Mayweather’s contract with Showtime done after Berto fight

He may or may not be finished with boxing, but one part of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s career will definitely come to an end Saturday after his fight against Andre Berto at the MGM Grand Garden.

Mayweather's six-fight contract with Showtime Pay Per View will have been fulfilled.

When it was announced in February 2013 that Mayweather was leaving HBO, where he had fought virtually his entire career, for Showtime, many in boxing were certain he would never complete the terms of the deal. Six fights in 30 months? Not happening.

But Mayweather (48-0, 26 knockouts) kept his word, fighting twice in each of the past three years, concluding with his fight against Berto (30-3, 23 KOs). It was something Mayweather and Stephen Espinoza, the vice president of Showtime Sports, made clear at Wednesday's final news conference at the MGM Grand to promote the bout.

"Showtime? They've been nothing but great to me," Mayweather said. "They delivered everything they said they would, and I'm grateful to them."

Mayweather also delivered. More than 10 million pay-per-view purchases have been made for his five fights on Showtime, with revenue of more than $750 million.

A large portion of those numbers are from two fights — his May 2 fight with Manny Pacquiao, which set the pay-per-view record with 4.4 million buys and $440 million in revenue; and his Sept. 14, 2013, fight with Canelo Alvarez, which did 2.2 million buys and $150 million in revenue.

"When you're talking about the highest gate, I'm that guy," said Mayweather, pointing to himself. "When you're talking about the biggest pay-per-view buys, I'm that guy. When you're talking about the biggest pay-per-view revenue, I'm that guy. There was a $300 million deal with Showtime for six fights. We did more than that in one fight."

Espinoza said the figures were made public to put Mayweather's achievements into context.

"Sometimes it gets lost in all the negativity," Espinoza said. He added that it's important to note that the six-fight deal isn't an all-encompassing one.

"There were never the same terms for each of the fights," Espinoza said. "Every fight was different. We tweaked things from fight to fight."

Espinoza said Saturday's final fight in the deal is structured in such a fashion that neither Mayweather nor Showtime will be hurt if the pay-per-view buys are low.

"It's a safe deal for both sides," said Espinoza, who would not say what the projected number of pay-per-view sales will be (the cost is $74.99 for high definition and $64.99 for standard definition). "But Floyd's protected, and so are we."

Mayweather is expected to make $32 million Saturday, and Berto's purse will be $4 million.

Espinoza appreciates Mayweather's loyalty to Showtime.

Of course, Mayweather also has been loyal to the MGM. All of the fights in the deal will have been fought at the Grand Garden. He will have fought his past 13 fights in the Grand Garden dating to November 2006, when he defeated Carlos Baldomir.

"It's been a great experience," Espinoza said. "If he had a problem with Showtime, he never said anything about it."

But there is no contract extension if Mayweather decides to change his mind and continue fighting. Espinoza said they discussed it for a while. But he may be one of the few people in boxing who believes that Mayweather is retiring after Saturday's fight. Therefore, as far as he's concerned, the point is moot.

"I was as skeptical as anyone," he said. "But having been with him and hearing him the past few weeks, I believe he is sincere about leaving boxing after this fight."

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