Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana set for May 3
Feb 25, 2014, 11:48 PM | Updated: Feb 26, 2014, 12:20 am
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0, 26 KOs) will defend his WBC welterweight title on a May 3 Showtime pay-per-view against Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs).
The 2013 highest-earning American athlete announced the bout last night on his Twitter:
I will be fighting Marcos Maidana May 3rd on Pay-per-view Showtime/CBS http://t.co/mtj7H8WVxu pic.twitter.com/Rc2N87zcjP
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) February 25, 2014
While the site of the multi-million dollar event has yet to be announced reports show it has come down to either the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the site of Mayweather’s last eight fights, and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
In his last fight, the 37-year-old Mayweather outpointed Saul “Canelo” Alvarez over the course of their 36-minute title fight back on Sept. 14. The man known as ‘Money’ walked away with the united junior middleweight title in a fight that set PPV gross of $150 million and a live gate of $20 million, both of which are records. The record-breaking event also ended with 2.2 million PPV buys, trailing only Mayweather vs. De La Hoya’s 2.5 million PPV buys back in 2007 for most ever.
The 30-year-old Maidana, who was chosen over former light welterweight champion Amir Khan, is coming off a dramatic upset victory over Mayweather’s friend Adrien Broner back on Dec. 14.
The Argentinian quickly took to Twitter to express his eagerness to test his skill-set against the greatest boxer of his generation
Thanks a lot to everybody who supported me around the world! I'll give it all to give you a victory on May 3rd!
— Marcos René Maidana (@ChinoMaidana) February 25, 2014
I'm just happy to face Mayweather but it doesn't feel like I hit the lottery like he said. Only beating him it will
— Marcos René Maidana (@ChinoMaidana) February 25, 2014
This marks the third fight on a 30-month, six-fight deal worth more than $200 million that Mayweather signed with Showtime last February. The undefeated boxer has also revealed his plans to retire one he has complete his contract.
