Made to order for Money?

LOS ANGELES. WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is expected to dance all the way to the bank with a guaranteed $32 Million in his account for taking on Argentine Marcos Maidana in what most experts are predicting to be a walk in the park at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this morning (Manila time).

Maidana, 30, is a bull-like brawler, awkward, slow and easy to hit. He’ll hurt anyone who’s a standing target because he punches like a mule. His knockout record is a frightening 31 stoppages in 35 wins. He has lost only to Adnriy Kotelnik, Amir Khan and Devon Alexander, all on points and last December, was sensational in dethroning previously unbeaten Adrien Broner for the WBA crown.

Mayweather, 37, boasts a 45-0 record, with 26 KOs. His dream is to surpass the late heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0. Staying unbeaten is an obsession with Mayweather who calls himself Money for his love of greenbacks. It’s probably the reason why Mayweather won’t agree to face Manny Pacquiao whom experts believe is the only man on the planet with a chance of tainting Money’s unblemished slate.

Maidana seems to be tailor-made for Mayweather. He’s a come-forward type of fighter, unidimensional with no Plan B. Mayweather is an expert in dealing with sluggers like Maidana. He’ll be a phantom in the ring – now you see him, now you don’t, with Maidana swinging wildly at shadows most of the time.

It’s critical for Maidana to start strong and catch Mayweather napping. The Argentine shook up Broner early and decked him in the second round. Broner was never the same again. In the eighth, Broner went down once more. Maidana was aggressive from start to finish and positioned Broner where he wanted, in the corners or along the ropes. Broner couldn’t fend off Maidana and fought defensively. Mayweather won’t be as obliging as Broner. He’s too slick for that. He’ll slip, slide and even punch on the backfoot.

Freddie Roach said Mayweather will teach Maidana a boxing lesson he’ll never forget. Roach admitted Maidana is a dangerous opponent because of his big punch but Mayweather just has too much to lose to take the Argentine lightly. Mayweather will be on his guard to preserve his unstained record.

While Mayweather will earn $32 Million because it’s his own promotion, Maidana’s take is only $1.5 Million which is what Khan is being paid for facing Luis Collazo in the undercard. Broner will also see action in the undercard against Carlos Molina for a $1.25 Million purse. The winner of the Khan-Collazo bout will be Mayweather’s next opponent assuming Money overcomes Maidana. Mayweather said he’ll log three fights this year.

Maidana, known as “El Chino,” is the clear underdog in the fight but writer Graham Houston of Boxing Monthly said it’ll be entertaining. Fans will watch the action because they’re curious to find out if Maidana can tag Mayweather with his first loss. Mayweather is the sport’s most obnoxious villain, often landing in the sports pages for the wrong reasons. Some fans can’t wait to see him lose.

Maidana realizes this is a chance of a lifetime. If he can bring down Mayweather, the Argentine will do what 45 previous opponents couldn’t. “Maidana will come to fight and there might be an early storm to be weathered but by the fourth or fifth round, I think we will see Mayweather’s class shining through and I can envisage Mayweather putting on a masterclass in the second half of the fight, stabbing his left into Maidana’s face and body, making Maidana miss and making him pay and gradually breaking his man down … Maidana is tough and game and five of Mayweather’s last six bouts have gone the full 12 rounds which suggests that a stoppage win for Mayweather probably isn’t very likely … still, I believe that the fans will be satisfactorily entertained as Mayweather racks up the points to secure what is likely to be a wide win on the scorecards.”

If Maidana manages to upset Mayweather, it will go down in the history books as one of the sport’s most unexpected wins perhaps, rivalling Buster Douglas’ knockout of Mike Tyson in 1990, Leon Spinks’ decision over Muhammad Ali in 1978 and Hasim Rahman’s disposal of Lennox Lewis in 2001.

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Maidana said he’ll use every ounce of his power to knock Mayweather out.  In Argentina, he’s revered as a sports hero like soccer’s Lionel Messi and basketball’s Manu Ginobili. He won’t want to let his countrymen down. Maidana is the modern era’s version of Argentine heavyweight Luis Angel Firpo, known as the Wild Bull of the Pampas. In 1923, Firpo battled Jack Dempsey and sent the Manassas Mauler out of the ring with a brutal combination in the first round. Dempsey was helped back into the ring after 17 seconds and went on to score a knockout in the next round in a wild and wooly finish. If he shocks Mayweather, Maidana might even replace Carlos Monzon as Argentina’s greatest fighter ever.   

“To beat Mayweather, it’s necessary to fight with everything,” said Maidana quoted by Ron Borges. “I have to fight Mayweather with all my tools, just like the way he fights, a little bit dirty but very intelligently. He has fought many great fighters. I don’t know how hard they punched him but I’m going to check him myself. I want to win this fight to be a part of history in Argentine boxing. That’s why I wanted this fight very much. It is a very big opportunity for me. I believe that with the type of punches I throw, I can knock him out.”

Referee Tony Weeks will have his hands full. Maidana is a rough-and-tumble streetfighter who uses his elbows, shoulders and forearms in fighting at close quarters. Like Maidana, Mayweather doesn’t care about rules and prefers to make his own. If they battle toe-to-toe, it’ll be scruffy and dirty. If Mayweather fights from a distance which he is expected to do, Maidana will be frustrated and transformed into a shadow boxer. The probability is Mayweather will school Maidana like he’s never been schooled before.