Eleven-time world champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather and former welterweight titlist Marcos "El Chino" Maidana held an announcement press conference in Times Square on Monday to formally announce their highly anticipated rematch taking place Saturday, Sept. 13 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV®.
Monday's press conference kicked off a five-city, open-to-the-public promotional tour that will see the fighters visit the boxing hotbeds of Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Antonio and Los Angeles.
Tickets for the live event go on sale tomorrow/Tuesday, July 15 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT and are priced at $1,600, $1,200, $850, $600 and $350, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person with a limit of four (4) at the $350 price range. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Here's what the participants had to say on Monday:
FLOYD MAYWEATHER, Eleven-Time, Five-Division World Champion
"My job is to win. Everyone remembers a winner. That's my legacy.
"I don't need to change my style. The guy who got the loss needs to change his style.
"Marcos Maidana came out and gave a tough effort, I mean he fought his heart out but it wasn't clean.
"Was I ever hurt? Sure, the shots to the back of the head hurt. Whenever you're in a heated battle you are going to be sore. It comes with the territory.
"Is Maidana a better fighter than Canelo? No. Cotto? No. He's just a dirtier fighter. I didn't get a deep gash from a punch; I got it from a head butt."
"Cotto is a solid competitor but we saw what happened to him against Floyd Mayweather. When he fought me, they said he was washed up. Then, he fights again and wins, and apparently, he has been resurrected. Same with Marquez.
"There's always testing. I'm the face of boxing and I want to clean the sport up.
"First they [Team Maidana] want to use gloves with no padding, and then they want to use knees, elbows and everything else. My back is always against the wall with Team Maidana.
MARCOS MAIDANA, Former WBA Welterweight World Champion
"Without a doubt we are going to prove who won the first fight with this fight; with this rematch.
"I fight dirty? He's the king of the elbows.
"The rematch is a big deal in Argentina. The entire country watched the first fight. There's going to be no exceptions in this one. Everybody is going to watch.
"Robert Garcia is very important presence in my career. I feel very comfortable training with him. I've been working with him since I faced [Jesus] Soto Karass and I think I'm going to retire with him.
"I've trained with many trainers and they all tried to change my style. That's why I lost my way at some point in my career. But with Robert [Garcia], it is different. He added to my style and he brought me back on track.
"I keep getting better in each fight, with defense, head movement. What Robert has done is a fine tune. In the first Mayweather fight, I was a little too anxious, and that's one of the things that Robert helped me fix."