Quote Originally Posted by Rantcatrat View Post

Let's just ask the easy question though: do you think Molina, Andrade, Kirkland, Charlo, or Lara wouldn't pose more of a challenge to Floyd than Maidana?
I already answered that question: yes, I do think there are guys at 154 who pose more of a challenge to Floyd Mayweather than Maidana (Lara being one of them, I would debate Kirkland and Molina though). Would I pick any of those guys you listed to beat Mayweather? No, but I FULLY concede that a fighter like Lara would be a much more interesting matchup stylistically for Floyd than Maidana. I never argued that Maidana posed the greatest threat to Mayweather at 147-154. My argument was that - with Pac, Bradley, Garcia, and several others with fights already booked, and Floyd having beaten several of the other top contenders at 147 and 154 - Maidana was the best choice, in terms of him having momentum and being a legit opponent.

When you're trying to create a big PPV event, there's more to it than just who boxing geeks like us consider the most risky fight. The fighter needs momentum and there needs to be drama and a good story to captivate a mainstream audience. Maidana brings that to the table. He's a credible opponent with a good name value and fan support, who just handed Floyd's "lil brother" his ass.

I'm not giving an opinion, I'm giving facts. Floyd can do bigger business fighting Maidana than Lara, Andrade, or anyone else at 154. To say any "B-side" will do the same buy rates shows a complete lack of understanding for boxing as a business.

And if anyone here wants to believe in the fairy tale nonsense about some past champion fighting "high risk/low reward" guys over "high or medium risk/high reward" guys, you can live in that fantasy world.

Do I think Maidana will beat Mayweather? No, but I don't think Lara, Andrade, Kirkland, Trout, ect would, either.