By Norm Frauenheim
Las Vegas — Floyd Mayweather has his “May-Vinci “ code.
He was talking about Leonardo and not Roberta, of course.
Nobody knew who Roberta was until Friday when the tennis side of the Vinci family put together her own Leonardo Da Vinci-kind-of-masterpiece in a huge upset of Serena Williams at the U.S. Open.
The upset of Williams was an inevitable angle at the weigh-in Friday for the Mayweather-Andre Berto fight Saturday night (Showtime PPV, 8 pm ET/5 pm PT) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Williams’ dominance of women’s tennis is the equivalent of Mayweather’s prize-fighting reign. Williams has looked unbeatable and Mayweather has been.
The question after Berto and Mayweather stepped off the scale was inevitable.
Two huge upsets in successive days?
“Of course,’’ said Berto, who is probably as unknown to tennis fans as Roberta Vinci is to the boxing crowd.
Of course, that’s exactly what Berto would say. But the odds say something else. Berto was a 30-to-1 underdog at the MGM sports book when he stepped off the scale at 145 pounds Friday afternoon. His best shot, perhaps his only one, is the proverbial one-punch knockout. He was a 20-to-1 shot to pull that one off.
Translation: Berto, who will collect $4 million, has no chance at all. Put it this way: Chances are better that Mayweather won’t be controversial. Maybe, historical upsets come in pairs. If they do, Mayweather is headed for sainthood.
The “May-Vinci code, a take off on a popular film starring Tom Hanks, was Mayweather’s way of summing up his defensive genius before his two fights against Marcos Maidana. Nobody could crack it and nobody has. That’s why he is poised to equal Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 milestone against Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) in the sixth and final fight on a Showtime contract he signed 30 months ago.
There are potential distractions. A story by Thomas Hauser broke Thursday in SB Nation about Mayweather undergoing a banned IV after the weigh-on on the day before his victory over Manny Pacquiao on May 2. There is controversy about Arizona Cardinals assistant coach Jen Welter accepting a Mayweather invitation to the Berto fight because of his history of domestic violence.
But controversy is nothing new in the weeks and days before any Mayweather fight. It’s almost expected. Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) is no stranger to any of it. Perhaps, it’s part of the theater. Or perhaps it’s marketing. Or perhaps it’s just Mayweather being himself. Or maybe it all of the above.
Whatever it is, Mayweather insists he is doing it for the last time despite the chance to surpass Marciano’s record and at putting more money into a bank account that is guaranteed another $32-million for the Berto fight.
“Last time I’m getting off a scale,’’ he said after weighing 146 pounds for what he says his final pro fight.
Really? It might take another Vinci to figure that one out.
NOTES: The televised portion of the pay-per-view card includes three fights before Mayweather-Berto. The televised card begins with Jhonny Gonzalez (58-9, 49 KOs) at super-featherweight against Jonathan Oquendo (25-4. 16 KOs). Each was at 129 pounds Friday. …Mexican Orlando Salido (42-13-2. 29 KOs) fights for the WBO’s 130-pound title against Roman Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs). Salido was at the junior-lightweight mandatory Friday. Martinez tipped the scales at 129.5. … In a third televised bout, super-middleweight Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) fights for the WBC title against George Groves (22-2, 16 KOs) Jack was at 167.5 pounds. Groves, of Britain, was at 168. A crowd of about 6,000 was at the weigh-in. Many were from the UK. “I was going to say it’s great to be back in London,’’ Groves told his cheering countrymen.
