As part of the ongoing 30th Anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®, relive the two of the most memorable and meaningful events in Mayweather’s magnificent 19-year career tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME.

This week’s lineup of “Throwback Thursday” kicks off with the record-shattering “Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao,” followed by “INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO Epilogue,” “THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana” and “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana Epilogue.”

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Round 11

YOUTUBE: http://s.sho.com/1OQazST

DOWNLOAD LINK: https://we.tl/6k58i7vmeY

Mayweather vs. Maidana I: Round 7

YOUTUBE: YOUTUBE: http://s.sho.com/1T62ZA4

DOWNLOAD LINK: https://we.tl/RMx6P9b4uH

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, Mayweather vs. Maidana I, and all of the classic fights presented as part of the 30th Anniversary, are available on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, SHOWTIME ANYTIME® and via the network’s online streaming service.

By Bart Barry–

After their Saturday welterweight match at MGM Grand, American Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Argentine Marcos “El Chino” Maidana proffered a study in contrasts as they made their ways back to their respective dressing rooms beneath the Grand Garden Arena. One man, shiny-faced and unmarked, greeted a swarming mass of exuberant countrymen. The other, shuffling slightly with face partially misshapen and flanked by enormous body guards, smiled perfunctorily at those who wished him well.

Despite prevailing by majority-decision scores, Floyd Mayweather was not the shiny-faced lad with the exuberant fans.

The idea that Mayweather would not win more than five unanimous rounds against Marcos Maidana on Saturday was one that traversed few minds. The large number of folks who attended the fight or purchased it on pay-per-view did so to support a TMT franchise we’ve been told is historic. A much smaller number of buyers invested their entertainment funds in the hopes El Chino would catch Money cold, somehow, and score a Hasim Rahman-like upset. Nobody who spent money on a ticket or telecast envisioned Maidana decisioning, in Las Vegas, the guy whose head is now more ubiquitous at MGM Grand than that golden lion’s. And yet, there were rounds not even a partial observer like judge Burt Clements could find a way to give Mayweather.

The first round is the first that comes to mind; perhaps Maidana did not sprint from his corner recklessly as he bumrushed Adrien Broner in December – and if Saturday’s main event did not restore much glimmer to “About Billions,” it did embolden those critics who quietly wonder if Mexican Saul Alvarez isn’t something of a frecklefaced fraud – but once he found Mayweather was overconfident enough in the shoulder-roll defense to let the ropes stop his backwards lean, Maidana brought the contact to Mayweather in a way no one before him has.

Part of that could be diminished reflex on Mayweather’s part, though only a tiny part of it, while much of it ought be attributed to the Charmin-soft competition Mayweather has served himself since about the time he slipped past Jose Luis Castillo in 2002; those who hit hard enough to imperil Mayweather generally have not been fast enough, and those who are fast enough generally have not hit with sufficient force. Unflappable as he is, and an unaffected demeanor during physical confrontations is Mayweather’s greatest pugilistic asset, Mayweather did not expect to be hit hard on as many different spots of his head for the rest of his career as Maidana delivered him in their second 90 seconds together.

What became suddenly apparent: Nobody in a sparring session with Floyd Mayweather since Money was about 12 years-old has attempted the clockwise-bolo thing Maidana hurled his way; were it not for Maidana’s startlingly effective jab, Mayweather would not have been speaking out of turn about Maidana had he paraphrased what Evander Holyfield once said of John Ruiz – that he was the most technically incompetent opponent he faced as a pro. Maidana solved the shoulder roll not through expertise but by overthrowing his right hand like a circus-strongman hammer; it was a physical impossibility for Mayweather to get his lead shoulder high enough and his torso tilted rightwards far enough to evade a punch that, at its apex, resembled nothing so much as Kareem’s skyhook.

Trainer Robert Garcia deserves all the credit heaped on him for Maidana’s fantastic jab, well-timed and stiff and accurate as it is, but when it comes to Maidana’s sledgefisted right, Garcia has mentored the Argentine no more than a handler who unclips the leash from an attack dog already in full froth. A camera on Garcia’s face in the opening round likely would have revealed a man both surprised and delighted by what surprise in Mayweather’s demeanor and delight in Maidana’s rabidity the landing of that first righthand brought. Mayweather’s surprise was quickly compounded when, soon after Maidana began crashing into him, Money’s go-to defensive ploy, the lead-elbow-to-opponent’s-neck shimmy, received a warning from referee Tony Weeks, whom Mayweather afterwards banished unhesitatingly from ever again officiating the otherwise high-paying exhibition matches Mayweather thought Showtime signed him up for.

There was one other surprise, too, for both Mayweather and aficionados who have followed his career often begrudgingly: The left-hook lead did not work till the championship rounds. There is not an orthodox fighter in memory, and certainly not a Latino one, whom Mayweather has been unable to tag and tag early with his springing left-hook lead; even master Juan Manuel Marquez got flattened by the punch. Maidana’s guard, though, was high and tight to his cheek, and Mayweather got nothing but right glove, when he didn’t miss both wildly and uncharacteristically.

Worse yet for Mayweather’s plans of a painfree evening was how little his potshot right dissuaded Maidana, who viewed it as a hard tariff, but not a barrier to entry like other Mayweather opponents have. Maidana expected to be hit repeatedly. It was in his contract. He hoped, but likely did not expect, to hit Mayweather repeatedly. When he found Mayweather was willing to sell him a stationary target on the ropes for the price of a flush righthand or two, Maidana became an animated buyer.

Mayweather’s best adjustment was the very return-to-fundamentals Paulie Malignaggi counseled any future Maidana opponent to employ, in the April issue of The Ring magazine. Mayweather, gloves high in the fight’s final third, preceded most of his righthands with jabs; in lieu of reinventing boxing, Money May threw straight 1-2s the exact way he learned to do as a seven-year-old in Grand Rapids, Mich., and it worked exactly as his father knew it would. Floyd Mayweather proved Saturday, as he did against Miguel Cotto in 2012, that, at his core, he is all fighter. Even his Friday protest of Maidana’s gloves was, at its inception at least, a legitimate nod to boxing’s history of illegitimate glove-tampering; what alarmed Mayweather first of all was how “broken-in” Maidana’s custom-made gloves felt.

And Sunday morning, undoubtedly, Floyd Mayweather awoke to a feeling of body-wide trauma that has led other accomplished prizefighters to pursue business ventures elsewhere.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – It was supposed to be easy. It wasn’t.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. got the victory that oddsmakers, pundits and just about everybody not from Argentina thought he would. But it was less than dominant. At times, it was just ugly. Marcos Maidana made sure of it in an exhausting, carpet-bomb style of punching that pushed Mayweather onto the ropes and even through the ropes.

There were few moments, it seemed, when Mayweather wasn’t on the ropes, literally and figuratively. Mayweather got the decision. But there was a qualifier. It wasn’t unanimous. It was a majority decision, meaning it fell one judge short of Mayweather’s predicted dominance.

It was a draw, 114-114, on Michael Pernick’s scorecard. Burt Reynolds had it 117-111 and Dave Mortetti 116-112, each for Mayweather. The draw on Pernick’s card opens the door for a debate about just how good the unbeaten Mayweather was in winning his 46th fight and the third in a rich Showtime contract worth a potential $250 million.

“I’d describe this as a tough, competitive fight,’’ said Mayweather (46-0, 25 KOs), who collected at least $32 million. “Normally, I like to box, but I couldn’t.’’

He couldn’t because of the inexhaustible Maidana, who walked forward in a dogged pursuit of the mythical pound-for-pound champion.

After it was all over, Maidana walked and talked like the winner. In some ways, he even looked the winner. He was unmarked, unlike Mayweather, who was left with a cut above his right eye.

“He never hurt me with a punch,’’ said Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs), who was guaranteed $1.5 million. “I thought I won the fight.’’

Maidana seemed to fight as if he were angry. Perhaps, he was, especially after a glove controversy that wasn’t settled until early Saturday. Maidana was not allowed to wear custom-made gloves that bore Argentina’s blue and white colors. The Mayweather camp objected to them, arguing they lacked the requisite padding along the knuckles.

“He doesn’t fight like a man,’’ Maidana said in Spanish translated into English for the MGM Grand’s crowd, which included a lot of jeering fans from Argentina.

Mayweather escaped with the decision by scoring with precise punches in the later rounds. From the seven through the 12th, Maidana couldn’t quite sustain the pace he had at the beginning. That left him open for counter shots and an effective uppercut. Still, Maidana had enough energy to bull-rush Mayweather in the 11th, pushing him half way through the middle ropes.

Mayweather sustained a cut above his right eye late in the fourth.

“I couldn’t see out of the eye for two rounds,’’ Mayweather said.

A left hook from Maidana appeared to cause the wound, although Maidana’s furious pace made it hard to tell exactly what landed. At times, it looked as if Maidana was trying to land just about everything, all at once.

Maidana wasted no time. In the first, the Maidana whirlwind began, dropping shots from countless angles and at a machinegun rate. Everything was a target. Mayweather’s head and hips. Even Mayweather’s left shoulder was under a sustained assault. Mayweather rolls the shoulder in what is his best-known defensive tactic. Early on, however, the roll was rare, if there at all. There was no time to initiate, much less complete the trademark roll. Mayweather was too busy ducking and leaning back on the ropes.

Mayweather didn’t eliminate the possibility of a rematch. Maidana talked as if he deserved one.

“I’m not scared of him,’’ Maidana said. “Why not do the rematch?’’

It might be in the cards.

Amir Khan restores credibility with tactical decision over Collazo

Amir Khan added pounds to his body and hope to his future.

Kahn restored some lost credibility with a poised, tactical decision over Luis Collazo in a welterweight bout Saturday night before the main event featuring Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand.

There will always be doubts about Khan’s notoriously fragile chin. Against the rugged Collazo, however, the former junior-welterweight seemed to fight as though he knew he couldn’t leave it exposed. For the most part, he used his quick feet to stay a step away from Collazo.

Byt the 10th round, his superior athleticism just proved to be too much for Collazo. He knocked down Collazo twice in the round. The first knockdown came at the end of a left uppercut as short as it was beautiful.

For Khan, the inescapable question revolved around what was next. Mayweather? Mayweather had bypassed Khan for Maidana.

“Absolutely,’’ Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) said when asked if he wanted to be next in the Mayweather sweepstakes. “Absolutely.’’

In the fourth, Khan’s hand speed exercised some Mayweather-like superiority with a short right hand that knocked Collazo off-balance and onto the seat of his trunks. Seconds later, Khan staggered him. But the tough Collazo (35-6, 18 KOs) is nothing if not resilient. That’s the story of his long career.

The knockdown seemed to embolden him. He stubbornly moved forward in an evident attempt to draw Khan into a brawl. Khan instinctively moved away, almost as if he knew he couldn’t win the kind of street fight Collazo wanted.

But the stubborn Collazo kept moving forward and kept taunting Khan in the late seconds of each successive round. It was if he was trying to wear down Khan, wear off the slick veneer on the Brit’s versatile skill set. In the eighth, it looked as if Collazo might succeed. He was penalized a point for a low blow. For a fleeting moment, Khan looked fatigued. Collazo staggered him with a right. Khan held on and was penalized a point for holding Collazo’s head.

Broner Big Winner on Cards, Big Loser with Fans
Adrien Broner talks about boos as though they were terms of endearment.

He says he loves to hear them.

He must have been happy Saturday night. Boos filled the MGM Grand Garden Arena for how he won and how he talked about it after scoring a unanimous decision over Carlos Molina, a Mexican-American from Norwalk, Calif.

“I’m the Can Man,’’ Broner (28-1, 22 KOs) told Showtime broadcaster Jim Gray at the center of the ring. “I just beat the bleep out of a Mexi-Can.’’

On a night billed as a celebration of Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo holiday, the patrons were angry enough at the slur to collectively kick Broner’s can. They couldn’t. Neither could the resolute Molina (17-2-1, 7 KOs). But somebody else will if Broner continues to fight with more showmanship than skill.

He mocked Molina in the late rounds, he looked at the crowd in almost every round and threw Molina onto the canvas with a wrestling hold in the third round. There wasn’t much time left for punches and, sure, enough he didn’t throw many. He mixed in just enough to collect a points’ victory in a junior-welterweight bout, his first since Marcos Maidana embarrassed him in December.

“It was a sparring session on national television,’’ said Broner, who showed he can insult pay-per-view customers too

Too Much Love for Periban
J’Leon Love’s story is about learning how to survive. Out of the ring. And in it.

It was a lesson Love (18-0, 10 KOs) put to good use against Marco Antonio Periban (20-2-1, 13 Kos) in the first fight of the pay-per-view portion of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Marcos Maidana card. Love, a Mayweather-promoted super-middleweight, survived the fifth round.

A straight right from Periban turned Love’s head violently from one side to the other and eventually put him on the canvas. Periban, of Mexico City, fell back and down in the wild round, apparently from over-exerting himself in an attempt to finish Love. But Love would not go away. First, he regained his equilibrium and then the momentum with careful and precise shots from several angles and enough abundance to win a 10-round unanimous decision.

OFF TV: The non-televised portion of the card was consistent, if not exactly perfect. It went six-for-six. Six fights, six stoppages. The sixth came from Las Vegas cruiserweight Andrew Tabiti, who scored a fourth-round TKO of John Shipman (3-2, 2 KOs) of Amarillo, Tex.

Las Vegas super-middleweight Ronald Gavril (9-0, 7 KOs) remained unbeaten with a fourth-round TKO of Tyrell Hendrix (10-4-2, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles.

British middleweight Anthony Ogogo (6-0, 2 KOs) kept the KO streak going. He scored the card’s fourth straight stoppage, finishing Jonuel Tapia (8-5-1, 5 KOs) of Brooklyn, NY, in the third round.

Ashley Theopane (35-6-1, 10 KOs) of Las Vegas employed speed and precision to overcome a bigger Angino Perez (15-5, 13 KOs) for a fourth-round stoppage of the Miami welterweight. Theopane finished the bout with a succession of punches that drove Perez into the ropes.

Lanell Bellows (7-1-1, 6 KOs), a Las Vegas super-middleweight, scored two knockdowns en route to a second-round stoppage of Thomas Gifford (2-2-1, 1 KO), an Arkansas fighter who went down in the second round as though he had been hit by runaway truck.

More than three hours before Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast began, junior-welterweights Ladarius Miller of Memphis and Richard Colas opened the show. Their punches echoed throughout the empty arena. The biggest echo came from Miller (2-0, 1 KO), who scored a third-round TKO of Colas (11-3, 1 KO).

Follow all the action live as Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana meet in a WBA/WBC Welterweight unification bout. A big 3-fight undercard will take place beginning at 9 PM ET that will see Former world champions Amir Khan and Luis Collazo squaring off in a Welterweight bout. Former world champion Adrien Broner battles Carlos Molina and the night kicks off with a Super Middleweight elimination bout between J’Leon Love and Marco Antonio Periban

12 ROUNDS–WBA/WBC WELTERWEIGHT TITLE–FLOYD MAYWEATHER (45-0, 26 KO’S) VS MARCOS MAIDANA (35-3, 31 KO’S)

Round 1 Righgoot to body from Maidana…Jab from Mayweather..Maidana lands a left..Mayweather getting hit on the ropes…Mayweather lands a right at the bell…10-9 Maidana

Round 2 Maidana landing shots on the ropes…Mayweather lands 2 hard lead rights..19-19

Round 3 Jab to body from Mayweather..Hard counter right…Hard rights on the ropes from Maidana…Left and right from Mayweather..Lead right…29-28 Mayweather

Round 4 Mayweather lands a good body shot and left hook..Mayweather is cut over right eye…Left to body from Mayweather..39-37 Mayweather

Round 5 Cut caused by headbutt…Right from Maidana…right…Mayweather lands a right..jab..right..Right from Maidana..Body fromMayweather…body/head from Maidana..48-47 Mayweather

Round 6 Right and left from Mayweather…counter right.. Maidana lands a few rights..jab///uppercut from Mayweather..lead left hook..righlt…jab to the body..staright right..right to body from Maidana..right and uppercut…left from Mayweather..58-56 Mayweather

Round 7 Lead left from Mayweather…left to body..2 left hooks…double jab…2 rights..right and 2 lefts from Maidana..68-65 Mayweather

Round 8 Maidana lands 2 over hand right…right from Mayweather..double jab from maidana..right from Mayweather…Jab and right from Maidana..lead left from Maywetaher..chaopping left…lead left and counter left…78-75 Mayweather

Round 9 Mayweather lands a right…left..left from Maidana..lead right and left hook…big right..right and blistering combination…jab…88-84 Mayweather

Round 10 Mayweather lands a jab and right..combination..right to body..jab..Lead right..lead left from Maidana..2 right from Mayweather..good right from Maidana..98-93 Mayweather

Round 11 Mayweather lands a left hook…trading jabs..right from Mayweather..right from Maidana..108-102 Mayweather

Round 12 Left from Maidana..counter combo from Mayweather…Maidana landing hard bod pucnhes..lead right from Mayweather…right…counter right…118-111 Mayweather

114-114; 117-111, 116-112 winner by majority decision Floyd Mayweather

12 ROUNDS WELTERWEIGHTS–AMIR KHAN (28-3, 19 KO’S) VS LUIS COLLAZO (35-5, 18 KO’S)

Round 3 1-2 from Khan…Left from Collazo..Khan gets in a right..Body..30-27 Khan

Round 4..RIGHT TO THE CHIN AND DOWN GOES COLLAZO..Khan landing combiation..Collazo trying to comeback..40-35 Khan

Round 5 Right and left from Khan…Left from Khan..Combo from Collazo..lead left..50-44 Khan

Round 6 Right and left from Khan..Left from Collazo…right from Collazo…Khan lands a straight right…660-53 Khan

Round 7 lead left and jab from Collazo..Hard right from Khan..quick combination..70-62 Khan

Round 8 Collzao docked a point for Low Blows…Big left from Collazo..Khan being warned for holding the head..1-2 from Collazo..lead left from Collazo…point deducted from Khan..right from Khan..78-71 Khan

Round 9 Good combo from both..body and head from Khan..straight right..88-80 Khan

Round 10 Hard left hurts Collazo…right..left..left to jaw..LEFT AND DOWN GOES COLLAZO..HARD COMBINATION AND LEFT AND DOWN GOES COLLAZO..Hard combo on ropes…98-87 Khan

Round 11 Good combo from Collazo..right from Khan..2 jabs..left hook to body and head..good right and left from Collazo..3 jabs from Khan..straight left and uppercut from Collazo..108-96 Khan

Round 12 Low blow from Collazo…118-106 Khan

117-106, 119-104 twice for Amir Khan

10 ROUNDS–SUPER LIGHTWEIGHTS–ADRIEN BRONER (27-1, 22 KO’S) VS CARLOS MOLINA (17-1-1, 7 KO’S)

Round 1 Molina works the body..10-9 Molina

Round 2 Combination from Molina..Broner lands a right behind the jab..Molina lands a left to the body..Good right..20-18 Molina

Round 3 Broner takes down Molina..Molina landing on the ropes..Over hand right and jab from Broner…Left hook from Molina..30-28 Molina

Round 4 Right from Molina..Combination to head from Broner..good body from Boner..Combo from Molina..uppercut from Broner..quick combiantion…39-39 Molina

Round 5 Combinatu…48-48

Round 6 Broner lands a short right…body..58-57 Broner

Round 7 right and left to body from Broner..right to head…right cross..right from Molina..big right and left hook..68-66 Broner

Round 8 Uppercut from Broner..overhand right from Molina..Both landed rights..right from Broner..78-75 Broner

Round 9 Jab From Broner…88-84 Broner

Round 10 Right from Broner..left to body from Molina..left hook from Molina..Jab from Broner..Molina lands a left hook..right from Broner..Good exchange at the bell...98-94 Broner

99-91, 98-92, 100-90 for Adrien Broner

10 ROUNDS–SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS–J’LEON LOVE (17-0, 10 KO’S) VS MARCO ANTONIO PERIBAN (20-1-1, 13 KO’S)

Round 1 Periban lands a right to the body..Love lands a jab.right to body..10-9 Love

Round 2 Double jab from Love..Periban right to the body..Periban bleeding from the nose..counter right to body from Love..20-18 Love

Round 3 Periban backing Love on the ropes with a flurry..2 jabs from Love..Periban lands a left to the body…combination..left from Love..jab..Nice combination..Combination..29-28 Love

Round 4 Love lands a jab to the body…5 jabs…39-37 Love

Round 5 Periban lands a combination..Huge Right..hurts Love..love is eating about 25 punches to the face…Love in real trouble..HUGE RIGHT AND LEFT AND LOVE TAKES A KNEE…Love eats a hard right…47-47

Round 6 Jab from Periban..Big left..Jab from Love..right to body from Periban..Good left from Love..body..Cut over left eye of Periban..Love landing an uppercut…Periban looking tired..2 jabs from Love...57-56 Periban

Round 7 Left to body from Love..Left from Periban..67-66 Periban

Round 8 Triple jab from Love..good jab..Counter right from Periban..exchange rights to the body..76-76

Round 9 Body from Periban…2 jabs from Love..Good right from Periban..86-85 Periban

Round 10 double jab from Love…Left to body from Periban….95-95

95-93, 97-92, 96-93 all for J’Leon Love

By Norm Fraienheim–

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. complained about the lack of padding at the knuckles of Marcos Maidana’s gloves in a controversy that erupted Friday after the weigh-in for their pay-per-view welterweight fight at the MGM Grand.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission ruled that Maidana could not wear the gloves, which were custom made for him by Everlast, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said Friday night.

After the Commission’s ruling, negotiations between the respective camps were underway for the kind of gloves that each fighter would wear. Schaefer said the controversy would not put the fight in jeopardy. Mayweather advisor Leonard Ellerbe was quoted as saying there would be no fight if Maidana were allowed to wear the specially-made gloves, which included horsehair for padding and were done in the blue-and-white colors of his home country, Argentina.

“I am absolutely confident that everything will be worked out,’’ Schaefer said. “There will be a fight.’’

Both camps had agreed to wear eight-ounce gloves. However, Mayweather’s management, including Ellerbe and attorney John Hornewer, objected to Maidana’s gloves, complaining that most of padding was at the wrist and not at the knuckles.

“It was like there was one ounce at the knuckles and seven ounces at the wrist,’’ said Elvis Grant, who makes the Grant model that Mayweather plans to wear.

Grant attended the rules meeting. He said Mayweather tried on the Maidana pair that the Argentine planned to wear.

“Floyd said there was no way he’d fight that guy with those gloves on,’’ Grant said.

Maidana is known for his power. With 31 knockouts in 35 fights, he has one of the best KO ratios in boxing.

The glove controversy was just one of many in a week full of them during the build-up for Mayweather-Maidana.

At a weigh-in that sounded like a rap concert, the only excess pounds came from booming speakers loud enough to simulate a small earthquake. The building shook. The scale rocked. The noise was heavy. Only the fighters weren’t.

Both Mayweather and Maidana came in under the 147-pound limit. Mayweather looked bigger and might be much bigger at opening bell, but at 146 pounds he was lighter on the official scale than Maidana, who was at 146-½ for his sixth fight at welterweight.

Mayweather, who had Atlanta rapper 2Chainz in his entourage, appeared calm and confident as ever, despite controversy throughout the week before his third fight in a Showtime contract for a possible six bouts and a potential $250 million.

The week started with Mayweather defending Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, whom he called “a nice guy” despite Sterling’s racist comments that resulted in the NBA banning him for life. The controversy continued Thursday when Mayweather posted allegations on his Facebook account that his former fiance, Shantel Jackson, aborted their twins because he is pro-life. The post, taken down later in the day, included a photo of what he said was her sonogram.

Showtime broadcaster Jim Gray asked Mayweather about “distractions” after the pound-for-pound champion stepped off the scale.

“Pressure, I love it,’’ said Mayweather, who also promised to do what he does best.

There doesn’t appear to be much pressure on Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) in the bout itself. Odds, which have been as high as 11-to-1, have made him the overwhelming favorite since the fight was announced.

If there’s pressure, it’s in how he wins. At different times and in different words, Mayweather has been close to promising his best performance ever. He has said that doesn’t necessarily mean a stoppage. But fans are interpreting it that way. Consider this: The odds are 6-to-5 for Mayweather by KO. A lot of bettors are putting their money on the 10th-round, which would coincide with Mayweather’s 2007 TKO of Ricky Hatton, who — like Maidana – was a natural 140-pounder fighting as a welterweight. Mayweather by KO in the 10th opened at 12-to-1. Late in the week, it had been bet down to 8-to-1.

Predictably, Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) has said he is not bothered by the overwhelming odds. What else is he going to say?

“I know he’s going to be much bigger, but because of my style I know I can beat him,’’ said Maidana, who possesses one of the best knockout ratios in boxing, yet could not stop Adrien Broner, a former lightweight, in his upset of him in December.

In some ways, Maidana’s slim chance at a monumental upset is reflected in the wealth gap that separates the two purses. Mayweather’s guarantee is $32 million, according to a contract filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Maidana’s guarantee is $1.5 million, according to the Nevada commission. Maidana is expected to get a percentage of Argentina’s television revenue. Nevertheless, Maidana’s guarantee is a fraction of what Mayweather will pocket no matter what the pay-per-view does.

Form the odds to the respective paychecks, it all adds up to Mayweather, unless — and perhaps only if — Maidana gets lucky. In this city of longshots, he might. But the best bet is that his chances at luck are better with a pair of dice at a Vegas’ table than in the ring against Mayweather.

De La Hoya, Arum meet
According to various reports, Oscar De La Hoya met Thursday with Bob Arum at Arum’s home in Los Angeles in an attempt to end the Golden Boy Promotions-Top Rank feud.

“Our relationship is now totally repaired, whether we do any specific business, we will have a friendly relationship between Todd (DuBoef) and I on our side and Oscar,’’ said Arum, De La Hoya’s primary promoter during his Hall of Fame career “We’ll have a collegial relationship.

“It was a very emotional meeting. We hugged each other. Oscar meant a lot to me, and I meant a lot to him. We had a helluva ride together. It was the right thing to do.”

Arum said the meeting lasted about two-and-a-half hours.

“We had lunch,’’ he said. “It was at our vacation house in Los Angeles. There was a good tenor to our conversation. Todd and I met with Oscar, and reminisced about old times. We talked about how it was crazy that we were at odds. We buried the hatchet, and it as a very productive meeting. We never talked any specific business, ever.”

De La Hoya, founder of Golden Boy, has been feuding with his CEO, Richard Schaefer, who has vowed to never to do business with Arum again. Golden Boy has been working as associate promoter for the Mayweather-Maidana fight.

However, De La Hoya has not attended any of the news conferences. He also was not at Friday’s weigh-in.

Also on the scale
Both Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KOs) and Luis Collazo were at the mandatory, 147-pounds, for their key welterweight fight on the televised card. Khan hopes for an impressive victory that will keep him in line for a shot at Mayweather, perhaps later in the year.

Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KOs) was at 140 pounds and Carlos Molina at 138 ½ for their junior-welterweight bout. There were boos for Broner, who was happy to hear them. “Keep on booing me,’’ said Broner, who is coming off his loss to Maidana. “I’m going to keep on doing my thing.’’

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. complained about the lack of padding at the knuckles of Marcos Maidana’s gloves in a controversy that erupted Friday after the weigh-in for their pay-per-view welterweight fight at the MGM Grand.

There are two pairs in question. Both are in light blue, the national color for Argentina, Maidana’s home country.

Mayweather’s corner did not argue with the brand, Everlast. But Mayweather’s management, including advisor Leonard Ellerbe and attorney John Hornewer, demanded during a rules meeting that the Nevada State Athletic Commission prohibit Maidana from wearing either pair. Maidana walked out of the meeting. There was still no resolution to controversy late Friday.

Maidana is known for his power. With 31 knockouts in 35 fights, he has one of the best KO ratios in boxing. Mayweather wears Grant-made gloves.

The glove controversy was just one of many in a week full of them during the build-up for Mayweather-Maidana.

At a weigh-in that sounded like a rap concert, the only excess pounds came from booming speakers loud enough to simulate a small earthquake. The building shook. The scale rocked. The noise was heavy. Only the fighters weren’t.

Both Mayweather and Maidana came in under the 147-pound limit. Mayweather looked bigger and might be much bigger at opening bell, but at 146 pounds he was lighter on the official scale than Maidana, who was at 146-½ for his sixth fight at welterweight.

Mayweather, who had Atlanta rapper 2Chainz in his entourage, appeared calm and confident as ever, despite controversy throughout the week before his third fight in a Showtime contract for a possible six bouts and a potential $250 million.

The week started with Mayweather defending Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, whom he called “a nice guy” despite Sterling’s racist comments that resulted in the NBA banning him for life. The controversy continued Thursday when Mayweather posted allegations on his Facebook account that his former fiance, Shantel Jackson, aborted their twins because he is pro-life. The post, taken down later in the day, included a photo of what he said was her sonogram.

Showtime broadcaster Jim Gray asked Mayweather about “distractions” after the pound-for-pound champion stepped off the scale.

“Pressure, I love it,’’ said Mayweather, who also promised to do what he does best.

There doesn’t appear to be much pressure on Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) in the bout itself. Odds, which have been as high as 11-to-1, have made him the overwhelming favorite since the fight was announced.

If there’s pressure, it’s in how he wins. At different times and in different words, Mayweather has been close to promising his best performance ever. He has said that doesn’t necessarily mean a stoppage. But fans are interpreting it that way. Consider this: The odds are 6-to-5 for Mayweather by KO. A lot of bettors are putting their money on the 10th-round, which would coincide with Mayweather’s 2007 TKO of Ricky Hatton, who — like Maidana – was a natural 140-pounder fighting as a welterweight. Mayweather by KO in the 10th opened at 12-to-1. Late in the week, it had been bet down to 8-to-1.

Predictably, Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) has said he is not bothered by the overwhelming odds. What else is he going to say?

“I know he’s going to be much bigger, but because of my style I know I can beat him,’’ said Maidana, who possesses one of the best knockout ratios in boxing, yet could not stop Adrien Broner, a former lightweight, in his upset of him in December.

In some ways, Maidana’s slim chance at a monumental upset is reflected in the wealth gap that separates the two purses. Mayweather’s guarantee is $32 million, according to a contract filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Maidana’s guarantee is $1.5 million, according to the Nevada commission. Maidana is expected to get a percentage of Argentina’s television revenue. Nevertheless, Maidana’s guarantee is a fraction of what Mayweather will pocket no matter what the pay-per-view does.

Form the odds to the respective paychecks, it all adds up to Mayweather, unless — and perhaps only if — Maidana gets lucky. In this city of longshots, he might. But the best bet is that his chances at luck are better with a pair of dice at a Vegas’ table than in the ring against Mayweather.

De La Hoya, Arum meet
According to various reports, Oscar De La Hoya met Thursday with Bob Arum at Arum’s home in Los Angeles in an attempt to end the Golden Boy Promotions-Top Rank feud.

“Our relationship is now totally repaired, whether we do any specific business, we will have a friendly relationship between Todd (DuBoef) and I on our side and Oscar,’’ said Arum, De La Hoya’s primary promoter during his Hall of Fame career “We’ll have a collegial relationship.

“It was a very emotional meeting. We hugged each other. Oscar meant a lot to me, and I meant a lot to him. We had a helluva ride together. It was the right thing to do.”

Arum said the meeting lasted about two-and-a-half hours.

“We had lunch,’’ he said. “It was at our vacation house in Los Angeles. There was a good tenor to our conversation. Todd and I met with Oscar, and reminisced about old times. We talked about how it was crazy that we were at odds. We buried the hatchet, and it as a very productive meeting. We never talked any specific business, ever.”

De La Hoya, founder of Golden Boy, has been feuding with his CEO, Richard Schaefer, who has vowed to never to do business with Arum again. Golden Boy has been working as associate promoter for the Mayweather-Maidana fight.

However, De La Hoya has not attended any of the news conferences. He also was not at Friday’s weigh-in.

Also on the scale
Both Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KOs) and Luis Collazo were at the mandatory, 147-pounds, for their key welterweight fight on the televised card. Khan hopes for an impressive victory that will keep him in line for a shot at Mayweather, perhaps later in the year.

Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KOs) was at 140 pounds and Carlos Molina at 138 ½ for their junior-welterweight bout. There were boos for Broner, who was happy to hear them. “Keep on booing me,’’ said Broner, who is coming off his loss to Maidana. “I’m going to keep on doing my thing.’’

LONDON (May 2) – Boxing’s star attraction Floyd Mayweather has vowed to give fans an edge-of-the-seat thriller against Marcos Maidana this Saturday night.

The pound-for-pound kingpin faces the rugged Argentine at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, live and exclusive on BoxNation, with the promise to stand and engage with the renowned knockout artist when they clash at the iconic boxing coliseum.

‘Money’ Mayweather has predicted that this fight will play out different from his last two bouts, against Robert Guerrero and Canelo Alvarez respectively, with the superstar looking to stand in the pocket and make it an all-action affair.

“I may have three fights after this, I’m really not sure. I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I can promise you this: Saturday, I’m going to give you guys what you want to see,” said Mayweather.

“It’s not going to be the same fight that I fought with Canelo; it’s not going to be the same fight that I fought with Robert Guerrero. It’s going to be a totally different fight. No gameplan at all. I’m going to be right there.

“I think styles make fights. I’m looking to win and I’m looking to win very impressively. I’m pretty sure he’s coming straight ahead and we’ll see how the fight plays out,” he said.

Mayweather is used to the biggest nights having been involved in the highest grossing event of all time when his bout with Oscar De La Hoya generated a stunning $136m in 2007, before shattering that record last year when his battle with Alvarez raked in $150m.

The record-breaker has proved that he is able to handle the biggest of occasions, a level which will be new to the iron willed Maidana.

“I’ve been here before and know what it takes to win a fight of this magnitude. When the best fight the best, it takes more than just power. It takes more than just a great heart. You have to dig deep. You have to be mentally strong, not just physically strong, to win a fight like this,” said Mayweather.

“As of late, Marcos Maidana has been making a lot of noise. Is he one of the best in the sport? Yes he is. But I am the best. And that’s the difference.

“He’s tough, he’s rugged, he’s a champion. I respect him as a man, but come Saturday you have to earn my respect as a fighter,” he stated.

Though the favourite going into the fight, the pride of Grand Rapids, Michigan, knows he can’t underestimate the fierce Argentine.

“I never go in a game with a game plan. My game plan is to win and be first,” said Mayweather. “I can’t overlook this guy. He earned it. Argentina is a great country and you all have a true champion. He’s a true champion, he’s a warrior, and he got here somehow, someway. He represents his country real well. I’m a worldwide figure, but I bleed the red, white and blue first.”

The stardom for one of sport’s most recognised faces comes at a price, however, with Mayweather not too keen on some of the trappings that fame presents.

“When I just sit back sometimes in my bed and I turn on the TV and just look, I think ‘I miss doing that by myself’. I want to go places by myself; I want do things by myself. You think I always want to go to the movie theatre and take security?

“I want to go to the casino by myself and play blackjack by myself. If I have a wife I want to be able to travel with just me and her. I want to be able to do one-on-one things,” said Mayweather.

“But, guess what? It’s a gift and it’s a curse because God could easily have put someone else in this position. So I say, it’s me and I got to take it for what it’s for and just be thankful I’m one of the chosen ones,” he said.

It will be the unrelenting and hardened Maidana, though, who hopes he is the one chosen to hand the majestic Mayweather his first loss.

The 30-year-old from the rough streets of Santa Fe in Argentina was unapologetic ahead of the biggest fight of his career.

“No one has given anything to me,” said Maidana. “The opportunity, I earned it myself. I know this is a very difficult fight. That’s why I trained like never before. Mayweather is a great fighter, but I don’t give a f*** about this guy. It’s very important to land the combos and keep at him.

“I’m prepared for whatever he brings. If he wants to trade blows, we’ll trade blows. If he wants to run, we can handle that, too. We’re prepared for everything. I’m relaxed. We’re good. I talk a little trash because it gets me mad, gets me ready,” he said.

The card this weekend also sees British star Amir Khan back in action for the first time since his close victory over Julio Diaz in April of last year.

The former unified light-welterweight world champion takes on Brooklyn’s Luis Collazo for WBC silver welterweight world title.

“The time is here and I can’t wait to get in the ring,” said Khan. “This is my chance to make a big statement in what is my first fight in the welterweight division and I’m ready to grab that chance. It’s going to be a fight full of excitement and action and I’m going to show that I’m better than I’ve ever been before.”

His 33-year opponent was in an equally upbeat mood stating he’s going to make it an inhospitable welcome to the 147lb division.

“This is the highest of the high for a boxer and I’m humbled by the opportunity. It’s been a tremendous ride. I’m blessed to be here and soak this moment in,” said Collazo.

“Khan, welcome to the welterweight division. I’m going to give the fight fans what they want; make sure you tune in and don’t miss it. It’s going to be a special night,” he said.

Brash-talking Adrien Broner is also set to appear on the card as he steps down to light-welterweight to face Mexican-American Carlos Molina following his loss to Maidana last December.

Mayweather vs. Maidana/Khan vs. Collazo is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday midnight. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
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LAS VEGAS (May, 1 2014) – Undercard fighters from “THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana” took the stage at the Hollywood Theatre at MGM Grand today for the final press conference before their fights this Saturday, May 3, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena live on SHOWTIME PPV®.

Below is what the fighters from this stellar televised undercard had to say:

AMIR “KING” KHAN, Former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion

“This is a great event, every fight here could be a main event. There’s a lot of great fighters up here.

“I’m excited to put on a great show. I’ve trained my way up to this weight. The hand speed and movement is always going to be here but there are a lot of news things you will see.

“I’m going to put on a great performance and I hope we give the fans what they want.

“Spending this time with (trainer) Virgil Hunter has only made me a better boxer. This is the only time I’ve had time off to rest and take a break from boxing.

“As long as I put on a great performance I’ll earn that shot [at fighting Mayweather]. But, to be honest, I’m not looking past Collazo. I need to win this fight and take it from there. I need to put on a good performance and we’ll see what happens.

“It’s going to be a hard fight. It will be tough and exciting, but I think I have all the tools to beat him.

“I’ve been working hard and improving myself. It’s not like I’ve been taking time off. I’ve been sparring and working on my style.

“He’s coming off a big win so I know it won’t be an easy fight. I’m looking to make a big statement on the Mayweather undercard.”

LUIS COLLAZO, WBA International Welterweight Champion

“This is the highest of the high for a boxer and I’m humbled by the opportunity.

“It’s been a tremendous ride. I’m blessed to be here and soak this moment in.

“Khan, welcome to the welterweight division. Once the bell rings you’re going to see the best Collazo you’ve ever seen.

“I’m going to give the fight fans what they want; make sure you tune in and don’t miss it. It’s going to be a special night.”

ADRIEN “THE PROBLEM” BRONER, Former Three-Division World Champion

“I’m coming to do damage. I’m punching with bad intentions and I’m back on my A-game.

“I’m thankful God slowed me down and showed me how to be humble. I know he can take it all away.

“I’m still that same flashy, hungry young man.

“I feel disrespected. I’m a main event fighter. You can put Adrien Broner anywhere. You put Carlos Molina in front of me, and I feel disrespected.”

CARLOS MOLINA, Super Lightweight Contender

“We’re ready. Come Saturday night this is pay-per-view, so you know we’re going for broke on this one. We’re letting our hands fly.

“I know I’m going to have a lot of great fans after this victory.”

J’LEON LOVE, Undefeated Super Middleweight Title

“This is a crazy card to be on. All these guys up here are coming to put on a show and I’m looking to do the same thing.

“I know Periban is a tough, rugged fighter and I’m prepared for that. I’ve had a great camp. My trainer pushed me to the limit.

“We’re in this to win and we want to let you know that I am the future of this sport.”

MARCO ANTONIO PERIBAN, NABF Super Middleweight World Champion

“I just want to invite everybody to watch this fight. It’s going to be great, and I’m prepared.

“Saturday is going to be a great show, a great fight. I’m well prepared for this. I’m going to give every ounce of me so that I can regain a title shot. That’s what I’m here for.

“I know that J’Leon is a strong fighter and I have to give a strong performance. That’s the only way I can win.”

LEONARD ELLERBE, CEO of Mayweather Promotions

“Thanks to everyone for coming out. Like others have said, you can’t call this an ‘undercard’ because these are all great fighters. It will be an exciting card.

“The official weigh-in is Friday, and it starts at 2 o’clock. Floyd wanted to do something different. 2 Chainz will be performing live at the weigh-in. It will be an event within an event.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions

“This isn’t an ‘undercard.’ This is an accumulation of three main events under the Super Bowl of boxing between Mayweather and Maidana. Each one of the TV fights could have its own TV platform and venue and would be a main event in many other boxing programs.

“We always feel very comfortable in Las Vegas, the fight capital of the world. It is very special for these fighters to fight under the bright lights of Las Vegas. It really is an entertainer’s dream to perform in Las Vegas and it is a fighter’s dream to box here in Las Vegas.

“Of course when you think of Las Vegas, MGM is the place to be. The headquarters of boxing worldwide, it is where all the big fights are happening. We are very happy to be back here at the MGM Grand with this terrific quadrupleheader supported by some of the sport’s young, rising stars.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President & General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports

“There is one thing that we know about Floyd Mayweather events – they are massive, and they generate more attention, more publicity and more awareness than any other event in the sport.

“That attention, that visibility, means that Mayweather events attract huge numbers of casual boxing fans, and non-fans, people who may only watch one or two shows a year.

“In short, this is not an event where you skip the undercard. At six o’clock on Saturday night, you have to be in front of your television if you’re at home, or in your seat if you’re in the arena. If you’re not, you’ll be missing the best this sport has to offer.

“In Broner against Molina, we have the very talented Adrien Broner, who has a lot of questions to answer after his setback last December. But Carlos Molina is here to make a statement of his own.

“Khan versus Collazo is the very definition of a high-stakes fight. Collazo is a tough veteran who’s fought the best welterweights in the world during his career. He’s come out on the short end of some very close decisions. Luis is getting the opportunity of a lifetime.

“Amir Khan is fighting for high stakes as well, with the possibility of launching himself onto an even bigger stage as a possible Mayweather opponent.”

# # #

“THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” isa 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round Super Lightweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina for the vacant WBA International super lightweight title as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout for the vacant WBA International super middleweight title featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets for the live event priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets priced at $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Floyd Mayweather will earn a a minimum of $32 Million for Saturday night’s fight with Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“It’s just a testament to what he brings to sports, not just boxing,” said Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s close friend and chief executive of Mayweather Promotions. “He’s a terrific entertainer and he is the reason why this arena will be packed and why there will be a million-plus (buys on pay-per-view) — because it’s all about the Mayweather experience.”

Maidana’s official purse is a career-high $1.5 million, but he also will earn more. He will make additional money from Argentina television rights and also has a chance to earn additional money depending on how well the pay-per-view performs.

For the welterweight co-feature, former junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan’s official purse is $1.5 million and former welterweight titleholder Luis Collazo will make $350,000. The winner will be a top candidate to face Mayweather in the fall if he beats Maidana.

Former three-division titleholder Adrien Broner will earn $1.25 million and opponent Carlos Molina will make $150,000 for their junior welterweight bout.

In the opening fight on the pay-per-view, super middleweight prospect J’Leon Love will make $100,000 and Marco Antonio Periban will earn $35,000.

LAS VEGAS (April 30, 2014) – A focused Floyd Mayweather stated Saturday’s SHOWTIME® PPV showdown with Marcos Maidana could be the best performance of his storied career knowing that Marcos Maidana has knockout percentage of more than 80 percent.

“Everybody keeps asking who is going to crack the May-Vinci Code,” said Mayweather. “This guy has a good uppercut, this guy has a good jab. I still always fight a way to win. Saturday, I’m going to find a way to win.”

With Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer presiding, Mayweather urged the media and fans to tune into tonight’s premiere of Episode 3 of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana for a revealing look into the family life of the pound-for-pound champ.

But the presser wasn’t all about “Money,” as an animated and well-dressed Maidana riled up the Hispanic media in the crowd with a Spanish colloquialism. Loosely translated: “I don’t give a (expletive) about this guy.”

Mayweather also announced that – for the 46th fight of his career – he’s invited 46 breast cancer survivors to attend Saturday’s fight and that he made a donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure that will provide the women with new wigs.

“So many females in my family had breast cancer,” Mayweather said. “My aunt was the first person in my family to die of breast cancer. This is my 46th fight so I decided to bring 46 women with breast cancer to my fight and buy them all new wigs.”

Below are quotes from Wednesday’s participants:

FLOYD MAYWEATHER:
“I may have three fights after this, I’m really not sure. I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I can promise you this: Saturday, I’m going to give you guys what you want to see. It’s not going to be the same fight that I fought with Canelo; it’s not going to be the same fight that I fought with Robert Guerrero. It’s going to be a totally different fight. No game plan at all. I’m going to be right there.

“I think styles make fights. I’m looking to win and I’m looking to win very impressively. I’m pretty sure he’s coming straight ahead and we’ll see how the fight plays out.

“If I feel like walking away I’ll walk away. I want to settle down and get married. Tonight you guys really, really need to watch ALL ACCESS. It’s going to be a good show tonight. Watch it.

“I’ve been here before and know what it takes to win a fight of this magnitude. When the best fight the best, it takes more than just power. It takes more than just a great heart. You have to dig deep. You have to be mentally strong, not just physically strong, to win a fight like this.

“As of late, Marcos Maidana has been making a lot of noise. Is he one of the best in the sport? Yes he is. But I am the best. And that’s the difference.

“He’s tough, he’s rugged, he’s a champion. I respect him as a man, but come Saturday you have to earn my respect as a fighter.

“I never go in a game with a game plan. My game plan is to win and be first.

“I can’t overlook this guy. He earned it. Argentina is a great country and you all have a true champion. He’s a true champion, he’s a warrior, and he got here somehow, someway. He represents his country real well. I’m a worldwide figure, but I bleed the red, white and blue first.

“Giving back to the breast cancer survivors is a great feeling. It’s a great feeling when you’re in a position to give back. I’ll give anything back to our women. Our women are our queens so we have to respect them. I want to commend you ladies and tell you that you’re beautiful.

“So many females in my family had breast cancer. My aunt was the first person in my family to die of breast cancer. This is my 46th fight so I decided to bring 46 women with breast cancer to my fight and buy them all new wigs.

“I couldn’t ask for a better partner than SHOWTIME and MGM. Richard Sturm, you are a great guy, you are remarkable. Everything I asked of the MGM they have given me and more. I have a lifetime bond and a lifetime relationship with you guys. I respect this hotel.

“This is another champion of course, Bernard Hopkins. We don’t know what the future holds for us. He’s 49, I’m 37.” Bernard: “we’re almost 200 years old.” “Bernard’s another legendary champion that I take my hat off to. He’s done a lot to open the doors in boxing and I commend him for that.”

MARCOS MAIDANA:
“No one has given anything to me. The opportunity, I earned it myself.

“I know this is a very difficult fight. That’s why I trained like never before.

“Mayweather is a great fighter, but I don’t give a (expletive) about this guy.

“It’s very important to land the combos and keep at him.

“I’m prepared for whatever he brings. If he wants to trade blows, we’ll trade blows. If he wants to run, we can handle that, too. We’re prepared for everything.

“I’m relaxed. We’re good. I talk a little trash because it gets me mad, gets me ready.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER – CEO, Golden Boy Promotions
“Top to bottom, this the deepest card we have ever promoted. You saw it yesterday when we had the fighter arrivals with a lot of fans from Argentina, a lot of fans from the United Kingdom. This really is an event where the boxing and sports world will unite here at MGM Grand. I personally can’t wait for the bell to ring. This is champion versus champion, this is country versus country. It is the pound for pound best fighter in the world, the guy who talks the talk and walks the walk, against a young hungry fighter in Marcos Maidana who literally punched his way into this fight. He is not the guy that talks the talk, but he is a guy that walks the walk. On Saturday night he is going to go in there – against all odds – trying to make the impossible possible – beating the pound for pound king.

“Maidana is hungry, he is ready and he wants it. No one gave him a chance when he came here to the United States against ‘Vicious’ Victor Ortiz. He made a first impression that is still with us. Again, no one is giving him a chance and that’s the position he likes to be in.

“It is always great to be back here in Las Vegas. This event is certainly one of the largest Las Vegas has ever seen. As a matter of fact, I pulled the record of the largest boxing gates in the history of Las Vegas and I’m proud to announce that this will be the fourth largest gate in the history of boxing here in Las Vegas — close to or maybe a little over $15 million. This is will be a great night for boxing once again.

“I truly believe in this fight Mayweather is playing with fire. It’s easy to underestimate someone like Maidana because he’s quiet. But once the first bell rings, it’s your fists doing the talking – that definition is Marcos Maidana. He has obviously done something right to be here today. This is not the end of his journey; this is the beginning of his journey. You have no idea what that means to him to be here and beat Mayweather. That’s all he wants.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA – Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports
“This is the third SHOWTIME PPV Floyd Mayweather event, all three of which have been here at MGM Grand. Over his career, Floyd has fought at MGM Grand 12 times, which leaves no question that the MGM Grand is the home of the biggest and most important events in boxing and entertainment.

“As always, the staff here at MGM Grand has done a spectacular job marketing this event and setting the stage for what sure will be an exciting and entertaining show on May 3.

“I use the word ‘show’ intentionally. When it’s a Floyd Mayweather event, it is always a show. Floyd and Mayweather Promotions don’t do fights, they do events. Floyd puts on a show. And in addition to the thousands of fans, the biggest names in sports, entertainment and business come to watch: A-List actors, Fortune 500 CEOs, current stars from every sport – we’ve received ticket requests from all of them. And by my count, we’ll have at least 13 current world champions in attendance on Saturday night.

“This is boxing’s Academy Awards, Super Bowl and Grammys.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen on Saturday night and I don’t know who’s going to win or how. In fact, no one does. That unpredictability is one of the great things about boxing. But I can guarantee you one thing: Excitement. There is no other event like a Mayweather fight. There is no atmosphere that even comes close.”

RICHARD STURM – President of Entertainment, MGM Resorts International
“It’s a pleasure to welcome back Floyd Mayweather to his home at the MGM Grand. He looks to once again earn a win and run his record to 46-0. With a victory, Mayweather will put another stamp on the sports history books, and add another chapter in becoming the best fighter the world has ever seen.

“Marcos Maidana will make his return for the first time in nearly two years. It was Mexican Independence day in 2012 when he earned a decisive TKO in the MGM Grand Garden.

“The fight experience will not exist in only the MGM Grand Garden, as six of our 10 resort properties are offering closed circuit viewing in restaurants bars and lounges will provide guest with great food and beverage specials. We look forward to seeing you all Saturday night for this great event.

“We would like to give a special thanks to Golden Boy Promotions staff, Mayweather Promotions Team, Team Maidana and his camp and SHOWTIME. For the first time we would like to congratulate and welcome Bob Bennett, the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s recently selected executive director.

LEONARD ELLERBE – CEO, Mayweather Promotions
“We would like to thank everyone for coming out. This is going to be a fabulous event Saturday night, a terrific fight. The best fighter in the world versus a great, great fighter in Marcos Maidana.

“Floyd comes up with many creative ideas. He came to me about two weeks ago with this breast cancer idea. He has a tremendous heart. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for his philanthropy. We all see the flashy, flamboyant side of him, but that is all a part of entertaining. Deep down inside the true man, Floyd Mayweather is a giver at heart. He wanted to acknowledge and do something special for breast cancer survivors. He will be hosting breast cancer survivors [and a guest] to the fight on Saturday night. And he will be making a donation to Susan G. Komen for the survivors to purchase wigs.

“All this is history we are experiencing now. There may be other great fighters that come along, but I personally don’t feel there will ever be another Floyd Mayweather. We are all witnessing history. Floyd made an interesting comment yesterday that this very well could be his last fight. I was shocked – this was news to me. We have a long term deal with our partner, SHOWTIME. But we never know, come Saturday night this could be it. Any and everything we do is getting a glimpse of history. This will never be duplicated again – never.

“This is going to be a terrific fight come Saturday night. Maidana will bring the best out of Floyd. He will make Floyd bring out that ‘A’ game he talks about. We know Maidana comes to bring it. He will be coming at the opening bell trying to take Floyd’s head off. Floyd has prepared well, he has had an excellent training camp and he is ready to go.”

FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR., Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s trainer and father

“I am glad my son and I we are back together and that he came back to me the way he did. This has nothing to do with money. I truly respect that he’s my son. I’ve been training him since he was one-years-old.

“Camp went great. Each of us have our own ideas, but when we get together on a strategy he is really a force. He is definitely ready to go.

“Maidana is a puncher and a strong fighter, but Floyd is faster and has more knowledge. I saw Maidana against Broner and, to me, he was very predictable, but Broner did not know what to do.

“I see Floyd coming out early, moving some and feeling him out while walking him down for a few rounds and then picking him apart. I’ve stressed that every time Maidana throws a punch, Floyd should counter with a right or left hand. Once he start countering Maidana, then he’ll go to the body. Look for Maidana to get nailed with a lot of body shots.”

ROBERT GARCIA, Maidana’s Trainer and BWAA 2012 Trainer of the Year

“The MOMENT is two days away and we had a great camp. Chino responded and did everything we asked him to do; everyone on our team did a great job.

“Against Broner, Chino proved everybody wrong, and he’s ready to do it again on Saturday.

“We have tremendous respect for Mayweather but on the day of the fight, Maidana is coming to win.”

# # #

“THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” is a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round Super Lightweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina for the vacant WBA International super lightweight title as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout for the vacant WBA International super middleweight title featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets for the live event priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets priced at $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com

By Norm Frauenheim–

LAS VEGAS – Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza called Floyd Mayweather Jr. “a show” and Mayweather proved him right throughout a news conference Wednesday with only praise for Marcos Maidana, a rip at promotional rival Bob Arum, a surprising hint that the end of his career might be near, a promise to be better than ever Saturday night and even a further defense of disgraced Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Mayweather did it all.

Well, almost all.

Mayweather didn’t indulge in anything that even remotely sounded like the trash-talk that identified for so many years.

It’s not as if he didn’t get the opportunity. Maidana concluded his part of the news conference with a closing shot that included an f-bomb for emphasis.

“I don’t give a bleep about him,’’ Maidana said through a translator.

There was no response in kind from Mayweather.

“Lately, Maidana has been making a lot of noise,’’ said Mayweather, who has a $32 million guarantee for Saturday night’s pay-per-view bout. “He’s one of the best fighters. But I am the best.’’

Hard to argue with that. Maidana is a double-digit dog, according to betting odds. Maidana was in a tuxedo Wednesday that made him look like a game-show host. He was all dressed up. But with the odds against him at 11-1 and climbing, he’s got nowhere to go. A lucky shot could land, but Mayweather is known to gamble only on the casino floor.

“He should have knocked out Adrien Broner, a lightweight,’’ Mayweather said of Maidana’s unanimous decision in December over Broner, who was at welterweight for only the second time. “But he didn’t.’’

If there’s going to be a knockout, Mayweather continues to suggest that he’ll be the one to score it.

During the news conference, Mayweather told the audience to be prepared for perhaps his best ever. He even introduced a new acronym. He was wearing a cap with the trademark TMT, The Money Team, when he introduced TBE, The Best Ever.

“I promise you, this will be different than the fight you saw against Canelo (Alvarez)”, said Mayweather, who scored a dominant decision over the red-headed Mexican last September in the second fight of a Showtime deal for a possible six bouts and a potential $250 million.

After the news conference, he was asked if he planned to stop Maidana in what would be his first stoppage since a controversial knockout of Victor Ortiz in 2011. Mayweather hesitated before he answered.

“Looking to win, looking to win very, very impressively,’’ he said.

Mayweather also dangled the possibility that he might retire. With odds indicating a mismatch, perhaps he has to. If the bout is a foregone conclusion, his future isn’t. At least, that’s what he said.

“I really don’t know,’’ Mayweather said when asked whether there would be a fight after Maidana.

Mayweather’s last fight would be history, said advisor Leonard Ellerbe, who knows that the possibility of some history is always a good sales pitch.

The real history for Mayweather appears to be Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record. If Mayweather (45-0) beats Maidana, he’s three fights from tying that one and four from eclipsing it. He’s unbeaten, he said, because nobody can solve the challenging puzzle he represents at opening bell.

“Still wondering who’s gonna solve the May-Vinci Code,’’ said the pound-for-pound champion, who envisions himself as one day being seen as boxing version of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Mayweather also took a predictable shot at Arum, the Top Rank promoter who was enraged at the MGM Grand’s signage before Manny Pacquiao’s unanimous decision over Timothy Bradley in an April 12 rematch. Advertising for Mayweather-Maidana was everywhere.

“You hear people say bad things about this hotel,’’ Mayweather said after associate promoter Richard Schaefer took his turn at ripping Arum. “But their run is coming to an end.’’

Mayweather also would not join in on the condemnation of Sterling, the Clippers owner who was fined $2.5 million and banned Tuesday by the NBA for life after TMZ aired audio of his racist comments. Mayweather was a Sterling guest at several games.

“I don’t have nothing negative to say about the guy,” Mayweather said Tuesday. “He’s always treated me with the utmost respect. He has always invited me to games, always. And he always says, ‘Floyd, I want you to sit right next to me and my wife.’ ”

Mayweather repeated that sentiment Wednesday.

“He’s a nice guy,’’ Mayweather said. “He never said anything racist to me. If he did what they said he did, it’s up to God to forgive him.

ESPN will present extensive pre- and post-fight coverage across its platforms in English and in Spanish of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana Welterweight title unification fight. The fight between Mayweather and Maidana will be held on Saturday, May 3, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Highlights:
SportsCenter: Pre- and post-fight analysis and interviews led by host Robert Flores and boxing experts Dan Rafael, Teddy Atlas, and bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna from Las Vegas.

ESPN3: Coverage of the Wednesday, April 30, press conference (4 p.m. ET) and the Friday, May 2, weigh-in (6 p.m.) live on computers, smartphones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Xbox and Roku via WatchESPN.

ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe: Commentators Jorge Eduardo Sánchez, Claudia Trejos, David Faitelson, Joe Cortez and Osuna will provide the latest news and analysis in a special pre-fight show from Las Vegas (Saturday, May 3, 8 p.m.). Following the fights, ESPN Deportes will air a special post-fight show (Sunday, May 4, 2 a.m.). Golpe a Golpe will also have coverage of Friday’s weigh-in at 6 p.m.

ESPN.com:

· Comprehensive coverage including pre- and post-fight features and blogs.

· “Fight Credential,” ESPN.com’s home page for all Mayweather vs. Maidana coverage, updated with features, video, photos and social media from all platforms throughout the week and through the fight.

· Video previews and breakdowns from Making the Rounds, ESPN.com’s original boxing show.

· Atlas’ Fight Plan for Mayweather and Maidana: Atlas demonstrates what each fighter needs to do to win in his “Fight Plan” segment.

o View Atlas’ Fight Plan for Mayweather here

o View Atlas’ Fight Plan for Maidana here

LAS VEGAS (April 29, 2014) — Main event and undercard fighters for “THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana” made their grand arrivals Tuesday to the MGM Grand Hotel Lobby to officially kick off fight week activities leading up to this Saturday night’s SHOWTIME PPV® event.

FLOYD “MONEY” MAYWEATHER, 10-Time, Five-Division World Champion and WBC Welterweight World Champion

“We’re five days away from another big event; this bout is about two fighters coming together giving the people what they want to see.

“Maidana is hungry, he’s ready and he has a great knockout ratio. It’s all about keeping composure and sticking to the game plan.

“It’s the best fighting the best. I’m glad he believes in himself and that’s what it’s all about. It’s champion versus champion and country versus country.

“Saturday night you’re not going to see the same Floyd Mayweather. I’ll be right there going toe-to-toe.”

MARCOS MAIDANA, WBA Welterweight World Champion

“To see all these people here supporting me is amazing.

“I know people think I’m going to lose, but I come to win and I’m not afraid of anybody or anything.

“I have the support of the Latino people and I’m coming to win.”

AMIR “KING” KHAN, Former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion

“It’s going to be a great event, my first time fighting at the MGM Grand, not in Las Vegas but at the venue.

“I worked very hard, I feel healthy and strong at 147.

“I’m not looking past Collazo. He’s a good, strong fighter. We just want to put on a show and the best man will win.”

LUIS COLLAZO, WBA International Welterweight Champion

“You can expect fireworks in the ring on Saturday.

“I love being the underdog. I’ve been the underdog my entire life. I may be underrated, but I’ve never faded.

“I’m humbled by the opportunity to be here. I’m going to give the fans a great night of boxing.”

ADRIEN “THE PROBLEM” BRONER, Former Three-Division World Champion

“I told Molina it’s work time. I’m going to beat him. Everybody knows Adrien Broner.

“It’s amazing to be on Floyd’s card. He’s going to do his thing and I’m going to do mine.”

CARLOS MOLINA, Junior Welterweight Contender

“There’s no pressure in this fight; we put in the hard work.

“We know what Broner brings and we’re ready to shock the world. We’re going to bring the heat and surprise a lot of people.

“I’m going to let my fists do the talking.”

J’LEON LOVE, Undefeated Super Middleweight Contender

“There’s no pressure. I’m training hard for the task in front of us.

“We know Marco is very tough, but I plan on coming out victorious.”

MARCO ANTONIO PERIBAN, NABF Super Middleweight Champion

“I’m happy to be here in Vegas. I plan to use this platform to grow my career.

“It motivates me to fight against a Mayweather Promotions fighter. You will see a new Marco Periban on Saturday.”

ANDREW TABITI, Undefeated Cruiserweight Prospect

“We’ll see what happens on Saturday night. I’m going to bring my speed, power and my technical skill.”

RONALD GAVRIL, Undefeated Super Middleweight Contender

“All I have to say is, next fight, next knockout.”

ANTHONY OGOGO, Undefeated Middleweight Prospect and 2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist

“I’m very honored to be here in Las Vegas. It’s a crazy place, but I love it and it’s where I want to fight.

“I’m going to put my heart and soul into this fight.”

ASHLEY THEOPHANE, Welterweight Contender

“It’s good to be back here for the biggest show that there is.

“It’s all about getting that win and moving on to the next.”

LANELL BELLOWS, Super Middleweight Prospect

“Fan’s can expect fireworks. I’ll be ready for war come Saturday.”

LADARIUS MILLER, Welterweight Prospect

“I’m honored to be here and I’m ready to bring my talent on May 3.

“Everyone should expect excitement in the ring.”

# # #

THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” is a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com.

Six MGM Resorts Properties will host live closed circuit telecast of THE MOMENT: Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Monte Carlo. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $75, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711 or at www.mgmgrand.com. Select properties also will sell tickets through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or by purchasing online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE MOMENT” will also be broadcast on nearly 520 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

NEW YORK (April 29, 2014) – SHOWTIME Sports® will offer a blitz of live and documentary programming across multiple platforms this week in advance of the SHOWTIME PPV® presentation of “THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana” – a four-fight telecast headlined by boxing superstar and No. 1 pound-for-pound titlist Floyd “Money” Mayweather against Marcos Maidana in a 12-round welterweight world championship unification fight this Saturday, May 3 (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The lineup features live events and exclusive content including live coverage of fight week, the premiere of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana Episode 3, classic fights, and COUNTDOWN LIVE, a one-hour show on SHOWTIME preceding the pay-per-view event.

The excitement begins tonight, April 29, on SHO EXTREME and continues with five consecutive days of daily fistic programming in support of “THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana.’’ The schedule:

Tonight, April 29
Last Saturday’s terrific SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING tripleheader, highlighted by the universally lauded Fight Of The Year candidate, Matthysse vs. Molina, delivered it all – drama, brutal action, and unrelenting intensity. Don’t miss the replay of the instant classic tonight/Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHO EXTREME.

Wednesday, April 30
SHOWTIME Sports Press Pass Live will stream the MAIN EVENT FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE live at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on www.sho.com/sports. The live program is available to simulcast on your network and website.

ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana EPISODE 3 premieres on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

CLASSIC FIGHTS – An encore presentation of Marcos Maidana vs. Victor Ortiz will air on SHO EXTREME at 11:45 p.m. ET/PT.

THURSDAY, MAY 1
SHOWTIME Sports Press Pass Live will stream the UNDERCARD FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE featuring Amir Khan, Adrien Broner and all the undercard fighters at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT on www.sho.com/sports. The live program is available to simulcast on your network and website.

CLASSIC FIGHTS – Marcos Maidana vs. Jesus Soto Karass will air on SHO EXTREME at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto will air on SHO EXTREME at 11:05 p.m. ET/PT.

FRIDAY, MAY 2
WEIGH-IN LIVE: Mayweather vs. Maidana, a one-hour live program, will air on SHOWTIME at 6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT and include coverage the official weigh-in, plus a special ALL ACCESS LIVE segment highlighted by an unedited, unscripted, live face-to-face meeting between the main event combatants a mere 24 hours before they square off in the ring. This program will be fed live via satellite, and stream on YouTube, Ustream and www.sho.com/sports. WEIGH-IN LIVE is available to simulcast on your network and website.

SHO EXTREME MARATHON will air five continuous hours of content related to “THE MOMENT,” including a replay of the WEIGH-IN at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana at 11 p.m. ET/PT and an ALL ACCESS marathon of all three episodes beginning at midnight ET/PT.

SATURDAY, MAY 3
SHO EXTREME MARATHON will continue with more than three hours of non-stop programming Saturday morning. ALL ACCESS Episodes 1, 2 and 3 will air consecutively beginning at 10 a.m. ET/PT. SHO EXTREME will air Mayweather’s record breaking pay-per-view event from last September vs. Canelo Alvarez at 11:30 a.m. ET/PT and Maidana’s hard-earned upset decision over Adrien Broner last December at 12:30 p.m. ET/PT.

COUNTDOWN LIVE: Mayweather vs. Maidana, a one-hour preview show on SHOWTIME that leads directly into the pay-per-view begins at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT and will be fed via satellite, and stream via YouTube, Ustream and sho.com/sports. The live program is available to simulcast on your network and website.

Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, presents live fight week coverage for The Moment: Mayweather vs. Maidana leading up to the highly anticipated welterweight championship unification bout between boxing’s pound-for-pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather and rugged WBA champion Marcos “El Chino” Maidana this Saturday night on Showtime PPV.

The live coverage gets underway on Wednesday, April 30, at 4 p.m. ET, with a broadcast of the final pre-fight press conference from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the site of Saturday’s blockbuster pay-per-view clash.

Then, on Friday, May 2, at 6 p.m. ET, Fight Network presents the live weigh-in as all the fighters tip the scales and face off one last time before throwing down on Saturday night.

In addition, Fight News Now Extra will feature exclusive satellite interviews with competitors from Saturday’s card, plus highlights from the grand arrivals and fighter workouts.

Then, on Saturday, May 3, at 12 p.m. ET, get your dose of boxing’s greatest superstar early as Fight Network presents a Mayweather fight marathon, featuring a quartet of classic battles against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley.

Getting the live fight action started early, Fight Network presents a special edition of Golden Boy Live! this Friday, May 2, at 10 p.m. ET, headlined by former world champion Ishe “Sugar Shay” Smith facing tough Illinois contender Ryan “Dangerous” Davis at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

In other featured bouts on the live May 2 card, rising lightweight star Mickey “The Spirit” Bey will meet hard-hitting Mexican veteran Alan “Explosivo” Herrera in a 10-round matchup and in the televised opener, Argentina’s Jesus Cuellar squares off with former world champion Rico Ramos in a 12-round bout for Cuellar’s WBA interim featherweight title.

The live fight week coverage complements a stacked slate of live events this week on Fight Network, including ONE Fighting Championship 15: Rise of Heroes on Friday, May 2, at 7 a.m. ET, Cage Warriors 68 on Saturday, May 3, at 4 p.m. ET, plus GLORY 16 Denver on Saturday, May 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit tv.fightnetwork.com and follow on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.

LONDON (April 29) – British boxing star Amir Khan has vowed to look his best yet despite spending the past year out the ring.

The former unified light-welterweight world champion has endured a frustrating 12 months having seen his chances of fighting Floyd Mayweather disintegrate when the pound-for-pound ace opted to fight Argentine bruiser Marcos Maidana instead.

Despite the setbacks, which saw Khan pass up the opportunity to take on Devon Alexander last December for the IBF welterweight title following assurances he would land ‘Money’ Mayweather, the Bolton pugilist is upbeat about his upcoming fight with the tricky southpaw Luis Collazo.

“It was a difficult time,” said Khan. “But the fact is I moved on fairly quick when I knew the Mayweather shot wasn’t happening. It was just about refocusing my mind on the next opponent and luckily we were able to announce Luis Collazo straight away which allowed me the chance to get back in the ring as soon as possible.

“I wanted a tough challenge at welterweight and not just to go in there against some average guy. Collazo is a legitimate welterweight who is very confident after his win against Victor Ortiz but I know I have the tools to beat him,” said Khan.

The Olympic silver medalist goes into the fight having not been in the ring since he overcame Julio Diaz in Sheffield last April.

Yet, Khan is confident he will be much improved having spent the last year locked away in the San Francisco gym of his esteemed American trainer Virgil Hunter.

“You’re going to see an improved Amir Khan, the best Amir Khan, there’s no doubt in my mind about that,” he said.

“Over the last 12 months I’ve been in camps with Virgil and we’ve been working on certain aspects of my game that I never really got the chance to work on because I just didn’t get the time as I was fighting so often.

“Through the last few months I’ve been focusing on improving myself and adding certain things to my game. Because I didn’t have an opponent lined up and I wasn’t fighting I had the time to look at myself and work on things I wanted to work on.

“On May 3rd I’m going to put that all into practice on the biggest stage and not only beat Collazo but look to beat him in real style,” said Khan.

The 27-year-old is also refusing to look past the Brooklyn banger as talk of a showdown with Mayweather later this year, should he prevail, constantly being mooted.

“I’m not thinking about other possible fights, my mind and my attention is solely on Luis Collazo. To overlook him would be foolish, he needs to be respected and I give him that respect,” said Khan.

“I don’t know what the future holds for me, all I know is I have to get through Luis Collazo to see what that might be. It’s a tough fight but one I’m ready for and very confident about.

“I can’t wait to get in the ring on Saturday because it’s been so long – I wish it was tomorrow,” Khan said.

The 33-year-old Collazo is also well aware of how big a fight this could be in his career.

The Puerto Rican-American has shared the ring with a number of top fighters, including a closely contested bout with fan favourite Ricky Hatton back in 2006.

Now, however, he is at a crossroads in his career, with a win over Khan propelling him into a shot at even bigger fights.

“This fight [against Khan] is my whole career right in front of me,” said Collazo. “I believe if I beat Amir Khan I have a bigger future in boxing and if I don’t, I have to start from the bottom again. I am not looking beyond Amir Khan. He is my main focus. From here whatever happens happens, but Amir Khan is all I’m thinking about right now.

“A win over Khan does put me in the Mayweather sweepstakes, but my sights are set on Khan,” he said.

Khan and Collazo’s bout will act as the chief support on a packed bill at the MGM Grand this Saturday, which also sees the brash talking Adrien Broner back in action against Carlos Molina, before the headliner Mayweather looks to make it 46-0 against the rugged Maidana.

BoxNation viewers will be able to see a special hour long countdown show previewing the respective Mayweather and Khan fights this Friday at 7pm, with the final ‘All Access: Mayweather v Maidana’ show premiering on Saturday at 7pm.

Mayweather vs. Maidana/Khan vs. Collazo is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday midnight. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Diaz and Mayweather vs Alvarez.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android. BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in theUK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 one off registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.

FLOYD “MONEY” MAYWEATHER, 10-Time Five-Division World Champion & WBC Welterweight World Champion

“On May 3, I’ve got to go out there and take my time, keep my composure and be me. Everybody thinks he’s just going to be a pushover, but I don’t think so. That’s why I’m training hard and I’m pushing myself to the limit every day.

“I know Maidana is going to come and bring his best, so I know that I cannot overlook him. I’m in training every day and dedicating myself.

“I think Maidana is more confident now than he was when he faced the kid from St. Louis, Devon Alexander. I think he’s more confident now, so I think he’s more ready and tough. If you have more confidence it’s going to make you fight harder.

“Of course I want my name to go down in history as the best, but also making smart business moves to be very lucrative and build your portfolio is important.

“I’ve been in so many career-defining fights I can’t really choose one particular that defines my legacy, but all of them played a major role.

“We must realize that I am the bigger guy even though I walk around at 150. I go no higher than 152. I’m naturally the bigger guy because I’ve been at 147 almost 10 years now, so I’m naturally the bigger guy.

“I can feel when a guy’s gonna punch. I can feel it. I don’t even have to see it; I can feel it.

“Maidana punches extremely hard if he has an 80 percent knockout ratio. That’s obviously his best attribute, but a lot of times when a guy’s swinging a lot of big shots and they’re not landing, you get fatigued like that.

“I haven’t been hit by Maidana yet, so I can’t really say if he’s the hardest puncher I’ve faced. I may be the hardest puncher he ever fought. He hasn’t been hit by me yet, so we’ll just have to see if he’s the hardest puncher.

“Boxing is always very, very important to me and always will be because this has put me in a position to have everything that I have. I want to help this sport live on. I want to help this sport continue to grow. That’s what it’s about.

“I think that I don’t get my credit that’s due because I think that I make A-level and B-level fighters look ordinary, but that comes from just having a sharp mind and just really pushing myself in training

“When I was young I always loved to entertain, I always loved to promote. We’ve done house parties when we were young teenagers, 13, 14. I know how to promote and make sure the party was packed, so promotion has always been something I am good at.

“It’s about being a smart. I don’t go into a fight thinking about losing. It’s about winning at life. The most important thing is winning at life.

“Before I became a champion, I worked hard. Now that I am a champion, each fight I have to work harder and harder to stay in this position.”

MARCOS “EL CHINO” MAIDANA, WBA Welterweight World Champion

“I’m very happy to be part of this event. I have prepared myself for the best part of my career.

“I’m going to go out to win it. Others haven’t been able to do it, I’m training to do it. I’m training to be the first one to do it.

“All I’ve got to say for people doubting me is to order the fight because they’re going to enjoy a good fight. They’re going to see me beat Floyd Mayweather.

“I feel better now that I’ve been working with Robert Garcia. I feel much better. My punches are connecting even stronger now because the punches are being thrown in a better location and with precision.

“I’m fighting and beating great fighters, most of them have the same style, very similar style and defensive, but I already beat Broner the way I did and I think I can do the same with Mayweather, but until I’m in the ring we’ll look for things that no one has seen.

“With Broner, everybody thought I had to knock him out and I beat him with a decision. I am preparing myself to go 12 rounds if it’s necessary. I’m preparing to hurt him every time I throw punches and if a knockout comes, then great, but I am preparing myself to win after 12 rounds.

“This is the most important part of my career. The fight with Broner gave me a lot of exposure, but this fight itself is the biggest fight of my career and it would be a tremendous upset and that’s what I’m training for, to upset the world and to do it for my country. It would be huge for my country.”

AMIR “KING” KHAN, Former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion

“I’m looking forward to the big fight against Luis Collazo. It’s my first fight at 147. I’m excited, I really believe that I belong in the welterweight division; it’s going to be my division for my future career.

“I really believe we can steal the show, and that’s all we want to do. Whenever I fight I want to give it 100 percent. I want to give the fans what they want to watch, and I really believe that this fight could be the one that could steal the show on the night.

“We’ve been working on just being patient, being smart, using the feet and the hands at the right time, using the defense and the offense at the right time, and my trainer Virgil Hunter has been changing me up. He’s making me understand the sport of boxing.

“This is a tough sport when you go into the ring with the likes of these tough guys like Collazo, and the fighters that you’re going to be facing, you have to be 100 percent ready. So I really believe I’ll be a better fighter at 147, I’ll be stronger, and I’ll keep a lot of my energy and strength and power in the shots.

“You’ll definitely see a different Amir Khan coming into this fight because I’ve had a lot of time to work on things, and work on new strategies, and also work with my trainers, Virgil Hunter and also my strength conditioner, Tony Brady. So, I know I’m going to be ready in this division, and I can’t wait to step in the ring.

“Collazo’s a one-of-a-kind fighter. He has his own style. I respect the way he fights and he always causes big problems to his opponents, and he does really well in the ring. I’m not going to compare him to any opponent I’ve faced before.

“Physically I think I’m a better fighter, and like I said, moving up to the next weight category is only going to make me a better fighter. We don’t want to go in and take easy fights, we want to fight the best out there, and it shows that Luis Collazo is one of the best out there by knocking out Victor Ortiz in his last fight, and proving himself.

“I really believe that I needed a long break off, and taking that time off sometimes makes you metaphysically and mentally a better fighter. I expect time will tell; we’ll see how much I’ve become a better fighter on the night of the fight.

“[On Collazo’s knockout of Victor Ortiz] It shows that he’s got power, he’s got speed, he’s got great movement. This is going to be a good fight, it’s going to be a tough fight. We’re going to be up against a tough Collazo; even the fights he’s lost, Collazo’s been very, very close.

“It’s all about putting a great performance on, putting a great fight on and giving the crowd what they want. The fans want to see a good fight, the fans want to see an exciting fight, and I think us two, the two styles we have will make this fight very exciting, and very good to watch.”

LUIS COLLAZO, WBA International Welterweight Champion

“This is a fight that could take me to another level in the welterweight division, and I’m just very humbled by the opportunity. May 3 is going to be a great night of boxing.

“Khan’s got great speed, but I think he might be a little bit slower than Andre Berto was, and that was a big fight for me. Come fight night we’ll definitely see if his speed is going to be a factor or not.

“If he takes me lightly, more power to him. But come fight night I’m just going to try to capitalize on all his mistakes. That’s my main thing, and I’m just working my butt off. I’m working hard to give all fans what they want, a great and exciting show.

“Sometimes all fighters are vulnerable. We all make mistakes. We’re not perfect, but that’s why different styles make beautiful fights and I’m just going to try to capitalize to the best of my ability.

“Khan is a great fighter, he’s been on top of the game quite some time now, and to be able to get this fight, it’s great. This is just getting me closer to where I really want to be, at the top of the welterweight division.

“I’ve been the underdog all my life, all my fights I was the one trying, the next fighter to step up. He’s coming to the welterweight division. I’m more than happy to welcome him to this weight class.

“You’ve got to go in there to take care of business, and you’ve got to be careful with how you’re taking shots. If you know you’re taking shots and the refs think you’re hurt, keep it moving, don’t stay there and keep getting those shots, and just be smart. I learned a lot from my previous fights and I’m just grateful for all the experiences that I have.

“From the Ricky Hatton fight I learned that anything could happen. And from the Victor Ortiz fight, I learned don’t leave it to the judges. I learned a lot and I’m just very excited and humbled by this opportunity. And come May 3 I’m just going to keep giving the boxing fans what they want, some more excitement.”

ADRIEN “THE PROBLEM” BRONER, Former Three-Division World Champion

“At the end of the day, everybody is looking for Adrien Broner to be this new humble guy. Well, if you’re looking for Adrien Broner to be this new humble guy, you won’t get it. I’m still the same fresh, flashy, young, rich and famous guy. I’m a young man, and I respect every fighter, but I’m ready to fight.

“Molina is a hell of a fighter. Like I said, I don’t disrespect any boxer. It takes a lot to get inside that square circle and I don’t take any boxer lightly. I just want him to be on his A-game May 3.

“Anybody taking a loss that I did, it would probably break them. But coming from where I come from, I’m strong mentally and physically so I’m OK. I’m personally proud of myself and I don’t care that a lot of people are looking for me to just go in here and walk over this guy, but at the end of the day they’re forgetting that he’s not just somebody to walk over, he’s a top-class fighter.

“After this fight they will see that I’m still ‘The Problem.’ Anybody can get it in the ring. I’m still the same guy.

“I know there’s a lot of people that dislike the things that I do, but there’s a lot of people that love the things that I do and they want to see Adrien Broner back on top and I will not disappoint them and anybody who wants to see me.”

CARLOS MOLINA, Junior Welterweight Contender

“We’re working hard for this fight. We’re very humbled to get this opportunity to fight on the big fight, on a Mayweather undercard, against Adrien Broner. We’re excited and we’ll be ready come May 3.

“I know the whole world is seeing me as an underdog, but that just motivates me even more. I think I’ve got a lot to prove in this fight. I’m coming off a loss with Amir Khan, so I’m going to go in there and I’m going to give it my all come May 3rd. I’ve been working extremely hard for this fight.

“I’m just going to continue to work hard and give you guys a great show come May 3. I know what’s on the line. I’m fighting a world-class fighter, so I’m going to give it my all.

“He’s a three-time world champion. He’s the one that’s supposed to put on a show, so I’m right here, just working hard and getting ready for May 3.”

J’LEON LOVE, Undefeated Super Middleweight Contender

“Periban is a tough fighter. I know he’s going to come with his A-game. I’m definitely going to come with my A-game, and that’s what’s makes fights right there.

“I’ve been training extremely hard. I’m definitely focused. It really comes down to May 3. I’m going to put my heart and all my determination into this fight.

“His talent is respected, but we’re definitely going to come in there and give it our all and make sure we come out victorious. I know that he’s trying to make history for his country. I’m trying to make history for my family and me and do what I have to do to win this fight.

“I am young. I’m still learning. I’m definitely there mentally and physically. We made the right decisions for our career and I have the best team behind me.

“I have a job to do and my job is to be in the best shape possible, be mentally focused and physically focused for these fights and this is a big opportunity. I’m making a name for myself, from small time Eastern Michigan; I’m putting all that on the map
and this is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid.

“With Periban, he has a great skill set. He’s tough, strong, he’s tall and he’s a rangy fighter. He has a lot of skill and he has a good jab. Anything can happen in this fight and you can’t look past anybody and a guy like him. He can upset a lot of people.

“I’m just being myself. I don’t want to be like Adrien Broner or Floyd Mayweather. I want to be like J’Leon Love. I’m just a cool guy. I’m laid back. I’m silly at times. That’s just me. I’m not angry. I’m blessed. I’m just happy to be alive. I’m healthy and these opportunities are coming and I’m happy for it.”

MARCOS ANTONIO PERIBAN, NABF Super Middleweight Champion

“I understand that Mr. Love is in the way of me capturing my dream of fighting for the world championship. It’s very important for me to become world cChampion because by doing so I will be the first Mexican in history at 168 pounds to ever hold the championship for the WBC.

“It’s a fight that I must take the opportunity and be successful in and I can’t let Mr. Love beat me because basically it derails my opportunity to become world champion and to make history for Mexico.”

“I’m very focused. I want that title. I want that title for Mexico, so you can expect a very focused and determined fighter on May 3..

“Love is a very dangerous fighter and he has a lot of technical skills to him, so basically my training is no longer focused on my strength, but basically on the tactics that I’m going to use to fight Love.”

# # #

“THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” is a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com.

Six MGM Resorts Properties will host live closed circuit telecast of THE MOMENT: Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Monte Carlo. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $75, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711 or at www.mgmgrand.com. Select properties also will sell tickets through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or by purchasing online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE MOMENT” will also be broadcast on nearly 520 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at
www.FathomEvents.com.

LAS VEGAS (April 28, 2014) – On Saturday, May 3, Marcos “El Chino” Maidana will be fighting for more than the unified welterweight world championship and glory of defeating the pound-for-pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather. The hard-hitting Argentine powerhouse will be representing a country with a deep and storied tradition in the sweet science when he steps into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a 12-round welterweight world unification bout live on SHOWTIME PPV®.

For a country known for its passion for soccer, Argentina boasts an impressive boxing history that includes 39 world champions. Today, high profile Argentine boxers are littered across the sport’s landscape including middleweight world champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, former interim world champion Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse, who is coming off of an amazing win over John Molina last Saturday, former WBC welterweight World ChampionCarlos “Tata” Baldomir, three-time light welterweight world champion Juan Martin “Latigo” Coggi and current WBA Interim Featherweight World Champion Jesus Cuellar.

“I know I not only carry the weight of my Argentine people into the ring with me, but also the pride and glory of Hispanics around the world,” said Maidana. ” It would mean everything to me to be able to do something that no one has done in this sport before. I know it will bring great pride to Argentina.”

Mayweather has faced other Argentine fighters during his storied career, defeating Gustavo Cuello in 1998, Carlos Rios in 1999 and Baldomir in 2006, all three by unanimous decision. The question now is whether Maidana is the person who will end this trend.

“Maidana has every possible chance of winning. He has two bricks in his hands and he’s shown that fact on several occasions,” Martinez told Boxing Scene.

“Marcos has the power to hurt Mayweather. We saw that in the [Adrien] Broner fight,” said Matthysse. “If he connects with the right shot and has a chance to connect with more shots, he will be able to beat Mayweather.”

“I think Maidana could win this fight by way of knockout, that’s the only way to go against Mayweather,” Baldomir told ESPN in a recent interview. “Maidana has to break Mayweather’s defense and land one of his signature heavy punches.”

“As an Argentine, I must confess that a victory from Maidana will bring Argentina a huge pride, especially because he’s facing Floyd Mayweather, who is the best pound for pound fighter in the world,” said Coggi. “El Chino has a heavy punch, that’s key for his victory over Mayweather. ”

Despite the long line of champions, the history of Argentines facing No. 1-rated pound-for-pound champions is also strewn with disappointments. Four times an Argentine fighter has found himself in that position and has failed to break through. While these losses were to the household names of Jack Dempsey, Marvin Hagler, Pernell Whitaker and Muhammad Ali, Argentine fans are no doubt clamoring for one of their own to capture their own legendary moment.

Maidana is off to a good-start in making Argentine history, after his thrilling upset of Broner last December. He became the second boxer, after Martinez to be awarded with the “Marca Pais” or “Argentine Trademark.” This honor is given by the Argentine Ministry of Tourism as a way of expressing the pride and support that the Argentine nation has for those individuals.

Maidana will take this and his powerful fists into Las Vegas this week with the hopes of rewriting the history of Argentine boxing from one of just-misses to one of triumph and glory.

# # #

THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” is a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com.

Six MGM Resorts Properties will host live closed circuit telecast of THE MOMENT: Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Monte Carlo. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $75, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711 or at www.mgmgrand.com. Select properties also will sell tickets through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or by purchasing online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE MOMENT” will also be broadcast on nearly 520 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

LONDON (April 28) – Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather is refusing to underestimate renowned knockout artist Marcos Maidana ahead of their megafight this weekend.

The pair clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday night, live and exclusive on BoxNation, with boxing’s number one superstar adamant that he will need to be at his very best to overcome the formidable Argentine.

Despite some calling into question Maidana’s chances, the WBC welterweight world champion believes the Santa Fe native’s victory over Adrien Broner to claim the WBA crown last December shows he’s not one to be overlooked.

“Adrien Broner’s a good boxer and he roughed Adrien Broner up and he got the victory, so we can’t say what this guy, can or he can’t do. We cannot overlook the guy,” said Mayweather.

“I can’t just say he’s going to be an easy fight because he’s not going to be an easy fight for me, I don’t think so. What I have to do is I’ve got to make sure that I’m at my best.

“I think when Maidana’s facing me his confidence is built after he beat Adrien Broner because he feels that both of the styles are very, very similar, so it’s like the same style.

“So May 3 I’ve got to go out there and take my time, keep my composure and be me. Everybody thinks he’s just going to be a pushover, but I don’t think so. That’s why I’m training hard and I’m pushing myself to the limit every day,” he said.

Despite his impressive victory over Broner, the 30-year-old Maidana has already suffered defeat at the hands of another man fighting on the bill, British star Amir Khan.

The former unified light-welterweight world champion takes on Luis Collazo on the same night, but Mayweather has refused to focus solely on attacking Maidana’s body, a focal point Khan and others have used to their benefit.

“My focus is this guy. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be well rounded and ready for this fight because this is at a total different level.

“Against Amir Khan, the guy could have been doing a lot of sit-ups and making his body in tip-top condition and tip-top shape. Amir Khan could have just caught him with a good shot,” said Mayweather.

“My body is in very good condition, but sometimes a guy can hit me with a good shot and I can feel it, but we just don’t know how we’re going to approach the fight.

“We’re going to take our time and go out there and if a guy leaves an opening on his face, we’re going to take it, if he leaves an opening on his body we’re going to take it, but we can’t just say we’re going to go in there and everything is going to go to the body. We’re going to take our time and pick the guy apart,” he said.

No matter how the fight pans out the elusive Mayweather, who has captured eight world titles in five weight divisions, is certain that this will be one of the most entertaining bouts this year as he looks to stand in front of the rugged Maidana.

“We must realize that I am the bigger guy even though I walk around at 150. I go no higher than 152. I’m naturally the bigger guy because I’ve been at 147 almost 10 years now, so I’m naturally the bigger guy. I think that my dad has the game plan to stay in the pocket, make the guy miss and make the guy pay,” he said.

It is the fact he is able to see the shots coming and adjust which will allow Mayweather to adopt this game plan despite the threat such a bold strategy like this presents against one of the best punchers around.

“I can see the shots,” said Mayweather. “Actually, I can feel when a guy’s going to punch. I can feel it. I don’t even have to see it; I can feel it. You know, this is just with experience and being around the sport so long. I can just feel a guy when he’s going to shoot his shot. A lot of times guys telegraph their shot. Their body language gives away when they’re going to shoot because of how they position themselves.

“So when a guy positions himself in a certain way you know what shot he’s going to throw, but my thing is whatever a guy’s best attribute is, whatever he does best, my goal is to take that away from him and make him resort to doing something else,” he said.

Mayweather vs. Maidana is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday night from midnight. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

By Bart Barry–

Saturday American Floyd “Money” Mayweather will fight once more at MGM Grand, this time with Argentine Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, in a welterweight title match the prestigious WBA has honored with “Super World” status, defying courageously those haters who argued for its belt to bear an “Average World” or “Lopsided World” appellation. Mayweather, who doesn’t care what anyone thinks, probably wouldn’t have paid their fees for anything less than a shot at “Super World” supremacy. How serendipitous.

If a Buddhist monk who spends his days meditating in a burlap coverall tells you he doesn’t care what others think, you might believe him. But if ever a man who spends tens of millions of dollars on conspicuous displays of his wealth tells you he doesn’t, check your wallet. Recently Robin Leach came out of retirement – surely he doesn’t need the money, because everyone who comes out of retirement never needs the money, just a rekindled love of the game – to walk us through the Big Boy Mansion in the 15th or so vacuous homage to Floyd Mayweather’s residence, showing us the million-dollar automobiles Mayweather drives alternately to a boxing gym and fastfood eatery, and the bedizened jewels Mayweather wears over white t-shirts.

It was another tired move from a tired franchise in a tired sport. Most of the off-television coverage of Saturday’s match has treated the prohibitive ratio oddsmakers assign the fight, declaring in a short declarative sentence not unlike that last one that Marcos Maidana hasn’t a jot of a chance of beating Floyd Mayweather. Those guys know their craft, and they understand probability better than Mayweather’s companions do, and they see no reason Maidana should beat Mayweather, and they are correct, there really isn’t a reason to expect anything that resembles a competitive main event Saturday. If you’re reading this, though, you’re part of the reliable half-million or so Americans our industry needs to buy every fight, and for your loyalty you deserve some reason to watch better than what pap Showtime infomercials offer.

Floyd Mayweather has to be in control of everything to be comfortable. Raised in what might euphemistically be called an unstable household, Mayweather imposes order wherever he can and does not relinquish it. He is perhaps the greatest handicapper of opponents boxing has ever seen, never endangering himself in a real fight against a real opponent when it can possibly be avoided. If Mayweather did not know about Antonio Margarito’s propensity for liberal hand-wrapping techniques in 2006, Mayweather absolutely knew something was off about him and wanted no part of a guy who was that big, somehow made 147 pounds for a few minutes of every year, and was incapable of discouragement.

Mayweather got the hell out of his contract with promoter Top Rank, in retrospect the best business decision made by a boxer in a generation, and fought Margarito’s wornout sparring partner Carlos Baldomir instead, because the Argentine surprised everyone and beat Zab Judah, three months before Mayweather did (don’t ask), and then changed his name to “Money” from “Pretty Boy” – a somewhat lamentable choice, as Mayweather has more beauty in person than cameras credit him, and money is, well, an idea so mundane it’s what every American dad spends 40 weekly hours making.

When he’s on, “Chino” Maidana does an excellent imitation of a fighter who is not in control. His footwork is a jumbled mess, his right hand is more like a club than a piston, his left hand is thrown with many times more commitment than technique, and his defense is poor enough that, after 38 prizefights and many more amateur bouts, his dad felt compelled to interrupt a televised barbecue and tell Chino to employ head movement. Odds are, that’s not the way to beat Mayweather – odds are, once more, pronouncedly that way. But in about the only reasonably unfiltered answer Mayweather gave his conference-call audience last week, “Money” did mention Emanuel Burton-Augustus as his toughest opponent, and Burton/Augustus was an old-time opponent who understood the value of dropping a competitive fight to a hometown favorite, quite often a more lucrative way to make a living than Maidana’s approach of whupping someone like Victor Ortiz in Staples Center, and imagine for a second the skill it takes to travel the country losing competitive fights without imperiling yourself unnecessarily. It also takes a lad who’s a bit off-kilter, and Burton-Augustus was surely that.

Maidana’s style was not built to solve the Mayweather style – Maidana’s style was built only to pulverize whatever object, animate or otherwise, came in its way – but it might have the ancillary effect of discomfiting Mayweather enough to make him entertain us for a brief respite, at least entertain us more than the aggregate of Mayweather’s last two opponents, Ghostly Canelo, managed to do. When I asked Paulie Malignaggi a few months ago how you fight a guy like Maidana, Malignaggi said you do nothing you didn’t learn in your first six months in a boxing gym. You go back to basics till you’re boring yourself.

Mayweather knows to do this; unlike the impostor buffoon Maidana traumatized in December, Mayweather comes right out of his cutiepie defense the second he’s touched for real. In their 2010 match, Shane Mosley dropped a right hand on Mayweather that made Money’s knees clap, and what did Mayweather do next? He set his hands high, went forward behind his jab, and applied pressure, like they teach on your first day in a gym.

Mayweather has much better footwork than the men whom Maidana has beaten up, and he’s physically stronger, too. He knows Maidana can be discouraged, and he will locate, before the bell sounds for round 4, the guy who dropped every minute to a 147-pound Devon Alexander and barely outboxed at 140 an unretired version of Erik Morales knocked-out twice by Manny Pacquiao five years earlier at super featherweight.

As ever, if this fight goes nine minutes without Mayweather being hurt badly, it will not be competitive. I’ll take Mayweather, UD-12, then, and hope for the sake of this increasingly moribund sport and its committed fans to be entirely wrong.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

LONDON (April 25) – Rising star Keith Thurman is ready to do the business against former world champion Julio Diaz this weekend before going after IBF champion Shawn Porter.

The highly touted Thurman, who has been making serious waves in the welterweight division, goes up against the experienced Diaz, who ran Amir Khan extremely close 12 months ago, this Saturday night at the StubHub Center in California, live on BoxNation.

Florida native Thurman’s reputation continues to grow with many in the sport predicating that he will be the man to rule over the 147 pound weight class in the near future, but first one of boxing’s biggest punchers must show the hype is for real as he faces his sternest test yet.

“What excites me most is being in the main event. They could have put me on other cards as a co-feature, but this shows me respect and I want to thank Golden Boy for that,” said Thurman, who has amassed a record of 20 knockouts in his 22 wins.

“Every fighter has to take it one fight at a time, and I’m going in on Saturday to do my job. Winning on Saturday is obviously very important. Others in my division are already name-fighters, but I’m just starting to build mine.

“I’m still coming up in the world of boxing. So this is a chance for me to show that I’m not like all others,” he said.

The unbeaten 25-year-old has proven to have a crowd pleasing style, which he refuses to change, and will continue with that against the respected Diaz.

“I expect Diaz to fight his heart out,” said Thurman. “He says he plans to knock me out. I don’t know if that’s fight hype or his strategy, but I’ll be ready. I want guys who come to fight. I want to make and be in the best fights. On my record I have an ‘O’ but I’m not afraid to let it go.

“I work very hard and count my blessings that I’m where I’m at. I love the support the fans give me. We’re going to give them a real fight on Saturday,” he said.

A potential fight which has been mooted for later this year is a clash with the current IBF welterweight world champion Porter.

The all-action Porter, who recently blasted his way past Paulie Malignaggi in a highly impressive knockout win, has gone from strength-to-strength since he faced Diaz in two closely contested bouts, prior to capturing his world title against Devon Alexander last year.

Thurman is aware of how closely Diaz ran Porter but is eyeing up the possibility of facing the Ohio man should he prevail in his next fight.

“Diaz had some great performances against Shawn Porter and he gave Amir Khan a great fight. Diaz is a former world champion. They say he’s a veteran with a lot of experience. But I’m 25 and have been at this for 18 years, so I’m a veteran, too,” he said.

“I’ve known Shawn Porter and his Dad for years. I know they’re calling me out. When the time is right, we’ll fight. I expect to fight for maybe another 10 years,” Thurman added.

34-year-old Diaz, however, believes he is no one to overlook having been counted out on many occasions before springing a surprise.

The two-time world champion believes he can do much of the same when he faces off against one of boxing’s most touted prospects.

“They said I was an old man three years ago and said it was time for me to retire. Actually, I’ve been hearing the same thing for 15 years. They said it when I lost my title. They said it when I got knocked out. But I’m still here,” said Diaz.

“I’ve always felt like a world champion, which is a reason that I’m able to come back and win fights no one thinks I can. The biggest mistake I made, I think, was staying at lightweight too long. I think I fought at 135 for 12-13 years,” he explained.

“Going against Thurman is a very dangerous opportunity for me, but one I have to take. I have to take a big risk in any fight that comes my way to get the big reward.

“Keith Thurman is for real. He’s getting all the attention. But that’s the way it always is before my fights. Let’s see what they’re saying after our fight on Saturday,” said Diaz.

Saturday night’s card is stacked with some of the biggest hitting stars around, with Argentine ace Lucas Matthysse making his ring return following his thriller against Danny Garcia last September when he steps in against another puncher in John Molina.

World title action on the night sees the heavy handed Omar Figueroa defend his WBC lightweight belt against fellow Texan Jerry Belmontes.

Also, this Sunday from 7pm, BoxNation viewers will be able to see the premiere of episode two ‘All Access: Mayweather v Maidana’ as we delve into their respective camps ahead of the mega showdown next Saturday night.

Thurman vs. Diaz is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

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Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Diaz and Mayweather vs Alvarez.

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Kelly Swanson
Thank you, everybody, for joining us today. We are promoting “THE MOMENT” and we’ve had so many great moments promoting this event. I find this call to be one of our special moments because we have none other than the pound-for-pound king, Floyd “Money” Mayweather available to talk to you today. He, of course, is a 10-time five-division world champ and the current WBC Welterweight World Champion.

You will be receiving your fight week schedule very shortly and it will give you all the details for what’s to come next week as we prepare for the fight week of the May 3 bout. So without further ado, I’m going to turn it over to Leonard Ellerbe, Chief Executive Officer of Mayweather Promotions, to make the introductions.

Leonard Ellerbe
I’d like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today. We’re just 10 days away from “THE MOMENT.” Will this be the moment that Maidana shocks the world and becomes victorious? You just have to see. Will this be the moment that, for the first time, Maidana gets stopped? You have to just wait and see.

Obviously, this fight will be brought to us by none other than SHOWTIME PPV® and without further ado, I’d like to introduce the man who controls and runs everything at SHOWTIME, none other than the Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports, Stephen Espinoza.

Stephen Espinoza
Just a couple of programming notes before I turn it back over to Leonard and to Floyd. We will be premiering Episode 2 of All Access this weekend, 6:00 p.m. Pacific, 9:00 Eastern immediately preceding our three-fight, heavy hitters card. If you missed Episode 1, it’s available just about everywhere from the SHOWTIME website to On-Demand, SHOWTIME Anytime and YouTube and virtually everywhere else.

We were also well into our pre-fight programming on SHOWTIME OnDemand and SHOWTIME Anytime as well as many other places. We are already featuring classic Mayweather fights, classic Maidana fights and many of the undercard fighters from J’Leon Love to Adrien Broner to Amir Khan, but I know you are all anxious to hear from the champ, so I’ll turn it back over to you, Leonard, and I will see you all next week.

L. Ellerbe
So without further ado, TBE, the man himself.

Floyd Mayweather
First, I want to thank Stephen Espinoza, I want to thank SHOWTIME, I want to thank CBS, I want to thank Leonard Ellerbe, I want to thank Al Haymon, I want to thank Richard Schaefer, I want to thank Kelly Swanson, I want to thank everybody, all the networks and all the people that are covering this fight and all the people that have covered my fights throughout the years.

I want to thank you guys and I just want to say I really appreciate you and everybody that’s a part of the event and that helped get these events started, “THE MOMENT”. I couldn’t choose a better team, because we work as one. I know Maidana is going to come and bring his best, so I know that I cannot overlook him, so I’m in training every day and dedicating myself.

Q
What were you able to do, in terms of the promotion, that you all were able to put together, such an amazing card?

L. Ellerbe
Yes, the card from top to bottom is stacked. We felt as though the fans; it’s all about giving the fans the value for their money, and that’s what Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions is about when we’re putting on these major events.

Q
Can you just talk about your relationship with Leonard and why that has been so successful and so stable over the years?

F. Mayweather
This is something a lot of people don’t know. Let me enlighten people on the story with Leonard Ellerbe. Now, Leonard Ellerbe had not a good job but a great-paying job in D.C. He’s from D.C. Had a good-paying job, and people don’t know how Leonard got with me.

Leonard came out here. Leonard used to go on trips, used to pay his own way to go on trips with us and just help out, and he used to leave his job. He’d leave his job and fly on his own money because he had, I think, it was a six-figure paying job. He also was a fitness trainer. He had another job, so he was making very good money.

He left all that, paid his own way to come support me, and one particular time he was doing some charity work for me. He was doing everything to make sure I got up to do my runs, he was doing security work for me and everything, and all he was making, it wasn’t big money because I was making good money but I wasn’t paying him what I feel like I should have been paying him. But you know, times have changed. He stuck with me through thick and thin. We’ve been through a lot together. He stuck with me through everything. I’m happy to say he’s a multimillionaire now, so I feel like it was worth it, the wait was worth it, and we go through a lot.

A lot of times people don’t see we go through a lot. Because we strive for the best. We strive for the best, but at the end of the day it’s about communication and one thing that we can do, I respect him as a man, he respects me as a man and we can communicate, and I will always love Leonard Ellerbe. He’s doing a tremendous job.

S. Espinoza
If I could make one addition back to your first question, there are some things that Floyd and Leonard are actually I think a little too modest about, so I’ll go ahead and voice this for them.

As you’ve heard from Richard and Leonard in the past, this is the most expensive undercard in the history of pay-per-view undercards. To be more specific that is an investment by Floyd and by Mayweather Promotions. So all credit goes to him for investing not just in this event but in investing in the growth of the sport because from the network perspective, it is only through events of this magnitude that we really grow to the casual fans. When we talk about appeal to the casual fans, Floyd is head and shoulders above everyone else.

This is not a card that we needed to support this event. This was something that Mayweather Promotions went above and beyond to do and took money out of their pocket to do so, and I think that needs to be recognized as an investment in the sport.

Q
When you have been devising the game plan for Marcos Maidana did you or your team feel as though it was really Devon Alexander that laid down the blueprint to defeat somebody like Maidana?

F. Mayweather
I think that what’s different is Maidana may not be accustomed to fighting southpaws, so that could have played a major key into his fight with Devon Alexander. Also he was fighting on Alexander’s turf and I think the difference between me and Alexander, he’s a more straight-up boxer. I think he’s a more straight-up boxer but I think when Maidana’s facing me his confidence is built after he beat Adrien Broner because he feels that both of the styles are very, very similar, so it’s like the same style.

I think he’s more confident now than he was when he faced the kid from St. Louis, Devon Alexander. I think he’s more confident now, so I think he’s more ready and tough. If you have more confidence it’s going to make you fight harder.

Q
Is Maidana as good as he was against Broner? Is he as bad as he was against Alexander? Or is he really average, in between there somewhere?

F. Mayweather
You know, I can’t really say, but one thing that I did notice, as some of you know I look at a lot of things. I don’t have anything against anyone, but I noticed that when the guy, Alex Ariza, was in Amir Khan’s corner and when he faced Maidana, Amir Khan looked super strong in that fight. Then you go back and look at it, I go look at Maidana’s fights against certain guys, like when he fought Alexander, he was strong, he was still coming ahead because he’s the kind of guy that comes straight ahead, and liked the looped shots. He wasn’t as strong as he was in the Adrien Broner fight. In the Adrien Broner fight he was a lot stronger than he was in a lot of his past fights.

So you know, I don’t know if Alex Ariza plays a major role into that, but when I sit back and I look, I’m looking at Pacquiao versus Bradley and I notice ever since Ariza has not been with Pacquiao anymore there’s been a total change in his power. So I look at things like that and I question things like that to myself, but I don’t worry about anything and I’m not going to say nothing about Ariza because I think he’s a pretty cool guy. I don’t really know him, but we got USADA, which is the best in the world, and we’re going to continue to go out there and do what we supposed to do.

L. Ellerbe
To touch on what Floyd just said, I have got firsthand information on the Maidana-Alexander fight. He (Maidana) was asked to pull out the fight because he was very, very sick. He was asked to pull out but he refused to. He’s not one, obviously, to make any excuses, but the facts are what the facts are.

Q
Floyd, you mentioned the Pacquiao and Bradley fight. Did you watch the fight? What were your thoughts on Pacquiao’s performance.

F. Mayweather
Yes, actually I did watch the fight. You know, I haven’t seen Pacquiao fight in years. I’ve seen highlights. I haven’t seen Pacquiao since before Miguel Cotto. I thought that he deserved congratulations. He’s the better man, but as far as Bradley, whoever he’s working out with, they have to make a lot of changes because he’s lifting too many weights. I think he’s more worried about how he looks when he get on the scale instead of how he performs inside that ring. I thought that Bradley went out there and fought his heart out, but I think he was pulling a lot of shots like an amateur. I think he was making a lot of mistakes and he was very fatigued early on. I think that he was making a lot of mistakes, falling off balance and fighting like an amateur.

I think both fighters fought like amateurs. I thought Pacquiao fought like an amateur also, and I wasn’t pleased with his performance, but he got the victory the best way he knows how, but I wasn’t pleased with his performance and I’m seeing something totally different in Pacquiao.

So FightHype had a story out that I was looking at that was very interesting. You go read the story when Freddie Roach was saying that he didn’t know what Alex Ariza was giving his fighters. He didn’t know what he was giving his fighters. So go read the FightHype article. Pull it up.

It was kind of crazy when I heard that, but like I said before, I don’t see the same pop in Pacquiao’s shots. Once again, I’m not saying this guy is doing anything, but I don’t see the same snap in his shots. He’s getting tired when he wasn’t getting tired before. I’m seeing something totally different whereas me, I’m still sharp, I’m still smart, I’m not getting fatigued. I wasn’t getting fatigued from the beginning, and those are the things that I see. I don’t know if you guys see it, but that’s what I see.

Q
At this time in your boxing career, what is most important to you – your legacy or business or what?

F. Mayweather
A little bit of both. Of course, I want my name to go down in history as the best, but just making smart business moves to be very lucrative and build your portfolio.

Q
What fights do you feel like so far define your legacy the most, Floyd?

F. Mayweather
I can’t really say. I really don’t know. I’ve been in so many career-defining fights I can’t really choose one particular one, but all of them played a major role, a very major key.

Q
Can you kind of characterize what’s going to happen in this fight? And also, how big are body shots going to be in this fight, because a body shot is what Khan dropped him with in the first round.

F. Mayweather
My focus is this guy. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be well-rounded and ready for this fight because this is at a total different level. Against Amir Khan, the guy could have been doing a lot of sit-ups and making his body in tip-top condition and tip-top shape. Amir Khan could have just caught him with a good shot. My body is in very good condition, but sometimes a guy can hit me with a good shot and I can feel it, but we just don’t know how we’re going to approach the fight. We’re going to take our time and go out there and if a guy leaves an opening on his face, we’re going to take it, if he leaves an opening on his body we’re going to take it, but we can’t just say we’re going to go in there and everything is going to go to the body. We’re going to take our time and pick the guy apart.

Q
Are going to be staying in the pocket – is that what you meant when you said that?

F. Mayweather
We must realize that I am the bigger guy even though I walk around at 150. I go no higher than 152. I’m naturally the bigger guy because I’ve been at 147 almost 10 years now, so I’m naturally the bigger guy. I think that my dad has the game plan to stay in the pocket, make the guy miss and make the guy pay.

Q
Can you describe what you see from your vantage point and what you look for in a fight?

F. Mayweather
Well, I can see the shots. Actually, I can feel when a guy’s gonna punch. I can feel it. I don’t even have to see it; I can feel it. You know, this is just with experience and being around the sport so long. I can just feel a guy when he’s going to shoot his shot. A lot of times guys telegraph their shot. Their body language gives away when they’re going to shoot because of how they position themselves.

So when a guy positions himself in a certain way you know what shot he’s going to throw, but my thing is whatever a guy’s best attribute is, whatever he does best, my goal is to take that away from him and make him resort to doing something else.

Q
What does Maidana do best?

F. Mayweather
Well, he punches extremely hard if he has an 80 percent knockout ratio. That’s obviously his best attribute, but a lot of times when a guy’s swinging a lot of big shots and they’re not landing, you get fatigued like that.

Q
You and Al Haymon will be honored two days before your fight as Fighter of the Year and Manager of the Year. Can you characterize your relationship with him and what that means to you to be honored like that?

F. Mayweather
Like I said before, it’s a huge honor. I’m very thankful, very blessed, and everybody that voted for me, all the media and all the people on all of the social outlets, different social media sites, I’m just thankful. I didn’t do it by myself; everybody that’s on this conference call played a major role with helping me and helping Al.

Q
Do you think Maidana is the hardest puncher that you’ve been in with?

F. Mayweather
Well, I haven’t been hit by Maidana yet, so I can’t really say. I may be the hardest puncher he ever fought. He hasn’t been hit by me yet, so we’ll just have to see if he’s the hardest puncher.

Q
How many instances have you actually even just been hurt in a fight? I remember Mosley buzzed you pretty good. How many other punches have hurt you in a fight?

F. Mayweather
I’m not really sure; you get hit with good shots sometimes, but any true champion just shakes it off and just keep fighting. That’s just part of the game.

Q
It seems that the only way this guy can beat you is with his power. Do you see him being able to outbox you for 12 rounds?

F. Mayweather
Adrien Broner’s a good boxer and he roughed Adrien Broner up and he got to victory, so we can’t say what this guy, what he can or he can’t do. We cannot overlook the guy. I can’t just say he’s going to be an easy fight because he’s not going to be an easy fight for me, I don’t think so. What I have to do is I’ve got to make sure that I’m at my best. So May 3 I’ve got to go out there and take my time, keep my composure and be me. Everybody thinks he’s just going to be a pushover, but I don’t think so. That’s why I’m training hard and I’m pushing myself to the limit every day.

Q
You’re 37 now and there’s not a person out there who would think that you’ve slowed down in the least. You might even be better than you were 10 years ago. But my question is, is boxing any more or less important in your life now than it was, say, five or 10 years ago?

F. Mayweather
Boxing is always very, very important to me and always will be because this has put me in a position to have everything that I have. This has put me in a position to be able to secure my family and secure myself. Boxing is something I love and that’s all we know, is the fight game. But I just want to be a part of the sport. I want to help this sport live on. I want to help this sport continue to grow. That’s what it’s about.

Q
You can’t fight forever. Have you been thinking about what you’d like to do in boxing once you hang it up?

F. Mayweather
Yeah, I’m going to continue to just help Mayweather Promotions grow, I want to continue to help fighters and I want to continue to help this sport, period. Even if they’re not with Mayweather Promotions, I want to continue to keep boxing around. I want boxing to grow. We are always looking for the next Floyd Mayweather, so after this fight I have three more fights and we have to be looking for the next Floyd Mayweather, we have to be looking for the next pay-per-view star, but I think you have a lot of guys out there that can – I don’t know if they can replace Floyd Mayweather, but I think they can become pay-per-view stars, and Canelo is one of those guys.

Q
Were you impressed by Canelo in his fight against Angulo? Did you see that fight? That just made your win over him seem even bigger.

F. Mayweather
Canelo looked unbelievable against Angulo. I was like, this guy, he’s back. What else can I say? It’s the only thing I can say, that he’s back.

Q
Bernard Hopkins talked about some time before he retires possibly fighting you. Obviously, he’s a lot bigger than you. Have you ever entertained that thought?

F. Mayweather
I mean, I think everybody’s trying to hit the jackpot and fight Floyd Mayweather, from heavyweight all the way down to flyweight. I think Bernard Hopkins, I didn’t get to see the fight. I think I caught the first two rounds because I really wanted to watch Kid Chocolate because he’s originally from Grand Rapids, Mich., so I wanted to root for Kid Chocolate because I know he’s a friend of mine and he came up watching me.

But I watched the first couple rounds and I thought that Bernard Hopkins was losing the fight, I guess. Then I went for a six-mile run, so I guess when I was out doing my six-mile run I guess he picked the pace up and I guess he was victorious. But I can’t take that away from Bernard Hopkins. He’s a legend. He’s a legend like myself and of course, you get your biggest payday when you’re facing Floyd Mayweather.

Q
Floyd, in your last fight in Vegas against Canelo Alvarez, the public perception was obviously a little bit different then going into this one – bigger, stronger, he had what people perceived to be the skillset to finally be the guy who maybe knocked you off in the ring, and people don’t have that same type of feeling, I don’t think, about Maidana.

My question is that do you worry at all about any sort of a letdown going into this fight after all the hype that surrounded THE ONE?

F. Mayweather
No. You know, I try to always think positive. We always try to think positive. All we can do is dedicate ourselves and work hard and try to get good results. It’s the only thing I can really say.

You had a fighter in Canelo that you rarely see, so that was something that everybody wanted to see, and it was more like a chess match and I was Bobby Fischer. So then, with this fight you have a guy, a rugged guy that comes straight ahead with an attitude of ‘I just don’t care.’ He just dethroned one of the top undefeated fighters, so like I said before, it’s a good matchup.

Q
Do you feel like to a certain degree that maybe you’ve become a little bit of a victim of your own success? You’ve made so many great fighters throughout your career look ordinary when they get in the ring with you. A guy like Shane Mosley, a Hall of Fame fighter, you made him look ordinary. A guy like Juan Manuel Marquez, another Hall of Fame fighter, you made him look ordinary. So do you think that maybe in the public’s perception you don’t get a lot of the credit for these fights not because you’re not fighting good fighters but because when they get in the ring with you you’re on another level and just making them look ordinary?

F. Mayweather
Yes, so yes, back to that question you were asking, I think that I don’t get my credit that’s due because I think that I make A-level and B-level fighters look ordinary, but that comes from just having a sharp mind and just really, really pushing myself in training, pushing myself very, very hard in training and so when it’s time to go out there and perform, everything is easy.

Q
If you could take yourself out of your head for a second here and not be Floyd Mayweather and looked at yourself from an outside perspective, how would you approach a fight with Floyd Mayweather? How would you train and prepare to fight Floyd Mayweather?

F. Mayweather
I can’t really say. How would I fight Floyd Mayweather? I don’t really know. I can’t really say. I just go out there. It’s just second nature to me. I just go out there. It’s what I’ve done my whole life. I was born to be a fighter. But when I was young I always loved to entertain, I always loved to promote. We’ve done house parties when we were young teenagers, 13, 14. I know how to promote and make sure the party was packed, so promotion has always been something I was very, very strong in, but now that we have our own company I’m very, very happy with that, but how would I fight Floyd Mayweather? I really don’t know. I really can’t say.

Q
Floyd, how important is for your legacy to retire undefeated and who do you think has been the closest fighter to defeating you?

F. Mayweather
As I said before, it’s about being a smart. I don’t go into a fight thinking about losing. It’s about winning at life. The most important thing is winning at life. I don’t really think about losing in the ring. I think about winning in life, just period. So as far as what guy, a lot of times people say the Castillo first fight. In the Castillo first fight I wasn’t just fighting Castillo; I was fighting Larry Merchant, so he’s commentating, persuading everybody to look at the fight a certain way whereas I was hurt in the fight, my arm was hurt in the fight, but there’s no excuses. I know I won, and I’m not just saying it just to say it. I know deep in my heart I won. That’s why if I feel I didn’t win I wouldn’t have fought him in a rematch. I’m saying when I did it the first time I came back and did it the same way a second time.

Emanuel Agustus, but when I fought him he was Emanuel Burton. He was probably by far, I mean, well-rounded and one of my toughest opponents. And he was the guy that didn’t have a real – his record didn’t reflect how he fought. Normally he takes fights on a week notice, a two-week notice or a four, five-day notice whereas with me had a chance to go to training camp and prepare. So Emanuel Agustus was a very, very, very tough opponent that I faced, but we got the job done and it’s not about winning – it’s not about winning inside the ring; it’s about winning outside the ring. The only thing I care about is winning outside the ring, it’s more important than winning inside the ring.

Q
In the last hours there have been a lot of rumors about a Pacquiao-Canelo fight. Are you disappointed that Pacquiao’s willing to fight Canelo instead of you in a very big fight?

F. Mayweather
Well, I don’t think Pacquiao-Canelo is going to (happen). I mean, me personally, I don’t think so, but if that fight was to happen I’d choose Canelo to win. I don’t think the fight is going to happen.

Q
Floyd, thanks a lot for hanging in there with us on this conference call. I’m going to take you to a different arena a little bit. At the beginning of the NBA regular season you made a trip to Miami and had a chance to address The Heat during practice. What do you remember from your message to them? A lot of their players still talk about what you told them and how it’s motivated them going into these playoffs.

F. Mayweather
Well, you know, I just talked to LeBron and told him, told all the players that each year’s going to be tough. Each year’s going to be tough. It’s just going to get rougher, so you guys have to apply yourself like champions. I mean, you guys have to work harder. Everything get tougher and rougher and you have to work harder. That’s no different for me in my position. Before I became a champion, I worked hard. Now that I am a champion, each fight I have to work harder and harder to stay in this position, so that’s basically what I was speaking about to the players.

Q
Do you see any similarities between you staying on top of your game for so many years and these guys trying to three-peat and win three straight championships?

F. Mayweather
Man, it’s a lot of similarities, but it’s different also because these guys, these guys are a team to where with me it’s a one-on-one battle to where if the team loses you have to realize still, LeBron James is going to have to take all the slack to where it’s no different from a fighter. If I lose, that’s why I said, there’s some similarities where it’s a team sport, but if they lose, one guy has to deal with all the criticism to where like with me, with what I’m doing, of course I have a team, I have somebody that’s going out there and instructing me. I have a team but still, it’s a one-on-one sport. And you know, if something happens everything’s going to fall back on me the same way.

Q
And lastly, one part of the story that they told was that you mentioned taking that shot from Sugar Shane and how it sort of rocked you and they were probably going to get rocked during the course of a season but the important thing was to come out a real, true champion, you’re going to come out on your feet and withstand all the criticism, withstand all the pressure and all of that kind of thing. Do you remember that part of it?

F. Mayweather
Well, I told them, like these guys are gunning for you. These guys are gonna gun for you. Even though you guys were the No. 1 in the East this year, but you’re still the world champions and people are coming for that throne, so just like Canelo, he fought me one way. That doesn’t mean Maidana’s going to fight me the same way Canelo fought me. So like I said before, you’ve got to make adjustments and be able to adapt to any style.

K. Swanson
Thanks, Floyd. Leonard, would you like to wrap it up?

L. Ellerbe
I would just like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today. THE MOMENT, we’re just 10 days away and we look forward to everyone coming to support our event.

K. Swanson
Okay, terrific. Thanks, everybody, for joining us and again. The fight week schedule’s coming soon and we’ll have a really great Fight Week. Thanks. Bye, everybody.

***”THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” is a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com.

Six MGM Resorts Properties will host live closed circuit telecast of THE MOMENT: Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Monte Carlo. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $75, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711 or at www.mgmgrand.com. Select properties also will sell tickets through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or by purchasing online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE MOMENT” will also be broadcast on nearly 520 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at
www.FathomEvents.com.

LOS ANGELES (April 24, 2014) – With Oscar De La Hoya presiding over the festivities, Golden Boy Promotions hosted the final press conference for their exciting, stacked fight card this Saturday, April 26 headlining Keith Thurman vs. Julio Diaz at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, following the premiere of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana Episode 2) and SHO EXTREME® (7 p.m. ET/PT)

“It’s great to be back,’’ said De La Hoya, President of GBP, at the outset. “Great to be back.

“Saturday will be a treat for the fans. This is the real deal here. These are real fighters in real fights and you’re going to get some big-time action on Saturday night. There are still some tickets left, but they are going fast. We are expecting a great crowd at StubHub. I’m really looking forward to it. We have terrific fights from top to bottom

“It’s really exciting for me to be here at StubHub Center. Thank you to Golden Boy for believing in me. This is a testament that we can do it. Get yourself off the canvas, get back up and fight harder. That’s the way you should go.”

The 12-round main event Saturday on SHOWTIME will pit unbeaten,power-punching WBA Interim Welterweight Championship Keith “One Time” Thurman (22-0, 20 KOs), of Clearwater, Fla., against former world champion Julio “The Kidd” Diaz (40-9-1, 29 KOs), of Coachella, Calif.

In the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING co-main event, hard-hitting former interim 140-pound world champion Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse (34-3, 32 KOs), of Trelow, Chubut, Arg., will be opposed by offensive-minded John Molina (27-3, 22 KOs), of Covina, Calif., in a scheduled 10-rounder that could wind up as a Fight of the Year candidate. Opening the telecast will be an All-Texas WBC lightweight world title fight between undefeated defending champion Omar “Panterita” Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs), of Weslaco, and a nemesis from his amateur days, Jerry “The Corpus Christi Kid” Belmontes (19-3, 5 KOs), of Corpus Christi.

Promising unbeaten junior welterweight Antonio “Relentless” Orozco (15-0, 9 KOs) of San Diego, Calif., takes on Mexico City’s Martin “El Brochas” Honorio (32-8-1, 16 KOs) in the main event on SHO EXTREME. Other SHO Extreme scraps will include talented Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs) against Albuquerque’s Hector Munoz (22-12-1, 14 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight clash and, time-permitting, 2012 Brazilian Olympian Yamaguchi Falcao (0-0-1), of Sao Paulo, against Carlos Badaldua (pro debut), of Tijuana, Mexico, in a 4/6-round middleweight fight.

Tickets priced at $150, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale and available online at AXS.com, by phone at 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849) and at StubHub Center Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. PT to 6 p.m. PT). VIP Suites are available by calling 877-604-8777. For more information on group discounts or VIP packages, please call 877-234-8425.

What the boxers and executives said Thursday:

KEITH THURMAN, WBA Interim Welterweight World Champion

“This fight right here for me is a dream come true. This is what I’ve been doing since I was seven. It’s where I want to be, the headliner in a SHOWTIME event.

“Julio has been giving some stiff competition. They call him ‘The Kidd’ because he keeps performing despite his age. He is coming to win, to find those holes and show us young fighters what he knows. I look forward to an excellent fight.

“My motto is KOs for life. I’m going to do it again. To me the judges have the best seat in the house. This is a terrific card. Heavy hitters across the board. Just come and enjoy the show.

“I’m grateful, I have been looking forward to Saturday for a long time. This camp was the longest camp I’ve had –10 weeks. I was getting prepared for anybody, I was preparing for the world. I’m ready to rumble. ‘One Time’!’’

JULIO DIAZ, Former World Champion

“Everyone always says thank you Golden Boy, but I really mean it. I’ve been through everything. This is the best treatment I’ve ever had as a fighter, despite coming from a couple of losses; I’m still headlining an event. I appreciate the opportunity.

“This is a tough opportunity, a dangerous opportunity. I’m facing a dangerous, tough fighter, but he’s not unbeatable. I take my job seriously. It’s going to be a tough fight but I guarantee you it’ll be an exciting fight.’’

LUCAS MATTYHSSE, Former Interim World Champion

“I’m very happy to be here. I want to thank Golden Boy, my promoter, and everyone involved for this fight. I just want to say I am ready to go and glad to be back.

“I know what Molina brings to the table. This will be a great fight. Get ready for an explosion, an exciting fight on Saturday.’’

JOHN MOLINA, Junior Welterweight Contender

“The judges may not be needed. This is going to be a war. Bombs away.

“Matthysse is a feared fighter. With his power, he’s shown he can explode at any time. People tell me I should fight him like Danny Garcia did, but I’m not Danny Garcia.

“I’m going to bring my A-Game, he’s going to bring his A-Game. There isn’t going to be a whole lot of running, just setting down in front of each other and exchanging. Matthysse gives a lot when he hits, and he takes a lot when he gets hit.

“I’m a slow starter, but he’s a notoriously slow starter, too. I definitely plan to go in and gain some respect right off the bat. But when the eggs start to roll, that’s when the real action kicks in.

“Two days out, I feel a combination of things. I’m excited. I’m thankful for this opportunity on such a great stage. I’m confident I can capitalize on all the advantages I possess. I feel my power is better at 140 pounds. There is going to be a great crowd on Saturday. I’m ready.’’

OMAR “PANTERITA’ FIGUEROA, WBC Lightweight Champion

“We are here now, and we are ready. I don’t care about winning or losing. I’m going to go out there and put on a great show and try to punch my opponent as much as possible, which is the best feeling in the world.

“It’s going to be a good fight. We’ve seen each other a few times in the amateur tournaments and we say hi. In the ring it’s a different story.

“It’s an honor to fight in the same card as Matthysse, I look up to him. He’s a power hitter like I am. I know all these guys are going to put on a good show. We’ll see you there.’’

JERRY BELMONTES, Lightweight Contender

“I’d like to thank everybody involved for making this fight. It’s going to be a terrific fight, a styles fight. He’s the brawler, I’m the boxer. We’re both from Texas, so this is a big fight our state.

“We’re good friends. I watched Omar grow up. I hope he doesn’t take it personal when I take the title belt away from him on Saturday.’’

ANTONIO OROZCO, Unbeaten, Hard-Hitting Junior Welterweight

“I want to thank Golden Boy, my manager, Frank Espinoza, everybody for this opportunity on Saturday. I’m ready for a great fight. I’m ready to put on a show.’’

YAMAGUCHI FALCAO, 2012 Olympic Games Bronze Medalist From Brazil

“Today is a special day. It’s a day when I finally can start thinking about my pro career. I spoke with my father and he told me that one day I would become a world champion. I won a bronze medal for Brazil in the 2012 Olympics. That fulfilled a dream of mine.

“Saturday begins another dream come true for me. I take my first step in becoming a world champion. Standing up here with all these great champions is so great. I hope to fight the very best in my career. I’m going to make it big in boxing, and it all starts this Saturday.’’

JARMALL CHARLO, Undefeated, World-Ranked Junior Middleweight

“I’m excited to be part of such an explosive card. To look at these guys around me – Matthysse, Thurman–is an honor.

“I want to thank my team for helping me bounce back and regaining my focus. My opponent took this fight on short notice, but you have to be in great shape all the time. I know I can fight on short notice because I stay in great shape.’’

HECTOR MUNOZ, Veteran Junior Middleweight

“I’m looking forward to going in and putting a lot of pressure on him. Thanks to everybody for getting me this fight.’’

JOSEPH JO-JO DIAZ, Promising, Unbeaten Super Bantamweight

“Thanks to Golden Boy and their staff for putting me on this great card. I’m fighting a guy with a ton of experience. I’m sure he’s ready but I had a strong, hard camp and I’m ready to put on a show.

“I hope all the fans tune in. Saturday is going to be great night of boxing.’’

CHRIS DEBLASIO, Vice-President of Sports Communications, SHOWTIME Sports
“In the last two years SHOWTIME has become the leader in televised boxing. I think there’s no mistake about that. We are televising the biggest events in sports, the most competitive fights and quite literally on the most aggressive schedule you can imagine.

“Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast features three incredible fights with all heavy hitters, knockout fighters that are looking to make a statement in really deep divisions at 147 and 140 pounds. There’s lot to be gained and some to be lost from reach fighter, but we know they’ll come out strong.’’

ANDY FOSTER, Head of California State Athletic Commission

“Welcome back Golden Boy. Golden Boy is the No. 1 stakeholder in California and California does the most boxing in the world. We are pleased to be regulating the fight on Saturday and wish the fighters a safe and successful night.”

In non-televised fights on Saturday: Frankie “Pitbull” Gomez (16-0, 12 KOs), East Los Angeles, vs. Orlando Vasquez (12-3-1, 6 KOs), Bayamon, P.R., 10 rounds, welterweights; Joseph “Jo-Jo” Diaz Jr. (9-0, 7 KOs), South El Monte, Calif., vs. Luis Maldonado (38-11-1, 29 KOs), Calexico, Calif., 8 rounds, super bantamweights; Terrell Gausha (8-0, 5 KOs), Cleveland, vs. Charles Whitaker (40-14-2, 24 KOs), Miami, Fla., 8 rounds, super welterweights; and Sharif Bogere (23-1), Las Vegas, vs. Artura Urena (26-16-1, 22 KOs), Mazatlan, Mexico; 8 rounds, lightweights. The first live fight is at 1 p.m. PT.

# # #

ABOUT THURMAN vs. DIAZ, a 12-round fight for Thurman’s Interim WBA Welterweight World Championship on Saturday, April 26, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. It will take place at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., and will air as the main event of the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). In the co-feature, Argentine knockout artist Lucas Matthysse faces hard-hitting John Molina in a 10-round junior welterweight bout that is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Goossen Tutor Promotions. In the opening bout of the telecast, Omar Figueroa Jr. defends his WBC Lightweight title against fellow Texan Jerry Belmontes. Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.homedepotcenter.com, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/shosports, www.twitter.com/StubHubCenter, https://twitter.com/keithfthurmanjr www.twitter.com/JohnMolinajr135, www.twitter.com/OmarFigueroaJr and www.twitter.com/Jerry_Belmontes, follow the conversation using #ThurmanDiaz or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing and www.facebook.com/StubHubCenter.