BOXING STAR AND 10-TIME WORLD CHAMPION FLOYD "MONEY" MAYWEATHER TO FACE HARD-HITTING KNOCKOUT ARTIST MARCOS "EL CHINO" MAIDANA ON SATURDAY, MAY 3, LIVE ON SHOWTIME PPV®

 

Pound-For-Pound King, Floyd "Money" Mayweather to face Marcos "El Chino" Maidana on Saturday, May 3, LIVE on SHOWTIME PPV‏

After weeks of speculation, including feedback from fans across an array of social media platforms, boxing's pound-for-pound superstar, pay-per-view king and WBC Welterweight World Champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather will face the dangerous, power-punching WBA Welterweight World Champion Marcos "El Chino" Maidana on Saturday, May 3, live on SHOWTIME PPV.

 

Mayweather vs. Maidana, a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana's respective 147-pound titles, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV and is the third fight of a lucrative six-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc.

 

Mayweather vs. Maidana will pit the brilliance of Mayweather against the power of the Argentine slugger.

 

Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs), undeniably the sport's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and a 10-time world champion, is coming off of a spectacular 2013 in which he continued to display his ring prowess with dominating victories over Robert Guerrero and Canelo Alvarez. In Maidana, Mayweather is arguably facing the most demanding and troublesome opponent of his heralded, 17-year Hall Of Fame career.

 

"Marcos Maidana's last performance immediately brought him to my attention," said Mayweather, who celebrates his 37th birthday today. "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."

 

Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs), of Margarita, Santa Fe, Argentina, captured the attention of boxing and sports fans around the world with his thorough defeat of the highly regarded and undefeated Adrien Broner on Dec. 14, 2013. The 30-year-old impressively dominated Broner from the opening bell and registered two knockdowns against the three-time world champion. Maidana connected with a punishing 231 power punches in the bout en route to a unanimous decision by margins of 117-109, 115-109 and 115-110.

 

The resounding victory over the heavily favored Broner was the fourth in a row for the crowd-pleasing, offensive-minded Maidana. A former WBA 140-pound world champion, Maidana's hard-charging, aggressive style has earned him knockouts in 82 percent of his wins. The remarkable ratio of knockouts ties the late Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo for the highest knockout percentage of any Mayweather opponent to date and is one of the highest of any current fighter at the world-class level. 

 

"I am extremely happy to be facing Floyd Mayweather because it will give me the opportunity to show the world that I am the best welterweight in the division," said Maidana, who will represent throngs of Hispanic boxing fans on Cinco de Mayo when he faces the pound-for-pound king. "I just handed a great defensive fighter his first loss and I plan to do the same to Mayweather. I don't care whether he's the best and undefeated. I will bring some real Latino power to him on May 3rd."

 

"This is an extremely dangerous fight for Floyd as Marcos Maidana is a technical knock-out artist and continues to show us that he gets better with each fight," said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. "Maidana showed so much in his last performance, he's clearly at the top of his game and a great match-up for Floyd."

 

Mayweather set in motion a flurry of online polls following a message posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts (@floydmayweather) on Sunday, Feb. 2 asking fans to voice their opinion on his next opponent. Through the accumulation of more than 100,000 votes on the various online polls, more than 100,000 comments on Mayweather's Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as nonstop fan Tweets, Mayweather saw an overwhelming majority favor Maidana.

 

"In Marcos Maidana, Floyd Mayweather may be in for his toughest opponent ever," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. "Maidana is the type of fighter who will find out if Floyd still belongs on top of the pound-for-pound list. He's strong, tough and aggressive. He in giving Adrien Broner his first loss, he showed that he won't be intimidated by talk, a big fight atmosphere or an unbeaten record. I give Floyd a lot of credit for stepping up to the plate and testing himself once again. He is a true warrior, and the fans will be the winners on May 3rd."

 

"The first two events in our partnership with Floyd Mayweather were incredible and SHOWTIME PPV is proud to present the next chapter in Floyd's remarkable career," said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports^®.  "Marcos Maidana is a boxer whose fearsome power can change the trajectory of a fight with a single punch.  Couple that with his ferocity and perseverance and you have the recipe for an incredible fight on the grandest stage of the sport."

 

Undefeated Floyd "Money" Mayweather, (45-0, 26 KOs), a 10-time world champion in five weight divisions, reaffirmed his worldwide popularity when he faced then- undefeated boxing phenom Canelo Alvarez last September. The mega-event, which set the record as the highest grossing pay-per-view event in television history with over $150 million in revenue, showed once again that Mayweather's drawing power is unlike any other. During Mayweather's extraordinary career, he has amassed wins over numerous world champions, including Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero and most recently Canelo, marking the 45th win. Over the course of his pay-per-view career Mayweather has generated more than 12.8 million buys and over $800 million in revenue. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native, who fights out of Las Vegas, averages more than one million pay-per-view buys per event, which is the highest pay-per-view buy average of any boxer in history, and is the only fighter to participate in two events which generated over 2 million pay-per-view buys each. In 2007, Mayweather co-headlined a pay-per-view event with De La Hoya which generated the largest number of PPV buys in history. Mayweather has also been listed by Sports Illustrated (2012, 2013) and Forbes (2012) as the world's highest paid athlete in any sport.

 

Thirty-year-old Marcos "El Chino" Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) stunned the boxing world in December when he defeated up-and-coming superstar Adrien Broner with an unforgettable performance. Hailing from Margarita, Santa Fe, Argentina, Maidana first emerged on the world scene in 2009, when he won the interim WBA Junior Welterweight World Championship with a stunning sixth-round technical knockout over Victor Ortiz. After three defenses of his title, Maidana lost a 2010 Fight of the Year candidate to Amir Khan, but he regained the belt with another classic against future Hall of Famer Erik Morales in 2011. In 2012, Maidana joined forces with renowned trainer Robert Garcia (2012 Trainer of the Year) and has since gone undefeated at 4-0 with 3 knockouts.

 

MGM GRAND IN LAS VEGAS SELECTED AS OFFICIAL SITE FOR FLOYD MAYWEATHER VS. MARCOS MAIDANA MEGA-FIGHT SATURDAY, MAY 3 LIVE ON SHOWTIME PPV®

 

MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. has won the right to host the Saturday, May 3 mega-fight between 10-time and Five-Division World Champion and current WBC Welterweight World Champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather against Argentine power-puncher and WBA Welterweight World Champion Marcos "El Chino" Maidana.

 

"We are honored to host another one of Floyd Mayweather's epic championship fights at MGM Grand," said Richard Sturm, president of Sports and Entertainment for MGM Resorts International.  "The MGM Grand Garden Arena has been Floyd's home for many years and he always thrills the fans inside the Arena and those watching worldwide."

 

"We are so delighted that Floyd will be fighting at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the 12^th time," said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. "It is truly Floyd's home away from home and as we always say, when Floyd fights at MGM Grand, it stands for 'Mayweather gets money' because of his ability to sell every seat in the house."

 

"Floyd Mayweather will be coming home once again on May 3 when he faces Marcos Maidana at MGM Grand in Las Vegas," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. "With 11 of his previous fights being held at MGM Grand, Floyd has become the venue's greatest sports franchise, so it is only fitting that he face one of his toughest challenges here in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas."

 

Mayweather has fought and won some of his most memorable battles at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, including wins over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and most recently Canelo Alvarez last September. This will be the ninth consecutive time that Mayweather fights at MGM Grand and 12^th appearance overall.

 

Mayweather is known for breaking records every time he steps into the ring as evidenced by his appearances at MGM Grand as well as the facts outlined below:

 

• Mayweather's last five fights have been sellouts.
• Mayweather's September 2013 fight against Canelo Alvarez shattered gate records totaling more than $20 million.
• MGM Grand displays Mayweather "Home of the Champion" banners on the exterior of the building.
• The official weigh-in for the Mayweather vs. Canelo fight in September at the MGM Grand Garden Arena set a record of more than 12,000 fans in attendance, making it one of the biggest weigh-ins in the history of the sport. 

• It is very rare for events to use souvenir tickets, but it is a Mayweather standard to create tickets with a fight graphic.  At his last fight against Canelo, Mayweather had artist Richard Slone develop a one-of-a-kind piece printed on all of the tickets.

 

 

 

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights! and Thank You for your time. EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, All photos other than those specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Impress Photo-Studios♔ and KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment Sports and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Blog-Online Publication all rights reserved.

FLOYD "MONEY" MAYWEATHER SELECTS CANELO ALVAREZ FOR SUPER WELTERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEGA-BOUT "THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS CANELO" ON SATURDAY, SEPT. 14

BOXING'S BIGGEST STAR, UNDEFEATED, EIGHT-TIME & FIVE-DIVISION WORLD CHAMPION FLOYD "MONEY" MAYWEATHER SELECTS UNDEFEATED MEXICAN BOXING SENSATION CANELO ALVAREZ FOR SUPER WELTERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEGA-BOUT "THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS CANELO" ON SATURDAY, SEPT. 14 AT MGM GRAND IN LAS VEGAS AND LIVE ON SHOWTIME PPV®

The most compelling and anticipated fight in boxing is officially set as the sport's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, undefeated Eight-Time, Five-Division World ChampionFloyd "Money" Mayweather will face undefeated Mexican star and Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez in "THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO" on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV^®.

The marquee matchup was initially announced by Mayweather via his Twitter account on May 29 setting the sports world abuzz.  The bout will be a Super Welterweight World Championship contested for the WBC, WBA Super, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships on Mexican Independence Day weekend, one of the two biggest weekends on the boxing calendar.  The fight will be promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions.

The event is sponsored by Corona, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Valvoline and will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV^® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.  The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

 Mayweather, who usually campaigns at 147 pounds, chose the younger and bigger Canelo as his opponent for the second bout of his new contract with Showtime Networks Inc. and its parent company, CBS Corporation.

"I picked Canelo because he deserves the chance and is the best opponent possible for me at this time," said Mayweather, who is coming off of a near shutout win on May 4 over Six-Time and Four-Division World Champion Robert Guerrero.  "When I signed my new deal with Showtime and CBS, I said I was going to stay active and fight the best fighters and I am keeping my word.  I looked at several different fighters and decided to pick Canelo because he can give me a great fight and one the fans are going to appreciate.  Sure it's a risk to fight a guy that is younger and bigger than me, but I love taking risks.  Be ready because I'm in fantastic shape and I'm going to train even harder for this fight than I did for my last one.  He might be a big, young, strong and talented champion, but my experience and work ethic make me believe that I'm that much better and no one in boxing can beat me right now."

Canelo is coming off of a unanimous decision win over then WBA World Champion Austin Trout in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 40,000 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on April 20.  The young champion has been soliciting to fight Mayweather for some time and is excited to challenge boxing's best fighter in what could be a career-defining fight for the Mexican superstar.

"I'm ready for the big challenges and now I have to prove it against Floyd Mayweather on September 14," said Canelo.  "I said that I wanted to fight the best and here I am in front of the best pound-for-pound fighter, who I respect for his achievements, but on September 14, I will write a new page in boxing history because I'm going to be victorious.  This fight is for all of my fans, my family and of course for Mexico because we're fighting on the weekend of Mexico's Independence.  I've waited so long for this and my only option is to WIN!"

"It's a done deal and I commend Floyd for selecting Canelo Alvarez as his next challenge," said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO Mayweather Promotions.  "Floyd is a great champion who has earned the right to control the destiny of his career.  To select a young, strong and bigger opponent in Canelo, who has proven he is at the championship level with his success to date, is just another indication of Floyd's love for the sport and the fans that embrace him every time he steps in the ring.  It's his legacy on the line September 14 and I have no doubt that he will be victorious again."

"This is THE ONE.  The one fight everyone wants to see as Mayweather is the best ONE ever and no ONE has ever been able to find a way to beat him," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.  "Will he stay undefeated or will Canelo be the first ONE to beat him?  My hat goes off to Floyd for accepting the challenge of a young, strong and undefeated fighter like Canelo and my hat goes off to Canelo for agreeing to fight the best fighter in the world. These are modern day gladiators who know how to entertain and on September 14, the world will stop and watch to see who will be THE ONE!  Mayweather vs. Canelo is without doubt ONE of the biggest boxing events of all-time."

"The response to the announcement of this event, from all corners of sports and entertainment, has been overwhelming," said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager, SHOWTIME Sports.  "It's a natural response when the two most skilled and most popular athletes in a sport face off against each other.  I commend both Floyd and Canelo for making the best fight possible.  Neither man ever waivered in their desire to give the fans what they've been clamoring for." 

"We look forward to hosting one of the biggest boxing events in recent years over Mexican Independence Day weekend," said Richard Sturm, president of sports and entertainment for MGM Resorts International.  "These two undefeated athletes will put on a spectacular show, guaranteeing boxing fans a thrilling, action-packed night from the MGM Grand Garden Arena."

Undefeated Floyd "Money" Mayweather, (44-0, 26 KO's), an eight-time world champion in five weight divisions, remains boxing's biggest attraction, wowing crowds and generating remarkable pay-per-view numbers every time he steps into the ring.  During Mayweather's already extraordinary career, he has amassed wins over world champions including Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto and most recently Robert Guerrero, marking the 44^th win of his storied career.  Over the course of his participation in pay-per-view events Mayweather has generated more than 10.6 million buys and nearly $650 million in pay-per-view revenue.  He averages more than one million pay-per-view buys per event, the highest pay-per-view buy average of any boxer in history.  Mayweather, the world's highest paid athlete in any sport (Sports Illustrated, 2013), co-headlined the single biggest pay-per-view boxing event in history when he fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.  In addition, Mayweatherhas appeared in the sport's four biggest non-heavyweight pay-per-view events.

At only 22 years of age, the pride of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Canelo Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KO's) has emerged as a Mexican icon, standing side-by-side with his country's greatest sporting legends.  His fights on Mexican television network Televisa routinely garner record ratings.  In Sept. 2012, Canelo set a new ratings record for boxing on SHOWTIME in his first bout on the network.  A fighting phenom, Canelo has fought professionally since 2005 when he was only 15 years old.  The powerful puncher tore through all comers on the local circuit in Mexico before winning the NABF welterweight title in 2009.  He then began his attack on the international boxing scene.  In 2010, Canelo had a breakout year with victories over Jose Miguel Cotto, Luciano Cuello and former World Champions Carlos Baldomir and Lovemore N'dou.  By 2011, he earned his first world championship by defeating Matthew Hatton for the WBC Super Welterweight World Championship.  Canelo has since defended his title successfully six times defeating Ryan Rhodes, Alfonso Gomez, Kermit Cintron, Sugar Shane Mosley, Josesito Lopez and, most recently, with a spirited unanimous decision win over Austin Trout, setting up his fight against Mayweather. 

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound.  Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, Lady Gaga, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert.  The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual shows including Academy of Country Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, iHeartRadio Music Festival and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game which features the Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME^®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ and FLIX^®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2^™, SHOWTIME^® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME^®, SHOWTIME BEYOND^®, SHOWTIME NEXT^®, SHOWTIME WOMEN^®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD^™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND^®, FLIX ON DEMAND^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ ON DEMAND, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME^®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks^™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel^™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV^®. 

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time. EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 All photos other than those specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Impress Photo-Studios♔ and KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Blog-Online Publication all rights reserved.