Bruised, somewhat battered, but still standing and still unbeaten.
Boxing
WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana is forced to switch to a different style of glove than the ones he originally intended to fight in tonight at the MGM Grand Garden after WBC champ Floyd Mayweather and his camp objected to the location and style of the padding.
TBE, Floyd Mayweather’s latest acronym to describe his place in boxing history — The Best Ever — falls short on the reality side of the ledger. He never has been. He never will be.
The super middleweight from Las Vegas by way of Michigan can put himself in title conversation with a win over veteran Marco Antonio Periban on the Mayweather-Maidana undercard.
The former IBF junior middleweight champion from Las Vegas has a successful return with a second-round KO victory over Ryan Davis at the Hard Rock Hotel.
One minute, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is talking retirement, finding the right woman, settling down and having kids. The next, he’s pining to open the new MGM arena in 2016.
Marcos Maidana doesn’t need to be reminded of what’s at stake Saturday. He can become the first professional fighter to defeat Floyd Mayweather Jr. In doing so, he would become the unified world welterweight champion. And he would reach legendary status in his native Argentina, perhaps close to the same stratosphere as soccer star Lionel Messi in terms of adulation.
Adrien Broner’s cellphone usually would ring off the hook after his fights. The text messages would come nonstop, and friends would be trying to latch on to his latest performance and bask in his glory. Then came Dec. 14.
Not much has gone lately the way Ishe Smith had planned in his boxing career. The 35-year-old Las Vegan was hoping to hang on to his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title for longer than seven months. But he lost a 12-round split decision to Carlos Molina on Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was recently asked if he had any interest in being the opening act when the new MGM arena opens in spring 2016? After thinking about the question for a while, as he calculated the time frame, he finally responded. “It would be an honor, absolutely,” he said. “But to tell you the truth, I haven’t thought that far in advance.”
Floyd Mayweather is facing a firestorm of criticism on social media after taking to Facebook to accuse his former fiancee of having an abortion against his wishes.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s final news conferences have tended to run on the dry side lately. Lots of platitudes to his team, to the network, maybe a subtle swipe at his opponent. But that’s about it. To get a good quote Wednesday meant venturing to the top of the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand and seeking out Mayweather’s father and head trainer, Floyd Sr.
Amir Khan will fight as a welterweight for the first time on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden in what is essentially a tryout for what Khan hopes will be a megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., who will put his 45-0 record with 26 knockouts on the line Saturday against Marcos Maidana at the Grand Garden on Showtime Pay Per View, said he’s interested in being part of a consortium to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers.
The heavyweight contender who trains in Las Vegas is looking to become WBC champion with an encore performance against Chris Arreola when they meet May 10 at USC’s Galen Center on ESPN.
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