Earlier this week, Floyd Mayweather let one of boxing's worst kept secrets out of the bag. Mayweather announced that he will seek to extend his unbeaten record to 47-0 when he rematches Marcos Maidana for the WBA & WBC world welterweight titles on September 13th. Maidana, aggrieved at the judges decision to rule the first fight in Mayweather's favor, will get the chance to exact revenge and in the process shake up the boxing world. As a fight fan, I think there is cause to rejoice as for once, the right fight has been made.
On the evidence of the first fight, Marcos Maidana is more than willing to employ whatever tactics (legal or not) he needs to in order to increase his chances of victory. In their first fight, Maidana tested Mayweather in ways we haven't seen Floyd tested in recent times. The unorthodox attacks, consistent intensity, rough-house tricks on the inside, low blows, and other tactics forced Floyd Mayweather to dig a little deeper than usual to secure victory. Mayweather found a way to win, but that fight taught us that we can be certain of one thing; Maidana will lay it all on the line to get the win. If Maidana's efforts result in a draw or Maidana victory, then it will go down as a historic night. If Floyd gets the victory as expected, then we can at least be sure he will be made to earn it. It's a win-win situation for the fans.
For Mayweather, this fight is attractive in both financial and legacy terms. The rematch will likely outsell the first fight, earning Mayweather another big payday while simultaneously presenting him with the opportunity to put a further stamp on his legacy by decisively defeating a fighter that gave him an uncomfortable first fight. For Chino Maidana, the rematch presents another crack at making history, a sizeable check, and (if he performs well) a boost to his longer term earning potential.
Mayweather vs Maidana II is also made more attractive by the lack of immediately available, viable alternative opponents for Mayweather. The welterweight division is packed full of talented, young boxers. Unfortunately, however, none has, through their drawing power or in-ring performances, done enough to earn a mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather. The closest fighter to a Floyd Mayweather fight is Amir Khan, and he has ruled out fighting in September for religious reasons. Despite all the recent talk, a potential fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao hasn't looked like a realistic possibility since 2010. The best two fighters at 154lbs, Saul 'Canelo' Alavarez and Erislandy Lara, are fighting each other on July 12th and there are no proven fighters coming up from 140lbs. If not Maidana, then who else is there for Mayweather to fight?
If that isn't enough reason to be excited about Mayweather vs Maidana II, then here's another one. On the bill, if recent history is anything to go by, will be at least another one or two interesting fights. Mayweather vs Maidana I featured a total of 5 current or former world champions as well as a few interesting prospects. Mayweather's previous pay-per-view fight against Canelo Alvarez featured a mini super fight, Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse, as the chief support. Mayweather cards are often stacked with talent. Unfortunately, most fans don't appreciate just how rare it is for a big fight to have such quality on the undercard.
To please all boxing fans is a near impossible task. No matter which fights the big fighters take, there will be some criticism of their opponent selection and this case is no different. However, the immediate outlook of the welterweight division and the extra interest generated by the competitive first fight mean that this is a rematch that needed to be made immediately. Other interesting factors will come into play to make it an even more intriguing match up. Will Maidana be allowed to wear his choice of gloves? Will Mayweather change his tactical approach? Can he? All will be answered on September 13th.