Floyd Mayweather Jr. is letting the boxing world know that he is ready for his next fight, the fourth bout of a $200 million, six match contract he signed with Showtime in 2013. Mayweather Promotions chief executive Leonard Ellerbe announced Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr.’s intention to mark September 13, 2014 as his next fight.
Since beating Marcos Maidana on May 3 , there has been non-stop speculation about when Mayweather would take on his next challenger. In his last fight, Maidana challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr. with his “dirty” fighting style. Maidana is not known for his technique, but a bend the rules, brawling style, resembling the boxing style of Manny Pacquiao.
Many thought Floyd Mayweather Jr. prevailed in spite of the unorthodox style of Maidana. When asked to compare Manny Pacquiao and Marcos Maidana, Mayweather’s father told Jenna Jay from On The Ropes , “Oh for sure, Pacquiao is the better fighter, Maidana can’t fight at all! Maidana is a wild MMA fighter, that’s what he is. He don’t (sic) have no craft, no abilities to do sh*t. He ain’t even got a good damn jab. Pacquiao ain’t technical, but he’s more technical than this man (Maidana). This man is not technical at all.”
The undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. has looked human in his last few fights, even though he emerged victorious every time. Mayweather’s next fight can really go in one of two directions. He can continue to fight up and coming challengers like Maidana in a rematch or Amir Khan.
Khan, a British Muslim who is currently 29-3 after defeating Luis Collazo, will be celebrating the Islamic feast of Ramadan on the date Floyd Mayweather Jr. picked for his next fight. Khan believes Mayweather is ducking him.
“Maybe my religious beliefs give Floyd an excuse not to fight me. If he offers the fight in September, he knows it will get turned down. That way he could turn round and say, ‘Amir Khan did not want the fight.’ They’re aware of all this, so why can’t they wait a couple of months?”
As pointed out by Dan Rafael of ESPN , the fight everyone wants to see next for Floyd Mayweather Jr. is Manny Pacquiao. After Pacquiao defeated Timothy Bradley on April 13, speculation immediately began about his next opponent. Some have even suggested that he fight Juan Manuel Marquez again, even thought the two have already fought four times. The reality is that the only fight left for Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao that fans care about is one in which they fight each other.
Floyd Mayweather Sr. believes the fight will happen. Only, it will be the last fight of Mayweather’s career, which is likely to be the sixth fight of his contract with Showtime and will take place in the fall of 2015.
“If we fight Pacquiao, that would be last anyways. That would be the fight that’s going away, and that fight would probably be the biggest fight in the world. If Floyd fights Pacquiao, believe me, it’s gonna be the best for last.”
The chances of the next Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight being against Manny Pacquiao are slim as the two have a history of “missing” each other. But on September 13, there is no reason to avoid each other again.
[Image via Latinopost.com ]