Lots of noise, but one fan said it all about the game that never changes

By Norm Frauenheim

During a noisy week when the shouting got louder and the insults grew more insulting, there was a moment of relief that seemed to say a crazy game hasn’t changed at all.

Marcos Maidana was answering questions last Saturday during a polite news conference at a restaurant on the floor of the MGM Grand’s casino in Las Vegas when an uninvited voice screamed:

“Please, just kick Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s ass.”

The plea from the party-crasher begged a question. What did Maidana think of that?

Maidana didn’t seem to know what to say. Trainer Robert Garcia, conditioning coach Alex Ariza and everybody else around the Argentine welterweight already has said the expected. Maidana’s punching power gives him the proverbial chance. His unorthodox style will confuse Mayweather. His whirlwind pace of a promised 100 to 120 punches-a-round will confront Mayweather with a challenge he has yet to encounter. There was an answer for every question, a slice of pizza for every attendee. Even Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, dropped by, ready to counter any doubts about a bout that has put Maidana at the wrong end of 7-1 odds. Ellerbe was also prepared to dismiss rival promoter Bob Arum’s condemnation of the May 3 fight and and rant at the MGM Grand’s preponderance of advertising for the bout on the very day of Top Rank’s promotion of Manny Pacquiao’s unanimous decision over Timothy Bradley in the same arena.

“Maidana’s a tremendous fighter, and that’s what we’re preparing for,” said Ellerbe, who called Arum a liar Wednesday during a conference call. “We know that we’re in a fight. “This guy, right here, he’s the real deal. Everybody else is taking this lightly. But Floyd’s busting his ass, day-in and day-out. That’s because he knows what this guy is bringing to the table. He’s young. He’s hungry. He knows that he’s in the fight of his life.”

Ellerbe also said during the news conference that Mayweather-Maidana was the big event. Then, he called Pacquiao-Bradley a good fight. But Ellerbe’s tone said something else. To wit: Pacquiao-Bradley amounted to small change when compared to what Ellerbe expects from Mayweather-Madiana. According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the live gate for Pacquiao-Bradley was $7,865,100. For Mayweather-Madand, Ellerbe and associate Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions are saying the live gate will be at least $14 million.

Why the difference? Why nearly twice as much ticket revenue for a 7-to-1 fight over a fight that was nearly a toss-up? Odds favored Pacquiao to win the Bradley rematch by fewer than 2-to-1. The reason was summed up in the simple plea from a guy nobody invited or knew. In the Bradley-Pacquiao fight, there was no villain. Fans and media liked both fighters. There were cheers for Pacquiao and polite applause for Bradley. It would have been okay if it had ended in a draw. Two good guys make for a fight without a compelling, perhaps necessary edge of drama. But fights are about emotions and polarization. The more extreme, the bigger the gate.

Mayweather has toned down the trash talk by a decibel or two. But the bad-guy role still belongs to him. There’s money in being a villain, especially an unbeaten one. It’s the unbeaten side of that well-rehearsed routine allows him to pick Maidana or anybody else he wants to fight. The idea is to make sure that fans think that the designated opponent has a chance, no matter how small.

That’s why people buy lottery tickets, play slot machines and throw dice. It’s probably why that guys as in a Las Vegas casino in the first place. Maidana might not be the smart bet. But it’s the emotional way to wager and Mayweather was won that one every time in a style and with a method in a business the sounds different, yet isn’t. One crazy guy said it all.