The mega-event dubbed “The One” set the record as the highest grossing pay-per-view event in television history with more than $150 million in revenue showed once again that Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s drawing power is unlike any other. Mayweather will be hard pressed to duplicate those numbers when he takes on World Boxing Association welterweight champion Marcos “El Chino” Maidana for “The Moment.”
The 10-time world champion Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) held an open workout at a jam-packed Mayweather Boxing Club to formally discuss his 147-pound welterweight world title unification bout against dangerous, hard-hitting Maidana (34-3, 31 KOs) in the main event of “The Moment” on Saturday, May 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas live on Showtime.
“Maidana is a young, strong and tough competitor. He’s a guy that I can’t overlook,” a serious Mayweather said. “You can never take any fighter for granted because anything can happen.”
Opening the pay-per-view event will be a super middleweight matchup between unbeaten J’Leon Love and former title challenger and Mexican Olympian Marco Antonio Periban of Mexico City. That’s followed by a junior welterweight bout featuring exciting former three-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner against the hard-hitting Californian Carlos Molina. The scintillating fight card, headlined by Mayweather vs. Maidana and Amir Khan vs. Luis Collazo, will be one of the best top-tobottom pay-per-view boxing events in many years.
“The first two events in our partnership with Floyd Mayweather were incredible and SHOWTIME PPV is proud to present the next chapter in Floyd’s remarkable career,” said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager, SHOWTIME Sports.
Maidana will be the 46th opponent to try to solve the undefeated “May Vinci Code” known as “Money” Mayweather.
For all the boastful talk and perceived arrogance, which comes with the pound-for-pound king Mayweather, one doesn’t become the mega pay-per-view star by not applying your application to the sport at an all-time high level.
While jumping rope and putting on a nice athletic display of showmanship and pizzazz, the welterweight champ gives an impromptu analysis of where he is in training camp.
“This was my eighth week out [in training camp], and we have had a tremendous training camp getting ready for Maidana,” Mayweather said.
After being ringside to watch him dispose of his two opponents in 2013, former champions Robert “Ghost” Guerrero and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, I had to ask the 2013 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year: Is it realistic to think we can see an even better version of Mayweather against Maidana?
“I’m a strong critic of myself. I’m really hard on myself,” Mayweather said. “Even with the Canelo fight and the fight before that fight, I wasn’t happy with my performance. I haven’t reached my peak yet. I know I can do better.”
Mayweather may need to be at is best, if the version of Maidana which gave Broner the worst beating of his career in San Antonio arrives at the MGM Grand. Maidana dropped the previously unbeaten Broner in the second and eighth rounds and won by comfortable margins on all three judges scorecards, 115-110, 116-109, and 117-110 to take his WBA welterweight championship.
When pressed about the dangers the hardhitting Argentinian may present him, Mayweather was respectful towards than man who dismantled his protégé Broner.
“I have only seen Maidana’s last fight against Broner. I’ve only watched the first six or seven rounds,” Mayweather said while doing standing sit-ups for the media. “I’ve also seen highlights of other fights, but not many. He’s a good fighter; I’m not taking him for granted. I don’t take anybody for granted.”
A victory over Maidana by Mayweather would be his 26th over a fellow world champion while making him the unified welterweight world champion.
Kendrick Johnson writes for a daily newspaper and is an independent sports television and print journalist who has covered championship boxing and UFC Fights, the NBA Finals and numerous interviews with some of the biggest names and personalities in sports. He can be reached at kendrick_ejohnson@yahoo.com or on Twitter@kendrickjohnso