Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana has officially landed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. For almost everyone involved, this was a foregone conclusion.
Yet, there had been some speculation that Mayweather’s next fight could actually end up at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, or several other venues. Still, Las Vegas, and the MGM Grand in particular, have long been Mayweather’s home, so it’s far from a surprise that Mayweather vs. Maidana has ended up there as well.
One surprise though is that there won’t be any official or lengthy pre-fight press tour for the bout. That stands in opposition to the whirlwind affairs which usually take place before a Mayweather fight. With just two months until fight night, it was likely too much of an ordeal to plan at this point.
Here are more details on the announcement:
MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. has won the right to host the Saturday, May 3 event as Floyd “Money” Mayweather goes up against Argentine power-puncher 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 12th 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 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:
- This will be the ninth consecutive time that Mayweather fights at MGM Grand and 12th appearance overall.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
More details about the event, including undercard bouts, will be announced shortly.
