The ego-driven ?fan poll? ? orchestrated by none other than Floyd Mayweather ? that pitted Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana against one another for a shot at their biggest career payday this May has ended, and much like the fine print at the bottom of a late night infomercial, the results may vary.
According to polls conducted through ESPN, Yahoo and Ring Magazine, Marcos Maidana won as convincingly as the night he sparked the upset against Adrien Broner.
Of course, none of that matters. The official results came from mayweatherpromotions.com, which showed a 57% – 43% edge for the guy most people expect Mayweather to destroy in Gatti-like fashion.
Not bad for a guy who has gone on record saying he doesn?t participate in social media.
The two men left off the poll ? the only two legit fighters the fans want to see Mayweather fight before his blockbuster six-fight deal with Showtime comes to an end ? Tim Bradley and Manny Pacquaio, are set to square off for the second time on April 12th. Neither Bradley nor Pacquiao conducted media polls to determine if their rematch should happen.
Timothy Bradley, who most observers believe lost a rather convincing 12-round decision to Pacquiao the first time around, didn?t hem-haw around the possibility of granting Pacquiao the rematch everyone believed he rightfully deserved. Excuses were not an option.
I?m sure Mayweather will point out the fact that Pacquiao and Bradley are fighting each other as the main reason both were conveniently left off his fan-friendly poll.
And I?m sure there?s some truth to that ? they are in fact, fighting. But Mayweather is the biggest attraction in the sport. He fights who he wants to fight when he wants to fight.
Right now, Mayweather sees a risk-to-reward ratio in his favor by fighting Khan. He?s following the age old mantra often heard in mobster movies: ?It?s not personal. It?s business.?
Mayweather is often times considered the best fighter in the sport, but there?s no denying that he?s the best businessman to ever step foot in the squared circle.
Khan is good business. He?s young. He?s fast, and in recent weeks he has shown the ability to run his mouth out of frustration at the constant procrastinations of Mayweather and choosing his next opponent. It all provides good sound bites and entertaining interviews, but anyone who has followed Floyd Mayweather through his journey to the top of the ranks knows Khan is eating right out of his million dollar hand.
Aside from the theatrics and business sense, Khan has never fought as a welterweight. Khan?s chin has never felt the power of anyone close to the top of the welterweight division, and yet it?s been labeled ?shaky? at best by boxing pundits since being destroyed by Breidis Prescott in 2008 and then following up that performance with a questionable split-decision loss against Lamont Peterson ? a fight he was rocked more than a few times ? and a question, at best, victory over Marcos Maidana ? a fight he did his best impression of a bobble-head doll ? and then a crushing knockout loss at the hands of Danny Garcia.
That?s not a knock on Khan. The kid has fought the best of the best his entire career. Aside from the Prescott fight he?s been in every fight and most, if not all of those losses have been thrilling, entertaining bouts.
The Julio Diaz fight ? his last bout ? is why many people aren?t just shaking their heads at a showdown with Floyd Mayweather; it?s why they?re downright threatening to boycott the fight.
Khan struggled in a fight he was supposed to use as a momentum builder to bigger things in the future. That fight was last April, leaving the once UK-prodigal son inactive for over a year should he step in the ring on May 3rd against the arguably the best guy the sport has ? and certainly the most skilled fighter since Roy Jones Jr was at his peak in the late 90?s.
It?s a recipe for disaster for Amir Khan, and one boxing fans have long digested too many times before from Floyd Mayweather.
There are a lot of half-truths spinning around the boxing world. That?s not likely to change, as Mayweather is hardly the first pound-for-pound Picasso to leverage his way to easy paydays while simultaneously selling himself as the greatest fighter to ever lace up a pair of gloves.
The truth, however, is that Floyd Mayweather will be criticized beyond belief for facing Amir Khan ? and rightfully so. But all the naysayers will find a way to watch him because no boxing fan, no matter how disgusted or disgraced, wants to miss the night the sport?s most polarizing figure is knocked out.
It?s not likely to be Khan to knock Mayweather from atop his perch, but stranger things have happened.
The PPV numbers will come in and top 1-million buys, but those results will be as skewed as the poll that brought us Amir Khan.
Boxing fans will be left with a sour taste in their mouth, yet again.
It?s not personal. It?s business as usual.
