Sometime in the next two months when the Floyd Mayweather Jr – Marcos Maidana fight gains more publicity, a lot of people, including Mayweather himself, will talk people into believing that Maidana has a legitimate shot at upsetting the pound-for-pound king.
Here’s the deal, though, don’t buy it.
Even with the fight still two months away, oddsmakers have already installed Money Mayweather as an overwhelming favorite to beat Maidana. How lopsided do the books think it’s going to be?
Well, at 1/14 odds, which is what Floyd is at these days, you’re going to have to shell out $1,400 just to make an even $100. Not exactly enticing, is it? On the flip side, the hard-punching Argentinian has been penciled as a massive 9/1 underdog, further emphasizing just how lopsided many believe this fight is going to be.
To his credit, Floyd tried to drum up interest in his next opponent by drawing out his announcement on who he’ll fight this May, even taking to Twitter to let his fans “vote” between Maidana and British welterweight Amir Khan. It was poorly thought out and a lot of fans even lost some interest in it before Mayweather announced Maidana had won the “vote” overwhelmingly.
Not sure we’re going to buy that explanation, or the fight for that matter.
But Floyd will continue to put Maidana up on a pedestal in an attempt to sell his power-punching as a compelling reason for people to go watch the fight. “Marcos Maidana’s last performance immediately brought him to my attention,” the champ said in a statement.
“He is an extremely skilled fighter who brings knockout danger to the ring. I think this is a great fight for me and he deserves the opportunity to see if he can do what 45 others have tried to do before him — beat me.”
Unfortunately for Floyd, he doesn’t control how sports books decide on their odds for boxing matches and when you’re a 1/14 favorite against somebody who has had his fair share of tribulations in the ring, whatever kind of storyline Floyd presents to the public probably won’t sell the way it would’ve if he just strapped up and agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao.
That’s the only compelling name that’ll ensure fan interest in his next fight. Marcos Maidana’s a tough as nails boxer, but he’s in over his head if he thinks he can win against Money Mayweather.
In other boxing-related news, former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver was arrested in Florida last year on a warrant straight out of Nevada for allegedly walking on a $200,000 gambling marker he owed Wynn Las Vegas during a gambling binge back in 2012. According to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports, Tarver supposedly took out $50,000 in markers on July 24, 2012, followed by another $50,000 two days later and $100,000 a day after that.
From the looks of things, Tarver lost all of the money faster than he could throw jabs these days and when all the money went kaput, he balked on making any sort of payments to the casino.
Just goes to show you that when you’re playing in a casino, make sure you’re doing it with your own money, lest you find yourself in the situation the Magic Man is in right now.
Too bad he can’t take some tips from Joe Francis, right?
