As Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Andre Berto on Sept. 12 draws near, both men had some not-so-nice things to say about former WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather dismissed Pacquiao, a likely future Hall-of-Famer, as a media creation that never approached his level inside the ring.
"You must realize this. The media, the critics, the people built that kid up to put him on my level. Once again, there will never be a fighter on my level because you have to be able to where I go mentally," Mayweather told Boxing Scene.
Mayweather and Pacquiao broke records at the box office for their May 2 showdown, in which Mayweather easily outpointed Pacquiao for a unanimous decision win that was panned by fans and media after it was over. Pacquiao later claimed he had fought with a torn labrum in his right shoulder that hampered him during the bout.
Berto (30-3, 23 KO) believes the toxic cloud that formed from Mayweather-Pacquiao is now hanging over his pay-per-view vs. "Money" Mayweather.
"I just feel like that Mayweather-Pacquiao fight left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths and it transcended over to this side," Berto said.
"Like I said, they've never seen a boring Andre Berto fight. There is definitely going to be something for them to tune into. At the end of the day, he is 38 years old and he's going to have a young, powerful bull on his ass."
Berto sounds confident, but it remains a hard sell that the "powerful bull" will harm Mayweather after losing three of his last six fights, with two losses coming against Victor Ortiz and Robert Guerrero, two of Mayweather's easier victories. The third loss came vs. Jesus Soto Karass, who had eight losses when he knocked Berto out, and now has 10 defeats.
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