LAS VEGAS (April 12, 2014) – Boxing’s pound-for-pound superstar, pay-per-view king and WBC Welterweight World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather to face the dangerous, power-punching WBA Welterweight World Champion Marcos “El Chino” Maidana in a title unification bout entitled “THE MOMENT” on Saturday, May 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV®.
The fight card will also include an explosive matchup of two world-class fighters when British superstar and former unified super lightweight world champion Amir “King” Khan faces Brooklyn native and WBA International Welterweight Champion Luis Collazo for theWBC Silver Welterweight Title. This bout will be followed by a junior welterweight bout featuring exciting former world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner against the hard-hitting Californian Carlos Molina and J’Leon Love and Mexican Olympian Marco Antonio Periban will open the pay-per-view event with a super middleweight matchup.
Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000(800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
“Marcos Maidana’s last performance immediately brought him to my attention,” said Mayweather. “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 (34-3, 31 KO’s) isn’t just one of boxing’s biggest punchers, he’s also consistently amongst the most exciting fighters in the game today, one who has specialized in Fight of the Year-worthy battles against the best the sport has to offer.
“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 3.”
“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.”
“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. 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 3.”
“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 a fantastic fight on the grandest stage of the sport.”
“We are honored to host another one of Floyd Mayweather’s epic championship fights at MGM Grand and we welcome back Marcos Maidana to the property,” said Richard Sturm, president of Sports and Entertainment for MGM Resorts International. “These two exciting athletes will put on a spectacular show and once again fight fans are in for a thrilling night of boxing from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.”
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 (34-3, 31 KOs), from Margarita, Santa Fe, Argentina, first emerged on the world scene in 2009, when he won the interim WBA World Junior Welterweight 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 Erik Morales in 2011. In 2012, Maidana joined forces with renowned trainer Robert Garcia (2012 Trainer of the Year). His most recent victory was a spectacular and thorough defeat of the highly regarded and undefeated Adrien Broner on Dec. 14, 2013.
He 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. 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.
The fight card will continue with British superstar and former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Amir “King” Khan facing Brooklyn native and WBA International Welterweight Champion Luis Collazo.
Brooklyn’s Luis Collazo (35-5, 18 KOs) has long been one of New York’s finest exports, a slick boxer who isn’t afraid to get into the trenches and slug it out. Collazo is a former WBA Welterweight World Champion and currently holds the WBA International Welterweight Title. No stranger to facing the elite in his weight class, he has squared off against fighters such as Jose Antonio Rivera, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley and Andre Berto. Collazo took nearly two years off from the ring, but since returning in 2011, he has won five of six bouts, including four straight. This past January, he made the statement of a lifetime with a blistering second-round knockout victory over favored former world champion Victor Ortiz, and he has similar plans for Khan on May 3.
A British standout who represented his nation in the 2004 Olympic Games, where he won a silver medal, Bolton’s Amir “King” Khan (28-3, 19 KOs) went from local hero to international star when he won his first world title at 140 pounds in 2009. After five successful defenses that included wins over Marcos Maidana, Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah, Khan lost his title by way of a controversial decision to Lamont Peterson in 2011. Winner of two straight over Carlos Molina and Julio Diaz since, the flashy, flamboyant 27-year-old boxer-puncher is now campaigning at welterweight, where he seeks championship gold once again.
This fight will be followed by a junior welterweight bout featuring exciting former world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner against the hard-hitting Californian Carlos Molina.
One of the most talked about fighters in boxing today, Cincinnati’s Adrien “The Problem” Broner (27-1, 22 KOs), is also one of the most talented. A world titleholder in three weight classes with speed, power and heart, Broner owns victories over Paulie Malignaggi, Antonio De Marco, Daniel Ponce De Leon and Gavin Rees. The 24-year-old lost his WBA World Welterweight title in a thrilling 12-round bout against Marcos Maidana last December making May 3, a virtual must-win fight for the highly touted former champion.
“I can’t wait to be on this show and reclaim my spot at the top because that is where I belong,” said Broner. “I know I disappointed a lot of people with the results of my last fight but I promise you, I will never let that happen again. I know my skills and you will see my work on May 3 against Molina. I appreciate Floyd Mayweather for giving me the opportunity to be on this card too. He is generous and always looks out for me and other fighters.”
A talented boxer-puncher eager to get back in the title hunt, 28-year-old Carlos Molina (17-1-1, 7 KOs) has the style and talent to hand Broner his second loss. A seven-year professional who has built a substantial fan following in Southern California, the Norwalk product has returned from a 17-month layoff refreshed and determined to win a world championship. That quest starts against Broner.
“I am so excited to be able to fight on a card of this magnitude against Adrien Broner,” said Molina. “Sure he’s tough but we all saw what happened in his last fight when he was under pressure. I have the boxing ability and punching power to beat him and that is exactly what I plan to do on May 3.”
Opening the pay-per-view event will be a super middleweight matchup between unbeaten J’Leon Love and former title challenger and Mexican Olympian Marco Antonio Periban of Mexico City.
Dearborn Heights, Mich., native J’Leon Love (17-0, 10 KOs) is a gifted fighter who impresses fans with each outing. Unbeaten as a professional, the 26-year-old member of Mayweather Promotions and “The Money Team” is coming off back-to-back knockout wins over Lajuan Simon and Vladine Biosse. He will be looking for an impressive early finish against Periban as he fights in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas.
“It is always an honor to be on the same card as my boss, Floyd Mayweather,” said Love. “I train with him in the gym everyday and see what it takes to compete at the highest level in boxing. I can’t thank Floyd and Mayweather Promotions enough for these opportunities. My opponent is a very tough competitor but I have no doubt that I will be victorious and move one step closer to a world championship. May 3 can’t get here soon enough.”
A top Mexican contender for world title honors, 29-year-old NABF Super Middleweight Champion Marco Antonio Periban (20-1-1, 13 KOs) can box or bang, making him a nightmare matchup for opponents and a favorite of fight fans. The Mexico City native won his current NABF title with a second-round knockout of Samuel Miller in 2013. While he lost a subsequent WBC title fight against Sakio Bika via a controversial decision, he knows a win over Love will put him at the top of the division again.
“This is a great opportunity for me and I will represent my country and Mexican boxing fans all over the world on this Cinco de Mayo weekend,” said Periban. “J’Leon Love might be a member of ‘The Money Team’ but that won’t matter on May 3, when he has to face someone like me. We’ll see who comes out victorious. I will not let my people or my country down.”
“THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” isa 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).
Six MGM Resorts Properties will host live closed circuit telecast of THE MOMENT: Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Monte Carlo. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $75, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711866-799-7711 or at www.mgmgrand.com. Select properties also will sell tickets through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000(800) 745-3000 or by purchasing online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE MOMENT” will also be broadcast on nearly 520 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.
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 Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce