Mayweather comfortable with ‘routine’ as fighters arrive at MGM

He was smiling and looking relaxed. Not an uptight bone in his 147-pound body.

If this is indeed Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s final fight, then he has made a conscious decision to enjoy himself in the days leading up to Saturday's career finale when he faces Andre Berto at the MGM Grand Garden.

Mayweather (48-0, 26 knockouts) isn't worried about how his legacy will be perceived. Nor is he concerned that people don't believe him when he says that this is the end of the road to his Hall of Fame career.

Or even that the fight might not be selling as briskly at the box office (several thousand tickets remain through Ticketmaster), or the advance sale for the pay-per-view telecast on Showtime might be sluggish ($75 to purchase).

"It feels like routine," Mayweather said Tuesday after his official arrival at the MGM, where hundreds turned out in the hotel's lobby to yell to him — or at him — and give their cellphone cameras a workout. "It's a normal routine.

"Been here before. Met with you guys before. Won before. Every fight is another day for me."

The 38-year-old said there was a time early in his career when a fight like this might get him hyped up. Instead, he looked like someone who had a date for Sunday brunch at nearby Southern Highlands Golf Club, where his biggest anxiety would be how cold was the champagne.

"When I was younger, I might've been more anxious," he said. "But as you get older, you grow. Not physically, but mentally. I've been through this so many times. I know what to expect."

Mayweather called his hiatus from boxing from late 2007 until September 2009 "a vacation." And he said if people doubt his sincerity that he is retiring after Saturday's fight, he can't help it.

"I'm not going to miss it at all," he said of fighting.

Mayweather added that he will remain in the sport and work with his stable of young fighters who compete under the Mayweather Promotions banner.

"I want to celebrate with the next Floyd Mayweather." he said. "I want to help these young fighters of ours grow and become world champions. That's what I'm really looking forward to."

Count Berto among the skeptics who think this isn't Mayweather's final fight.

"No. He's a guy who doesn't really strike me as someone who wants to quit," Berto said.

Berto, who turned 32 Monday, was equally relaxed. Like Mayweather, he didn't feel uptight about the fight looming.

"For this one, I feel good," said Berto (30-3, 23 KOs). "I'm on weight. My spirit is different. I know I can go in there and physically do whatever I want."

Berto said as he got older, he also devoted more time to honing his craft and not spending his time staying out late.

I'm not 22 anymore where I can go hang out at the clubs and do all that b.s.," he said.

That said, Berto believes there's something about himself that irks Mayweather, that there's something below the surface that made Mayweather decide to choose him to settle some sort of score.

"He always has my name on his mouth," Berto said. "It's like he idolizes me.

"But I don't need to idolize him. He's accomplished many feats in the ring that's good for him, but not for me. I've been getting paid to fight for a long time. I got a personality. I don't need $100 million to have your women come outside and talk to me."

Mayweather laughed when he was told of Berto's comments.

"I got nothing against Andre Berto," he said. "But if he has a beef with me, he can take care of it on Saturday."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.