Floyd Mayweather will put his World Boxing Council welterweight and junior middleweight titles on the line when he collides with Marcos Maidana on September 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced on Tuesday that they have approved Mayweather's request to defend both his titles against Maidana, giving the reigning pound-for-pound king the same recognition Sugar Ray Leonard got more than two decades ago.
"It is an important historic event, because it gives recognition to a great champion like Mayweather, and at the time [in 1998 that recognition] was given to Sugar Ray Leonard," Sulaiman said in a statement via BoxingScene. "There are situations in which you should have that flexibility where you don't disrupt the development of fighters."
Mayweather said that he wants to defend both his titles, but boxing analysts expressed doubts, insisting that the move could bypass other challengers for the title. Sulaiman insisted, though, that the move won't hurt any other boxer at this point.
"There is currently no mandatory challenger at welterweight and super welterweight, no boxer is getting hurt," Sulaiman said. "It's something that places Mayweather in a very exclusive group in boxing history. His loyalty to the organization has been exemplary and this is also a way to show our loyalty to him."
Meanwhile, Freddie Roach has been throwing verbal jabs against Mayweather over the past several years, but the Hall of Fame trainer believes that the reigning pound-for-pound king will successfully defend his world titles.
In an interview with BoxingScene, Roach said that Mayweather is too smart for Maidana, pointing out that the unbeaten champion has the ability to adjust quickly in a fight, similar to what he did in the first fight.
Maidana put a lot pressure on Mayweather in the early goings of their first showdown in May, but the Grand Rapids, Michigan native quickly solve the puzzle and became sharper in the latter part of the match.
"He learns in his matches. He absorbs things," Roach said. "He'll fight a smarter fight more consistently. He'll fight 10 rounds the way he did the last six. He gave the first four rounds away a little bit. Mayweather's a smart fighter. He learns quick. He's just the more intelligent fighter. Maidana's just a puncher."
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