The other mentioned and possible opponent of Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the Sept. 12 fight has finally spoken up and he is as surprised as many on why he was among the final names up for consideration.
The boxer in mention is, of course, Karim Mayfield, the other boxer aside from Andre Berto whom Mayweather mentioned as a possible opponent.
Mayfield admitted that he was pretty surprised at his name being mentioned as one of Mayweather's potential next (and allegedly final) opponents for September. Mayfield had just one win from his last three fights and admits that he isn't even among the top five in the world.
"I was certainly surprised due to the fact that I'm not in the top five in the world and I wasn't expecting anything like that," said Mayfield in an exclusive interview with World Boxing News.
He does believe, however, that with him and Berto on the shortlist, it was obvious that Mayweather was looking for an easy fight to reach 49–0. No disrespect to Berto, such is shared by many even before Mayfield came out to the open and said it himself.
Mayfield agrees as well that Mayweather will continue to use his defensive genius against Berto and until a boxer is able to come forward and break that tactic, it is hard to visualize Mayweather getting his first boxing career loss.
Would facing Amir Khan been better? Mayfield feels that while Khan would have offered a better challenge, the outcome would have still been the same.
"I think Amir would not have been a tougher test, but certainly a challenge because of his speed and the fact that he is unorthodox," said Mayfield in the same interview.
The Mayweather vs. Berto tiff is, of course, shrouded with the fact that it may not generate big ticket sales or pay-per-views. With that expected, it seems that the target is simply for Mayweather to get the 49–0 record.
Interest looms, however, in the post-fight. Will Mayweather announce his retirement or not?
Mayweather and Berto will face off on Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas where the undefeated American boxer is a heavy favorite to equalize the 49–0 record of Rocky Marciano.
What happens next is another story and something many will be closely awaiting.
