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Mayweather-Maidana II tour a good call

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LAS VEGAS — Two of the three fights Floyd Mayweather Jr. has had on his six-fight Showtime/CBS contract — Robert Guerrero and Marcos Maidana — failed to reach the benchmark 1-million buy mark, the figure Mayweather has said is a big deal.

But both of those bouts were organized with little room to spare and resulted in poor promotions that got off to a slow start without a media tour.

The one fight that surged past 2 million buys and set the all-time pay-per-view revenue record was his showdown with Canelo Alvarez. That fight included a 10-city tour. I strongly believe the excitement created by the tour across the country gave the promotion a massive jolt and was a big factor in helping it set multiple records, even though it was a hot fight from the moment it was announced.

Mayweather announced Thursday that he will fight Maidana again on Sept. 13 at the MGM Grand, but this time there will be a five-city tour — something the fight really needs if Mayweather has a prayer to bolster his sagging pay-per-view numbers. I think it can only help stoke interest in the rematch of what was an excellent fight in May, albeit a close but clear win for Mayweather, who unified welterweight titles.

The tour stops are all open and free to the public (first come, first served). Here’s a rundown on the particulars if you are interested in checking out any of the stops. If you’ve never been, these tour stops are a lot of fun.

• Monday, noon ET: New York at the pedestrian walk in Times Square between 42nd and 43rd Streets.

• Monday, 6:30 p.m. ET: Washington, D.C. at DAR Constitution Hall. A performance by rapper and D.C. native Wale will follow the press conference.

• Tuesday, 11 a.m. CT: Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre.

• Tuesday, 6 p.m. CT: San Antonio at Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ Lone Star Lil’s Amphitheater.

• Thursday, noon ET: Los Angeles at Pershing Square.

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