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Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he ‘chose the better man’ in Marcos Maidana

Fighters Network
01
Mar

Farhood-and-Mayweather_Casi

Floyd Mayweather Jr. told Showtime's Steve Farhood that he "chose the better man" in announcing that he will face Marcos Maidana instead of Amir Khan for his return to the ring on May 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 

Mayweather (45-0, 26 knockouts) was interviewed by Farhood during Friday night's telecast of The ShoBox: The New Generation card, which the fighter promoted from the Turning Stone Resort Casino Event Center in Verona, N.Y.,

"Maidana has come back, lately, very, very impressively," Mayweather said. "(He's) had a lot of great wins lately, whereas, Amir Khan is 2-2 in his last four fights. So I chose the better man."



It was the 37-year-old veteran's first interview since announcing the Maidana bout. Mayweather was asked who his dream fights would be against and he answered either Julio Cesar Chavez or Roberto Duran.

Mayweather took questions from fans via Twitter, beginning with his weight, which he stated was "150" pounds.

Mayweather also listed his favorite boxers, in order, as Ricardo Lopez, Aaron Pryor and Larry Holmes, and said that the most difficult fight of his career was a ninth-round stoppage win over Emanuel Agustus in October 2000.

The Mayweather Promotions show was headlined by super middleweight prospect J'Leon Love (17-0, 10 KOs) winning by 10th-round knockout over Vladine Biosse (15-2-2, 7 KOs), and included world-rated super middleweight Badou Jack (16-1-1, 11 KOs) suffering an upset first-round knockout loss to Derek Edwards (27-3-1, 14 KOs), and middleweight prospect Chris Pearson (11-0, 9 KOs) rising from sixth-round knockdown to win by unanimous decision over Lanardo Tyner (31-9-2, 20 KOs).

Below is Farhood's interview, in part, with Mayweather:

 

Floyd Mayweather Jr. on why he chose Maidana over Khan:

"Maidana has come back, lately, very, very impressively. A lot of great wins, lately, whereas, Amir Khan is 2-2 in his last four fights. So I chose the better man."

On the notion of age catching up to him:

"This is a very, very difficult fight for me. This is a guy that I know that I can't overlook. Each and every time Marcos Maidana goes out there, he gives it his best.

"I know that I have to go out there and be at my best, sit down with my father and go over a brilliant game plan, and, hopefully, this training camp goes well.

"You know, Maidana is tough, and he's a champion just like I'm a champion, so when you bring the two together, you get nothing but excitement. So this is a guy that I know that I can't overlook, I must push myself to the limit, and May 3, The Money Team, we'll be ready."

His weight:

"150"

Top three favorite fighters:

"Ricardo Lopez, Aaron Pryor, Larry Holmes."

Toughest fight:

"I don't know. I can't really say. There's been a lot of tough fights. Not [Jose Luis] Castillo. I can't think of the guy's name, actually, right now, but he was tough. I fought him in Detroit, and I was off for nine months.

 

"I can't think of his name, right now, but he was a very, very tough opponent. See, you've got to realize that it's the no-name guys are the guys that you've got to watch out for. It's the guys with the names that you don't have to worry about.

"It's Emanuel Augustus. Tough. Tough. But he changed his name. It was Emanuel Burton when I fought him, but he eventually changed his name to Emanuel Augustus. So, tough, tough opponent."

On who will win on March 8 between Canelo Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo:

"Angulo is a tough opponent, but Canelo has all of the tools to bounce back."

On what he would be if not a boxer:

"Hopefully, a boxing trainer."

 

On who he would have fought in history:

 

 

"Probably Julio Cesar Chavez, or Roberto Duran. Either or. Both are legends."

 

 

Photo / Tom Casino-SHOWTIME

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