Floyd Mayweather Jr. gave himself a 37th birthday present Monday, confirming he’ll collect another multimillion-dollar purse by selecting Marcos Maidana as his May 3 opponent.
Mayweather (45-0, 26 knockouts) will defend his World Boxing Council welterweight title on Showtime pay-per-view at a site to be determined, either MGM Grand or Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
"I am extremely happy to be facing Floyd Mayweather because it will give me the opportunity to show the world that I am the best welterweight in the division," said Maidana, who will represent throngs of Latino boxing fans on Cinco de Mayo when he faces the pound-for-pound king. "I just handed a great defensive fighter his first loss and I plan to do the same to Mayweather. I don't care whether he's the best and undefeated. I will bring some real Latino power to him on May 3rd."
Maidana boasts an 82% knockout rate.
"Marcos Maidana's last performance immediately brought him to my attention," said Mayweather. "He is an extremely skilled fighter who brings knockout danger to the ring. I think this is a great fight for me and he deserves the opportunity to see if he can do what 45 others have tried to do before him -- beat me."
"We're ready to go," Mayweather advisor Leonard Ellerbe said. "Maidana's a terrific fighter, a devastating knockout puncher. It's a very dangerous fight. He's a guy that people have overlooked in the past. Floyd has got to be at his best."
In September, Mayweather cruised to a majority decision victory over WBC junior-middleweight champion Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, as the fighters generated a record $150 million in pay-per-view sales.
Ellerbe said although Maidana, like "Canelo," relies on power punching to win, Mayweather is anticipating a different, more entertaining fight this time.
"Maidana's never in a bad fight," Ellerbe said. "We know that from the opening bell, he'll try to knock Floyd's head off. He's nonstop, relentless, can punch with either hand. He won't let Floyd breathe."
Maidana is expected to resume training in Oxnard under trainer Robert Garcia.
More: http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-boxing-mayweather-maidana
Friday, February 28, 2014
ROBERT GARCIA REACTS TO MAYWEATHER CHOOSING MAIDANA: "MAIDANA'S GOING TO BE LIKE NEVER BEFORE"
"You know what? When Maidana beat Broner and the way he did, I think there was no question that the Mayweather fight was going to be ours," stated world-class trainer Robert Garcia, who shared his thoughts on the recent announcement that his fighter, WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana, has been chosen by undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd "Money" Mayweather as his opponent when he makes his return to the ring on May 3. Long before the official announcement was made, several members of the media were erroneously reporting that former jr. welterweight champion Amir Khan was the likely candidate to land the assignment. To their surprise, however, Mayweather announced that he would let fans decide who he would face next: Khan or Maidana. After weeks of voting, the results were tabulated and Maidana was the clear winner in multiple online polls, though Mayweather took his time in making his official announcement.
"I was so confident and I was so sure that it should be us, but then, a few weeks later, we start hearing that Amir Khan is involved and it's going to be a decision between Amir Khan and Maidana. Then the poll, you know, the fans are going to vote, so all of that was kind of like a little upsetting for the team because we felt that nobody else deserves a shot against Mayweather than Maidana, especially winning his last 4 fights at welterweight, winning them all," Garcia explained as he recalled the tense weeks leading up to the announcement. "And the Broner fight itself I think was more than enough to deserve a shot at Mayweather, you know, the fighter that everybody was calling the next Mayweather, you know, Mayweather's little brother, all of that. I was surprised when it looked like it was leaning towards Amir Khan. I was surprised, but I'm glad that Mayweather took the fight."
"Mayweather's a great fighter, great champion, best of our time if you ask me, but there's always that chance that fighters have. Nobody thought Tyson would ever lose to Buster Douglas, and he did, so the chance is there. I know that the motivation that Maidana is going to have, the motivation that I'm gonna have in training camp, my whole team, we're going to do everything; train like never before and do everything possible to win the fight," he continued. "He could be the best fighter in history, so for us, to have the opportunity to fight against the best fighter in history is just a blessing to our team. And to know that the way Maidana fights and his style and the way he throws punches could give us the chance of being able to pull it off is something that we're really motivated for. We're going to be training like never before. The whole team is going to be focused. Maidana's going to be like never before."
http://www.fighthype.com/news/article16203.html
"I was so confident and I was so sure that it should be us, but then, a few weeks later, we start hearing that Amir Khan is involved and it's going to be a decision between Amir Khan and Maidana. Then the poll, you know, the fans are going to vote, so all of that was kind of like a little upsetting for the team because we felt that nobody else deserves a shot against Mayweather than Maidana, especially winning his last 4 fights at welterweight, winning them all," Garcia explained as he recalled the tense weeks leading up to the announcement. "And the Broner fight itself I think was more than enough to deserve a shot at Mayweather, you know, the fighter that everybody was calling the next Mayweather, you know, Mayweather's little brother, all of that. I was surprised when it looked like it was leaning towards Amir Khan. I was surprised, but I'm glad that Mayweather took the fight."
"Mayweather's a great fighter, great champion, best of our time if you ask me, but there's always that chance that fighters have. Nobody thought Tyson would ever lose to Buster Douglas, and he did, so the chance is there. I know that the motivation that Maidana is going to have, the motivation that I'm gonna have in training camp, my whole team, we're going to do everything; train like never before and do everything possible to win the fight," he continued. "He could be the best fighter in history, so for us, to have the opportunity to fight against the best fighter in history is just a blessing to our team. And to know that the way Maidana fights and his style and the way he throws punches could give us the chance of being able to pull it off is something that we're really motivated for. We're going to be training like never before. The whole team is going to be focused. Maidana's going to be like never before."
http://www.fighthype.com/news/article16203.html
ALEX ARIZA REACTS TO MAYWEATHER CHOOSING MAIDANA: "ZERO DOUBT...MAIDANA WON THAT SPOT TO FIGHT FLOYD"
"Zero doubt. I mean, we're being honest, you know, and I love Amir [Khan] as a person, but as a fighter, he hasn't really done what I thought he should be able to do and that he still can be able to do," stated world-class Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Ariza, who shared his thoughts on the recent announcement that his fighter, WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana, has been chosen by undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd "Money" Mayweather as his opponent when he makes his return to the ring on May 3. Long before the official announcement was made, several members of the media were erroneously reporting that former jr. welterweight champion Amir Khan was the likely candidate to land the assignment. To their surprise, however, Mayweather announced that he would let fans decide who he would face next: Khan or Maidana. After weeks of voting, the results were tabulated and Maidana was the clear winner in multiple online polls, though Mayweather took his time in making his official announcement.
"You know, he had a bad fight against smaller fighters that were moving up in weight. He didn't look great against Julio Diaz; I thought it was very close and he got hurt and dropped with some shots that I personally don't think would've ever dropped him in the past," Ariza continued as he explained why he didn't think Khan was more deserving of the opportunity than Maidana. "But then to see what Robert and Maidana have done over the past year, I mean, how can you argue the two. Maidana's blasting everybody out there. He's a 5 to 1 dog, you know. I mean, he doesn't just beat the dude; he gave the dude a beating and he never took it easy. He took chances every round. He never backed off. He put himself in harms way every minute of every round and Broner's not an easy dude to hit."
"You have to work, man, and he worked for that win and he worked for that victory. He worked and Maidana won that spot to fight Floyd. You gotta earn that spot, man. You really do. The fans aren't stupid. The fans want what the fans want and the fans want that. We know that Maidana's got power, so knowing that he's got power and he's got pop, anything can happen," Ariza continued. "It'll be good though to sit across from Floyd again since I did it when I first started out so long ago. It's kind of funny how things come full circle again. To be in the opposite corner against him again will be something. I think it brings out the best in everybody."
http://www.fighthype.com/news/article16216.html
"You know, he had a bad fight against smaller fighters that were moving up in weight. He didn't look great against Julio Diaz; I thought it was very close and he got hurt and dropped with some shots that I personally don't think would've ever dropped him in the past," Ariza continued as he explained why he didn't think Khan was more deserving of the opportunity than Maidana. "But then to see what Robert and Maidana have done over the past year, I mean, how can you argue the two. Maidana's blasting everybody out there. He's a 5 to 1 dog, you know. I mean, he doesn't just beat the dude; he gave the dude a beating and he never took it easy. He took chances every round. He never backed off. He put himself in harms way every minute of every round and Broner's not an easy dude to hit."
"You have to work, man, and he worked for that win and he worked for that victory. He worked and Maidana won that spot to fight Floyd. You gotta earn that spot, man. You really do. The fans aren't stupid. The fans want what the fans want and the fans want that. We know that Maidana's got power, so knowing that he's got power and he's got pop, anything can happen," Ariza continued. "It'll be good though to sit across from Floyd again since I did it when I first started out so long ago. It's kind of funny how things come full circle again. To be in the opposite corner against him again will be something. I think it brings out the best in everybody."
http://www.fighthype.com/news/article16216.html
Floyd Mayweather Will Face Marcos Maidana on May 3
The choice has finally been made! Undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd "Money" Mayweather has decided to defend his WBC welterweight title against newly-crowned WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana. The bout will take place on May 3, the coveted weekend of Cinco de Mayo, and will be televised live on Showtime Pay-Per-View. A venue, however, has yet to be finalized. Though we expect the fight to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, we're told the Barclays Center is also in play as well. Mayweather made the announcement official when he posted a picture of himself, using his Shots of Me app, along with the following caption: "I will be fighting Marcos Maidana May 3rd on Pay-per-view Showtime/CBS
Mayweather is coming off of a dominant majority decision victory over previously undefeated former jr. middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Although that fight took place in the jr. middleweight division, where he holds both the WBA and WBC 154-pound titles, this time, Mayweather is returning to the welterweight division to defend his WBC 147-pound title.
Maidana is coming off of a career-defining upset victory over the previously unbeaten former champion Adrien Broner, who he dropped two times en route to winning a unanimous decision. Prior to losing, Broner was considered by some to be the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather's throne. His use of the shoulder-roll defense drew comparisons to Mayweather, and the fact that Maidana was able to find a solution to "The Problem" will have many fans wondering if he can also crack the "MayVinci Code".
Source: http://fighthype.com/mayweathernews/article15955.html
Mayweather is coming off of a dominant majority decision victory over previously undefeated former jr. middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Although that fight took place in the jr. middleweight division, where he holds both the WBA and WBC 154-pound titles, this time, Mayweather is returning to the welterweight division to defend his WBC 147-pound title.
Maidana is coming off of a career-defining upset victory over the previously unbeaten former champion Adrien Broner, who he dropped two times en route to winning a unanimous decision. Prior to losing, Broner was considered by some to be the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather's throne. His use of the shoulder-roll defense drew comparisons to Mayweather, and the fact that Maidana was able to find a solution to "The Problem" will have many fans wondering if he can also crack the "MayVinci Code".
Source: http://fighthype.com/mayweathernews/article15955.html
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