Marcos Maidana-Amir Khan
AFTER ANOTHER “SWERVE” FLOYD NIXES KHAN
New York, NY– Floyd Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) will soon reach the midpoint in his lucrative 6 bout deal with CBS & Showtime when he faces Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) on the 3rd of May in Las Vegas. Although it appeared that Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KOs) was originally prepped to get the nod, some Mayweather detractors are of the opinion that Khan didn’t deserve the shot, being unproven at welterweight (147 lb.). Thus, to Khan’s dismay the tide shifted towards Maidana, despite a Mayweather poll on Floyd’s website that appeared to elect Khan as the fan favorite to face Floyd via popular vote. But with all hoopla aside, is a predictable Maidana really the the bigger threat between himself and Amir Khan?
MARCIS JUST MORE FODDER FOR FLOYD
If there is a typical opponent that Floyd has faced over the past few years and much of his career, it’s the slightly crude puncher. From Ricky Hatton to Shane Mosley and Victor Ortiz, many of Floyd’s recent bouts have materialized against fighter’s who’ve relied on power and aggression more than skill, speed or finesse to unseat Floyd from his perch atop boxing’s elite. Against Floyd, these types were easily beaten and or stopped. Only Mosley, the FASTEST of the aforementioned three managed to give Floyd a real run for his ‘Money’ namesake, and that was only in one round.
MAIDANA RESUME BETTER THAN AMIR KHAN?
Although Maidana has defeated once Mayweather foe, Victor Ortiz and Floyd’s protégé Adrien Broner, he’s still been out-boxed by Devon Alexander, Andres Kotelnik and the aforementioned Amir Khan. So is he really a bigger threat than Khan, if he’s lost to him? Does he possess anything different than recent opponents? It would appear the writing is on the wall here unless Maidana can some how replicate his brilliant performance against Broner and catch Floyd flush at some point in the fight. The odds are slim as a cigarette on this one, so sans a copy of Marty McFly’s Back II The Future sport’s almanac, it’s best to assume the obvious.
KHAN WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER CHOICE?
Despite obvious flaws, mainly a flimsy chin and a lack of mettle for redemption (having left all options for rematching losses on table), Khan does possess wrinkles uncommon in Mayweather’s recent opponents. Speed is a huge factor and is quite interesting due to it causing a bit of trouble for Floyd in his bout against Zab Judah circa 2006. Khan certainly would have been Mayeather’s fastest opponent since Zab Judah, who looked solid in the first third of his bout against a younger Floyd. Roy Jones is one who believed that a match up against Khan was viable for Floyd, albeit prior to Khan’s losses to Danny Garcia and Lamont Paterson. But even Judah did well despite coming in with a recent loss to give Mayweather all he could handle for a few rounds, as they say – styles make fights.
DOES MAIDANA HAVE SHOT AT UPSET?
Maidana has a chance to win but that opportunity will likely fade with each passing round. So his best opportunities will come early. If he can manage to get some significant work in early, he’ll make this fight interesting. If not, a boxing lesson will manifest and conclude in a UD for Mayweather, or there could be a chance for a late stoppage in Floyd’s favor. This bout will be entertaining, given Maidana’s relentless nature and penchant for being hit. But it won’t be as unpredictable as Khan would have been. And that alone could have made the latter a much better look than what we’e expecting in it’s place.
Jarrad Woods