Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s final news conferences have tended to run on the dry side lately. Lots of platitudes to his team, to the network, maybe a subtle swipe at his opponent. But that’s about it. To get a good quote Wednesday meant venturing to the top of the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand and seeking out Mayweather’s father and head trainer, Floyd Sr.
Boxing
Amir Khan will fight as a welterweight for the first time on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden in what is essentially a tryout for what Khan hopes will be a megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., who will put his 45-0 record with 26 knockouts on the line Saturday against Marcos Maidana at the Grand Garden on Showtime Pay Per View, said he’s interested in being part of a consortium to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers.
The heavyweight contender who trains in Las Vegas is looking to become WBC champion with an encore performance against Chris Arreola when they meet May 10 at USC’s Galen Center on ESPN.
The Top Rank chairman said his now-frosty relationship with MGM Resorts won’t impact his ability to do business in Las Vegas and beyond. The MGM, which has strong bonds with Floyd Mayweather, Golden Boy Promotions and the Ultimate Fighting Championship can survive as well.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxing’s pound-for-pound king, plans to fight his usual patient, smart fight when he faces Marcos Maidana May 3 at the MGM Grand Garden. He said if Maidana gets reckless, it will cost him.
There was the side Bob Dylan sang about and the side Denzel Washington portrayed in the movies. That was an admirable side. Then there was the other side, the rough side. That’s the side you didn’t hear too much about.
Richard Davies’ new book on the sport goes back to the late 1800s and looks at boxing’s growth in the Silver State from the mining towns to the Strip casinos.
Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, the boxer whose wrongful murder conviction became an international symbol of racial injustice, died Sunday. He was 76.
Beibut Shumenov, the 30-year-old Las Vegas resident by way of Kazakhstan, gets the ultimate test when he faces future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, the International Boxing Federation champion, tonight in Washington, D.C., on a Showtime-televised card.
Bob Bennett of Las Vegas was selected by the Nevada Athletic Commission on Friday as its executive director, replacing Keith Kizer, who resigned Jan. 10 after almost six years on the job.
When Bernard Hopkins speaks, it pays to listen. He doesn’t deal in sound bytes. He’s more like a narrative from a documentary, telling the entire story with thoughtfulness, insight and the wisdom of a 49-year-old man who has seen and done virtually everything in boxing.
Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of gaming giant MGM Resorts International, is strongly hinting that his company’s turbulent relationship with boxing promoter Bob Arum might be over.
The 35-year-old Las Vegan hoped to win a second world title when he faced Lara, the reigning WBA junior middleweight champion, on May 2 at the Hard Rock Hotel. Instead, Lara pulled out and will face former world champ Canelo Alvarez at the MGM Grand July 12 on Showtime Pay Per View.