Floyd Mayweather Jr. is set to take on Marcos Maidana on May 3rd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and even though Maidana is a very heavy underdog vs. the pound-for-pound boxing king "Money" seems very wary of the Argentine.
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"You can't take any fighter for granted, anything can happen," Mayweather said. "... This guy is tailor-made to make a war." Maidana was a somewhat controversial choice when stacked up against Amir Khan.
Khan has fewer big victories on the docket, and a reputation for having a questionable chin. He's also been inactive for almost a full calendar year and has never fought above 140 lbs. before. Still, his hand speed and skill level were touted as the potential solution to the problem of Mayweather's impenetrable defense. Maidana represents more of the same in terms of Floyd's opponents.
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Mayweather disagreed, stating that Maidana's just accomplished more than Khan and was more deserving. "Look at his last four fights [three knockouts, two knockdowns in the Broner decision] and look at Khan's last four fights [two losses]," Mayweather said. "I had to go with the best choice.
"He's made a big impact on the sport of boxing in his last fight. He hits with both hands. He looked tremendous [against Broner]. We weren't impressed with that [about Khan]."
Some have speculated that neither Maidana nor Khan are capable of generating the interest that befits a Mayweather spectacle, and these days the only fighter who can would be Manny Pacquiao. That's not on the table though, as Mayweather has said for years.
"Floyd Mayweather's not scared of any opponent, I've earned my stripes and fight who I want to fight," Mayweather said. "Nobody is forced to watch." Showtime executives are rumored to privately fear a repeat of his underwhelming numbers when he took on Robert Guerrero, another decent fighter many saw as outgunned before the opening bell.
Showtime shot-caller Stephen Espinoza publicly stated there's no worry of a Guerrero repeat though, because Maidana's a more credible threat. "People didn't believe there was a level of risk with Guerrero," Espinoza said. "We only have to look to December with Maidana to see his punching power is a threat. And with a real threat, there's real risk that makes people tune in."
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