The Moment Boxing Preview: Floyd Mayweather vs. Maidana + Weigh Ins

By: William Holmes

Official Weights:
J Leon Love 168 vs. Marco Antonio Periban 168
Adrien Broner 140 vs. Carlos Molina 138.5
Amir Khan 147 Luis Collazo 147
Floyd Mayweather 146 Marcos Maidana 146.5

Three of the world’s most famous boxers will be competing this Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada for a pay-per-view offered by Golden Boy Promotions. Unfortunately for fight fans neither Floyd Mayweather Jr., Amir Khan, or Adrien Broner will be fighting against each other. Instead they will be matched up against opponents that many see as a mismatch for the favorites.

Despite the fact that many view the bouts on Saturday’s pay-per-view as a mismatch, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still the pay per view king and he will still likely have the highest buy rate of any pay per view this year.

The following is a preview of the main event between Mayweather and Maidana, as well as a preview the two undercard bouts that feature Amir Khan and Adrien Broner

Adrien Broner (27-1) vs. Carlos Molina (17-1-1); Junior Welterweights

Adrien Broner was considered by many to be the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather’s throne until he lost a clear decision to Marcos Maidana. Broner has since readjusted and dropped down to the junior welterweight division.

Broner is young, brash, and extremely confident. He’ll be giving up a slight height and reach advantage to Molina, but he has the better knockout power, defensive skills, and hand speed.

Broner has stopped twenty two of his opponents, including four of his last five victories. Molina is not known for his power and has only stopped seven of his opponents. His last five victories have come by way of decision.

The last time Molina has stepped into the ring was December of 2012. He was stopped in the tenth round by Amir Khan. His recent inactivity will certainly be a factor inside the ring. He holds no significant victories, but his biggest wins to date have come against Manuel Leyva and Marcos Jimenez.

Broner’s last two fights have also been less than impressive. He was knocked down twice by Marcos Maidana in his first professional loss, and he struggled against Paulie Malignaggi and barely escaped with a split decision victory.

Broner’s greatest success came in the lightweight and lower divisions. He holds wins over Antonio DeMarco, Eloy Perez, Jason Litzau, and Daniel Ponce De Leon.

The self hype behind Broner doesn’t appear to match his talents inside the ring, but Molina is an opponent that shouldn’t give Broner any problems on Saturday night.

Luis Collazo (35-5) vs. Amir Khan (28-3); Welterweights
Many people felt that Amir Khan would present a bigger challenge for Floyd Mayweather Jr. than Marcos Maidana because of his incredible hand speed. In fact, Mayweather had previously announced that the winner of an online pool between Khan and Maidana would be his next opponent.

Khan won that poll, but for some reason Mayweather chose to face Maidana. On paper, this looks to be the night’s most competitive fight, but that is mainly due to Amir Khan’s inconsistency inside the ring.

Khan is a former Olympic silver medalist and holds a huge edge over Collazo in amateur experience. Collazo holds a slight edge in height and reach, but will have issues dealing with the speed of Khan.

Collazo, at the age of thirty three, is six years older than Khan and will likely be making his last title push.

Khan has nineteen stoppages to his record and has a higher knockout ratio than Collazo who has eighteen stoppages to his record. Collazo however has been more active than Khan and has fought three times since 2013 while Khan has only fought once.

Khan has the better professional resume. He struggled in his last bout against Julio Diaz in his home country but pulled off the victory. He also defeated fellow undercard boxer Carlos Molina, as well as Zab Judah, Paul McCloskey, Paulie Malignaggi, and main event participant Marcos Maidana. Khan does have very suspect chin. He was obliterated by Danny Garcia in July of 2012 and shocked by Breidis Prescott in September of 2008.

Collazo has been written off by several scribes several times in his career, but has managed to bounce back every time. He showcased suprising power in stopping Victor Ortiz four months ago at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. However, his only other notable victory came against Steve Upsher Chambers in October of 2012.

Before his bout with Ortiz, Collazo came up short every time he was matched up against an elite opponent. His losses have come to Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, Andre Berto, and Freddy Hernandez.

This bout should be the most interesting since Collazo showed that he can stop a good opponent and Khan’s chin is considered suspect. But, Khan should win a clear and wide decision victory.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0) vs. Marcos Maidana (35-3); WBC/WBA Welterweight Belts

Mayweather is the best boxer of this generation and is a gigantic favorite against Marcos Maidana. He is often criticized for not facing good opponents in the prime of their careers, but he silenced many of those critics with his twelve round thrashing of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September of 2013.

In fact, Mayweather’s last fight can be considered to be one of his most impressive victories to date.

Maidana has an edge of Mayweather in power and age. He has an 81% knockout ratio while Mayweather’s knockout ratio stands at 57%. He’s also seven years younger than Mayweather, but Mayweather fought like a young boxer the last time he was in the ring. But Mayweather is longer, taller, and significantly quicker. He’s also a defensive master and will likely easily avoid the offensive attack of Maidana.

On paper, Maidana looks to be the easiest boxer Mayweather has fought since Carlos Baldomir. Mayweather has defeated a large list of impressive opponents, including Canelo Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, and Oscar De La Hoya.

Maidana’s list of defeated opponents pales in comparison to Mayweather. His biggest win to date was against Adrien Broner, a very small welterweight who recently bumped up from the lightweight division. He’s also defeated Josesito Lopez, Jesus Soto Karass, and Erik Morales. But Maidana does have difficulty against technical boxers. His losses show that as he has been defeated by Devon Alexander, Amir Khan, and Andriy Kotelnik.

All of Mayweather’s bouts are pay-per-view worthy, but this is a hard fight to get excited about. Actually, this writer will be surprised if Mayweather does not stop Maidana.