Floyd Mayweather opened in Las Vegas at 1-60 and has not fallen below that proposition, while rising quickly through 1-80 at the MGM Grand casino and, at its most prohibitive, to a colossal 1-180.
He is a heavier favourite than the United States to beat the Isle of Wight at basketball and we might easily come to the point where we will need to lay out a thousand dollars to win a single buck.
So why, pray, has he chosen Berto, the loser of three of his last six fights, as the opponent for what he continues to insists will be his ring finale?
Floyd Mayweather announced on Instagram that Andre Berto will be his 49th opponent in September
Questions have been asked why arguably the greatest fighter of his generation is fighting a fading opponent
The unbeaten welterweight champion, who has a record of 49-0, has said that this will be his final fight
Mayweather, who shared pictures of him training, is an overwhelming favourite to beat lowly Berto
The most obvious reason was revealed by his father and trainer, Floyd Snr, when he said: ‘My boy has earned the right to an easy ride into retirement.’
But the waters run deeper than that, as they always do with Floyd Jnr.
Yes, he is hell-bent on equalling Rocky Marciano’s half-a-century old record of retiring unbeaten on 49-0.
Yes again, the odds are monumentally against Berto upsetting that calculation.
Yet, even in the case of this opponent, there is more to it than that.
To begin with, even though Mayweather keeps insisting this will be his last fight, by no means everyone believes him.
What is for certain is that this is the last of the six fights which comprise his mega-bucks deal with the Showtime cable network in America.
And guess what? The MGM are opening a new, bigger, even more glittering arena on the Vegas Strip next spring.
Should he decide to try to trump Marciano with win No 50, what better place or more glamorous occasion?
Factor in that he would be able to auction those TV rights for that comeback to the highest bidder.
Then guess who the opponent would be? Why not Manny Pacquiao?
Berto (right) defeated Josesito Lopez in his most recent fight, but has lost three of his last six contests
The 31-year-old (left) celebrates after knocking out Josesito Lopez in the sixth round during their March bout
While it may not be possible to equal the record half-a-billion dollar earnings from their first fight this May – especially given the chronic let down in the ring action after all the hype – the rematch would certainly gross more than any other bout.
If they only pulled in half those 4.4million viewers at half the $100 pay-per-view charge, they would rake in something in the region of $250 million (£160m) from US television alone.
Impossible? Not once the propaganda machines reminds us that the PacMan had a busted shoulder, so at the second attempt this really will be The Fight of the Century.
Given that scenario, Mayweather needs not only the inevitable win over Berto but to look great in the process.
Come in Mr Berto.
While he is not ranked among the top ten by any of the governing bodies, this two-time former world welterweight belt-holder in decline is stylistically the ideal challenger as far as the current supreme champion is concerned.
Mayweather celebrates at the MGM Grand, who will be opening an even bigger arena in Vegas next spring
Berto does come to fight. He is an aggressive, foot forward boxer who is tailor-made for Floyd the counter-puncher. Even more so because he not only leaves himself wide open but has little or no evasive head movement.
Mayweather can expect to have fun picking him off all night.
Shrewd publicist that he is, Mayweather delayed the announcement to the last possible moment.
This not only reduces the time for criticism of this choice but lets him get to work on selling the event.
Attention will shift quickly to the supposed bad blood between him and Berto, once a friend but who claims now he is the victim of harassment phone calls from Mayweather over their mutual interest in a young lady.
Will the public buy it? A month from now, you bet?
Of course there have to be losers.
Amir Khan, for the third time, is prominent among them.
Mayweather has been trying to sell the fight as a grudge match over mutual interest in the same young lady
This time camp Mayweather let it slip that they had passed on Khan yet again because he kept calling out and insulting their man.
Khan got the message, albeit too late. He says: ‘I’m disappointed but Floyd has fought the biggest names throughout his career and earned the right to face whoever he chooses.
‘There are many big fights out there for me. I have seen how hard Andre Berto works and I wish my stable-mate and our trainer, Virgil Hunter, the best of luck. They will give Floyd a very tough fight.’
Khan’s belief that his speed could seriously threaten Mayweather looks as if it will never be tested. Not with Berto on deck next month and Pacquaio available if required next May for what really would be Floyd’s farewell.
Mayweather is also pulling through the MGM turnstiles the usual cross-Atlantic throng of British fans by topping his undercard with a third attempt by George Groves to win a world super-middleweight title. After two K0s by fellow Englishman Carl Froch, St George gets an easier-looking shot at Sweden’s Las Vegas-based WBC champion Badou Jack.
Mayweather is believed to have denied Amir Khan (left) a title shot because the British boxer kept insulting him
The main event will be more a celebration and acclamation of the career of the best fighter of his generation, whether or not an instant comeback is in waiting in the wings.
Of course a more menacing opponent would have been preferable.
So, again, why is he taking Berto?
Because the Money Man can.
