As Floyd Mayweather Jr. has tried to find a suitable opponent for May, the names popping up have been received with tepid reactions from the boxing public. Amir Khan has been the frontrunner throughout, but a new horse may have burst into the lead--Marcos "El Chino" Maidana.
Most of the talk surrounding Mayweather's next choice is style. Several people, including Showtime Sports head Stephen Espinoza as well as Khan have stressed that technical boxing and elite hand speed will be necessary to knock Mayweather off his perch atop boxing.
Derisive reactions to Khan's shaky resume, though, have possibly cooled down the chatter. Maidana does not fit the technically sound, quick-handed style Espinoza prefers.
"El Chino" is fresh off a dominating performance against Mayweather's "baby bro" Adrien Broner. Maidana bested the brash youngster by overwhelming him from the get-go with activity, tiring him out and landing brutal power shots. He sent Broner to the canvas in the second and eighth rounds, winning via unanimous decision.
Maidana could be tailor-made for Mayweather, however, because of Floyd's reputation as a master defensive tactician. Skill-wise, Maidana is not viewed as superior to Canelo Alvarez, whom Mayweather nearly shut out on some cards in their September throwdown. He is, though, a tenacious fighter with a strong chin who seems to awaken whenever he is hurt.
The move would be the biggest fight of Maidana's career by far, and could prove a serious blow to Khan's career. He backed out of a December fight with Devon Alexander in order to negotiate with the "Money Team." Maidana lost to Khan in 2010 by unanimous decision, but has been more impressive in his recent action.
"Khan decided to drop negotiations to fight Devon Alexander in order to wait for a Mayweather fight. If we're being as positive as possible, we can say that it was the right business move," SB Nation Boxing writer Scott Christ reported on Sunday.
"Cynically, it was the only business move, as Khan has proven so vulnerable that risking really any fight before potentially cashing in (or out) against Floyd was a real danger," Christ said.
What does Mayweather Jr. have to say about all this? "Maidana's name is now in the lottery jackpot box. We all know the Pacquiao fight, at this particular time, will never happen and the reason why the fight won't happen is because I will never do business with Bob Arum again in life, and Pacquiao is Bob Arum's fighter."
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