How will Floyd Mayweather (45-0 26KOs) versus Marcos Rene Maidana (35-3 31KOs) stack-up with previous big money bouts Floyd has been involved in?
Can it reach the epic figures we have come to expect from “Money May?”
On May 3rd, Floyd ?Money? Mayweather, eight months after his spectacular performance against Canelo Alvarez (then 42-0-1) last September, squares off in the 46th pro fight of his illustrious career when he faces Marcos ?El Chino? Maidana.
Prior to this bout, fans around the globe had their own opinions on who they thought the Money Man should face next, and the opponents ranged from realistic to almost impossible.
Potential, more reasonable candidates included Danny Garcia (28-0 16KOs), Amir Khan (28-3 19KOs), Keith Thurman (22-0 20KOs) and Shawn Porter (24-0-1 15KOs) while long shots shots such as Gennady Golovkin (29-0 26 KOs), Andre Ward (27-0 14 KOs) and even Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2 32 KOs) were bantered.
And yes, even fight superstar Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2 38 KOs) may now have to be lumped in with the other ‘infeasible.’
Oddly, fans were not clamouring for Marcos Maidana. Perhaps they believed Mayweather vs Maidana would be target practice for the speedy, uber-skilled superstar of boxing. However, the man from Argentina doesn?t see it that way.
“El Chino” Maidana, following his exhilarating win against Mayweather?s self-proclaimed prodigy, Adrien Broner, believes he has earned the opportunity to face the biggest star in boxing on the sport’s biggest stage.
Indeed, Maidana dropped Mayweather’s ‘baby bro’ twice en route to obtaining a unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten Broner last December. Nevertheless, Mayweather is a completely different animal and many fans insist Broner is merely a poor man?s Mayweather and that Maidana is in over his head. So will Mayweather vs Maidana capture the imagination of the public and generate high numbers?
A year ago, Mayweather faced Robert Guerrero (then 31-1-1) in the first fight of his lucrative six fight deal with Showtime.
It was widely publicised the PPV numbers for this fight were at around an abysmal 877,000, very low for modern-day Mayweather event. Although the aforementioned numbers were never confirmed by Showtime, many believed the alleged disappointment set the groundwork for his showdown with the popular Canelo Alvarez who was believed to be Floyd’s biggest threat in years.
Mayweather vs Canelo turned out to be a huge financial success for everyone, including Showtime, the promoters and, of course, the fighters. But unlike Mayweather vs Canelo, some fans seem to be uninterested in this bout due to its apparent predictability. As a result, some may chose not to purchase what they believe will be just another lopsided Mayweather schooling.
If Mayweather v Maidana is another PPV dud, like Mayweather vs Guerrero last May, and fails to make over one million PPV buys, who will Mayweather, Golden Boy and Showtime look to next?
They will undoubtedly want to replicate the success of Mayweather vs Canelo. But with the lack of viable opponents out there not named ‘Pacquiao,’ Showtime will be under severe pressure to manufacture another ‘Canelo Alvarez.’
If Mayweather vs Maidana fizzles, it will be the second ‘Money May’ bout to do so midway through his six-fight deal with Showtime.
The network execs will surely be wondering, “Was Mayweather’s $275 million/ 6 fight deal too much of a gamble?
