Will Floyd Mayweather Fight Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Or…?
The results are in as the fan voting to determine Floyd Mayweather’s next fight ended over the weekend. Amir Khan had already grabbed an edge, and he maintained that lead through the poll’s closing, eventually winning the vote over former foe Marcos Maidana by a 57% to 43% margin, with over 35,000 votes tallied.
Yet, there’s been no word from Floyd Mayweather, or Mayweather Promotions, on arranging or finalizing that bout. Everything’s been suspiciously quiet, in fact.
Meanwhile, Khan is just hoping his wishes come true, saying on Twitter:
It would b an honour to share the ring with @FloydMayweather who will be loyal to his word and to the fans, to fight the winner of his poll
As for Maidana, he doesn’t feel he’s out of the running. In fact, according to every other prominent poll, Maidana was the one who was actually chosen by fans. Maidana shared these stats:
Who should Mayweather face next? Maidana or Khan?
- ESPN.COM (65,007 votes): MAIDANA 62% – KHAN 38%
- ESPNDEPORTES.COM (6,259 votes): MAIDANA 82% – KHAN 18%
- RINGTV.COM (3,935 votes): MAIDANA 57% – KHAN 43%
- FIGHTNEWS.COM: MAIDANA 78% – KHAN 22%
Not only were all four of those strongly in favor of Maidana, but in the case of ESPN’s poll, there was nearly two times as many votes.
Stylistically, yes, Khan could theoretically trouble Mayweather more. But make no mistake about it, he’d be outclassed all the same. Khan also has done absolutely nothing to deserve the bout.
The truth is that Mayweather fighting Khan at this stage would be a joke. The only fathomable excuse I could find for it would be if the fight was held in the UK. Except Mayweather’s next bout is already slated for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as per usual, so that’s not a possibility.
Maidana, on the other hand, is riding high right now, would try his hardest to make the bout an entertaining scrap, and would at least have the sliver of hope that he could find a “magic bullet” and turn things around with one punch.
The other element which remains is trying to determine whether or not a mystery opponent has been in the running the whole time. It’s entirely plausible that Mayweather and his team were merely gauging fan interest while sealing up negotiations with somebody else. I’d wish it were Danny Garcia, but he’s busy with a March fight in Puerto Rico. Could Keith Thurman land a mega-fight out of nowhere? Who else does Golden Boy and Mayweather Promotions have up their sleeves?
As often happens with Mayweather’s next fight, we’re left guessing until he decides it’s time to finally reveal his cards. Surely, he’s reveling in the attention right now. But with less than three months until fight night, his window to make this announcement is closing. Expect to hear something official in the coming days.
