By Bill "Two Scoops" Emes
WBC/WBA junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia says Marcos Maidana fully deserves the lucrative opportunity against Floyd Mayweather Jr. On Monday, the pound-for-pound king selected Maidana as his next opponent. The fight takes place on May 3rd, more than likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
For a few months, Maidana and Amir Khan were the two frontrunners for Mayweather's next fight. Khan was widely viewed as the likely opponent for Mayweather - until Maidana upset Adrien Broner in December to capture the WBA welterweight title.
Garcia, like many experts, saw Khan as the probable Mayweather selection - until Maidana shocked Broner. Although he believes the right man is getting the fight, Garcia also sees Maidana as the easier of the two options because of the Argentine puncher's style. Garcia stopped Khan in four rounds in 2012.
"I actually called that, because everybody was saying that Mayweather was fighting Khan - but as soon as [Maidana] beat Broner - I said Floyd is fighting Maidana. I already knew it. He had that big win and I knew that it would lead him to that fight. I think Floyd will outbox him and win the fight, but he deserves it to be honest with you," Garcia said to BoxingScene.com.
"I think Maidana deserves the fight, but I think Khan would have been a little harder of a fight for Mayweather - because Maidana is just going to come [forward] and Floyd is basically going to outbox him and make him miss those looping punches. Khan is a tall fighter. People question his chin, but he's tall, has long arms and he's kind of fast. I think he would have been a little bit harder for Mayweather."