Floyd Mayweather Jr. asserted that contrary to what his critics have been saying, he has every right to pick his opponents.
Mayweather, who claimed to be having his farewell bout on September 12, said his choice to fight Andre Berto is warranted because he already beat the best opponents out there, including Manny Pacquiao.
''I think your biggest fighters in the sport are Canelo [Alvarez], Pacquiao, [Miguel] Cotto and Mayweather. So if I beat them, I already beat all the top guys in the sport, and I've been doing this from day one,'' Mayweather told Boxing Scene.
Mayweather added he is the last man standing in the welterweight and the junior middleweight classes, which is why he had problems looking for opponents.
''There is only one fighter who stands out alone -- Floyd Mayweather. So I think that I can choose whoever I want to choose to fight,'' he said.
Among those who criticized Mayweather for choosing Berto was Sports Illustrated's boxing writer Chris Mannix.
The unbeaten boxer's decision to fight Berto irked Mannix, who noted that there were many other fighters in the welterweight division that Mayweather could have picked – like Amir Khan, who has repeatedly lobbied for a Mayweather fight, and unbeaten rising star Keith Thurman.
"On the list of recent Mayweather opponents," Mannix wrote, "Berto ranks among the worst."
Mannix called Berto "a has-been ex-champion who is 3-3 in his last six fights, and has not been relevant since a grueling, Fight of the Year-type brawl with Victor Ortiz in 2011."
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