mayweather was joking, other boxers described it as “embarrassing,” and all the while Berto was being billed as a heavy underdog — except, that doesn’t fully explain the situation.
Berto isn’t just an underdog. With betting lines finally open, it’s clear that Berto is actually one of the biggest underdogs in boxing history.
Odds Checker, which posts betting lines from casinos and gambling sites from around the world, most commonly lists Berto as a 16:1 underdog, a number that may even increase once more bets are placed. Mayweather, on the other hand, is listed anywhere between a 1:66 and 1:200 favorite to win.
Berto may believe he’s “coming to kick Floyd’s a** on Sept. 12,” but he seems to be the only one. Bettors have such little faith in Berto that he’s actually listed as a bigger underdog than some of the most memorable, and shocking, upsets in boxing history:
- 1934: Max Schmeling (10:1 underdog) defeats Joe Louis
- 1935: Jim Braddock (10:1 underdog) defeats Max Baer
- 1951: Randy Turpin (5:1 underdog) defeats Sugar Ray Robinson
- 1964: Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, (7:1 underdog) defeats Sonny Liston
- 1971: Muhammad Ali (7:1 underdog) defeats George Foreman
- 1985: Michael Spinks (6:1 underdog) defeats Larry Holmes
- 1994: Frankie Randall (15:1 underdog) defeats Julio Cesar Chavez
- 2008: Carlos Quintana (8:1 underdog) defeats Paul Williams
While Berto’s betting odds don’t come close to the 42:1 odds Buster Duglas was listed as when he knocked out Mike Tyson 25 years ago, a Berto upset would still be just as shocking.
There’s also the fact that Mayweather has an undefeated 48-0 record, and has said this will be the last fight of his career before he retires. Losing for the first time in his last fight would be utterly astonishing in itself, but even more so due to the poor level of competition he’s scheduled to fight.
Berto is just 3-3 in his last six fights, and hasn’t faced nearly the same level of competition Mayweather has. Even from a purely physical standpoint, he’s also shorter than Mayweather, and posses a lesser reach. Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix simply describes Berto as “one of the least qualified” boxers in the welterweight division.
As one of the biggest underdogs in boxing history, it would be very hard to argue otherwise.
– Ari Gilberg, Business Insider
