SAN FRANCISCO, CA (July 6, 2015) – After pound for pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) mentioned Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield (19-2-1, 11 KOs) as one of his possible opponents for his final contracted fight with Showtime, the San Francisco native says is ready to step up and give Mayweather his first loss.
“I’m always ready to fight anyone anywhere,” said Karim Mayfield. “The fact that the great Floyd Mayweather has mentioned me as someone he wants to fight in September is music to my ears. It would be an honor to fight Floyd in Las Vegas. He’s done a lot for the sport and he’s arguably the best fighter to ever lace em up. My last few fights have been at 140 pounds and I know the extra weight would make me more powerful. I fought Francisco Santana at 152 pounds and gave him his only KO loss. I’m very powerful and comfortable at that weight. I know I would give Floyd all he can handle. My trainer Ben Bautista and I have a game plan we know will be successful against Mayweather. I’d give Floyd his first loss in a highly explosive fight.”
Set for September 12, 2015, Mayweather will fight an opponent TBA at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Mayfield, along with Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) are fighters Floyd Mayweather has mentioned as potential opponents. Karim feels he’s the better option.
“No disrespect to Andre Berto, he’s a good fighter and we have a mutual respect for one another, but he’s not as durable as I am. Berto has two losses against opponent’s Floyd has already defeated. I’ve never been dropped, battered or bruised in any of my fights. I bring a rough style to this fight, a style the fans want to see Floyd up against. In addition, the Bay Area is a big media market and I know all my fans here would rise up and support me. My brother La Ron and I, who are independent, sold out my last fight in San Francisco. I’m confident we can bring a big crowd to Las Vegas. It’s only an hour fight away.”
Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs), who’s been begging to fight Mayweather since 2014, is another fighter campaigning to fight Mayweather. After sparring Khan on numerous occasions, Mayfield feels Amir is an easier fight.
“Every time I sparred Amir Khan at Virgil Hunter’s gym, I put hands on him,” Mayfield declared. “So bad that Virgil had to stop the sparring sessions. Khan has also been brutally knocked out twice by Prescott and Garcia. The man has no chin and he wouldn’t last twelve rounds with Money Mayweather. He’s definitely the safer route.”
Mayfield, who’s been in camp with Manny Pacquiao, Antonio Margarito and Danny Garcia to name a few, has all the experience needed to give the fans an entertaining fight. He’s beaten many undefeated fighters and has a unanimous decision win against Mauricio Herrera.
“No one can deny my heart and determination to fight the best,” Mayfield continued. “I’ve been the ring with everyone. I soundly beat Herrera, I whooped Pacquiao and Khan in sparring. Shawn Porter refused to step in the ring when he had the choice to fight me or Erick Bone with only one day notice. A lot of fighters have ducked me because I’m a serious threat to anyone.”
Mayfield feels the fans want to see Floyd Mayweather give an African-American fighter a chance to dethrone him. Mayweather’s last seven opponents have been either, Mexican, Argentinean, Filipino or Puerto Rican.
“I think it’s time for the fans to see Floyd give a brotha a shot.” Mayfield concluded. “Shane Mosley and Zab Judah gave Floyd a run for his money. I feel I can do the same but come out victorious.”
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
