By Jackie Kallen
A Floyd Mayweather fight is always a major event in Las Vegas. It’s party central. Whether a person has tickets to the fight or not, just hanging around the MGM is enough to satisfy a fight fan’s fantasies.
Photo: Showtime
Boxing icons float through the lobby and various other sports and entertainment stars fill the restaurants and bars. People-watching is at an all-time high as the fashion show winds through the hotel from the front door to the MGM Gardens Arena.
Bling is on full display–both real and fake. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not, but in most cases it’s a matter of “faking it until they make it”. Either way, it’s a blindingly dazzling display of smoke and mirrors.
Some are wondering if the main event is just more trickery and illusion. We all know that Mayweather is the real deal–Platinum with the finest diamonds. But is Maidana being passed off as genuine when he is actually just a very good cubic zirconia?
After 45 fights, against the biggest names in the sport, Mayweather has proven to be unbeatable, untouchable, and invincible. His list of victims includes Diego Corrales, Arturo Gotti, Zab Judah, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and many others. Why would anyone think that Marcos Rene Maidana is the man who can derail the Money Train?
Upsets are certainly possible and often happen when we least expect it. But 30 year-old Maidana has already been beaten three times. In 2009 he lost a close fight to little-known Andriy Kotelnik in Germany. A year later he fought Amir Khan and lost a decision, getting knocked down in the first round. In 2012, Devon Alexander beat him soundly. But it was his upset win over Adrien Broner last December that put him in line for this opportunity.
Keep in mind, though, that Adrien Broner is no Floyd Mayweather. Beating Broner was impressive, but that is hardly proof that he will be able to do the same with Floyd. Obviously, if Mayweather stays in the game long enough, he’ll eventually run into someone younger, slicker and able to pick him apart. But that isn’t likely to happen. since Floyd will no doubt get out while the getting is good. His plan is to retire with a flawless, undefeated record.
What makes a Mayweather fight so enticing isn’t the fact that the fans pretty much know how the fight will end. It’s that so many people dislike the flamboyant boxer that they actually hope to see him get beat.. The percentages go up each time he fights. The haters convince themselves that whoever he’s fighting may have the secret to dismantling the throne.
Is Maidana another Buster Douglas? Who knows. Unlikely. But stranger things have happened. Gamblers are praying that a miracle happens. Maidana is a +600 underdog. Mayweather is -1,000. An upset would turn the gambling business inside out. The Sports Book at every hotel will be on fire if Maidana should happen to win.
Boxing writers and fans are hesitant to even suggest a loss for Mayweather. Those who thought Alvarez had a chance were very vocal about the young redhead’s chance. They felt maybe it was time for the great champ to lose his 0. But, of course, that didn’t happen. So what are the chances that a lesser man can do what no one else has been able to do?
It will be interesting to see how many buys this fight gets. Will the fans wait a week or so to watch it on free TV? Will they simply go to the Internet for a round-by-round description?
As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
