Back in the ring: Mayweather returns to battle for high-stakes fight

Sports

Back in the ring: Mayweather returns to battle for high-stakes fight

Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0) will put his record on the line when he steps into the ring to face Andre Berto in Las Vegas on Sept. 12 in what could be the final fight of his career, it was announced on Tuesday. Mayweather, who beat Manny Pacquiao in May in what was billed as the “Fight of the Century,” will risk his WBC and WBA welterweight world titles against the power-punching, two-time welterweight world champion Berto (30-3) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. A victory for Mayweather would match the record of the late heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, who retired in April 1956 with an unblemished record of 49-0.

The World Boxing Organization stripped Mayweather of the welterweight world title belt he earned when he defeated Manny Pacquiao in what was called the “fight of the century” in Las Vegas earlier this year. The fighter failed to pay the $200,000 sanctioning fee required of him as a participant in a WBO World Championship contest by the July 3 deadline. Mayweather also failed to vacate his World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council titles as junior middleweight, violating the WBO rule that bars its fighters from holding simultaneous world titles in multiple weight classes.