Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. Whether you’re a boxing fan or not, you’ll probably have heard the name. Regardless of what you know about the 37 year old, undefeated welterweight world champion he is one of the beacons of modern sport; both in terms of performance, and encapsulating the hugely capitalist and media driven nature of elite sport in the 21st Century.

Today, it was announced that Mayweather’s next fight would come against Argentine Marcos Miadana, who will be the latest prospect to attempt to be the first man to defeat the brash and eccentric American.

Miadana earned his shot by defeating Mayweather’s protégé and friend; previously undefeated and equally confident Adrien Broner last December. In so-doing, Miadana edged out Britain’s own Amir Khan who was fancied to be Mayweather’s opponent on May 3rd. Khan himself beat Miadana back in 2010, adding to the former Team GB Olympic silver medallist’s frustrations

Fight politics aside, the paradigm which surrounds Floyd Mayweather is what makes this interesting from a media and marketing perspective. For non-boxing enthusiasts, Mayweather’s reputation stands alongside Ali or Tyson in their prime as the absolute pinnacle of the sweet science.

Since his 1996 debut, he has taken on every big name within reach (with the possible exception of Manny Pacquiao) and come out unscathed as an undefeated five-division world champion. His ability and personality are tailor-made for the modern professional sporting world. Beat Floyd Mayweather and any fighter becomes sport’s hottest property; it’s just easier said than done.

His ‘can’t take your eyes off him’ style and unmatched ability have created an ever-growing cycle. Mayweather’s reputation attracts the best in the game to try and break his record (which currently stands at 45-0). The boxing world holds its breath to see the legend fall for the first time. The only issue is that he doesn’t fall. The legend grows, and the cycle stars again.

Coming towards the end of his career, Mayweather has signed a six-fight contract with American broadcasters Showtime, which many suspect will carry him to the end of his career. His fight with Miadana will be the third of the contract which is reportedly worth a scarcely believable $200m (minimum) to Mayweather. This could rise to $250m and beyond assuming he stays undefeated and depending on the marketability of his opponents.

Consumer interest to see whether Mayweather will retire undefeated added to the fact that there is now a limited number of ‘golden tickets’ available to fighters who want their chance to dethrone the king, and this incredibly rich deal starts to stack up. His recent earnings have averaged in the region of $45m per fight, and his most recent fight with fancied Mexican Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez grossed $150m from TV rights.

So, these ‘golden tickets’. With only a handful of paydays left for Mayweather in the ring, and an equally small number of fighters left to take him on, surely these fighters will be carefully selected by The Money Team (Mayweather’s team) to preserve his record and capitalise on pay-per-view sales…?

You would be forgiven for thinking so. But Floyd Mayweather decided to let his twitter followers decide. Floyd tweeted;

“I’m going to let the fans vote. Tell me who I should fight next. Khan or Miadana?”

The Twitterverse voted in favour of the latter, but the very act of the world’s foremost fighter using social media to decide the identity of one of his final opponents speaks to the power of the consumer in the modern sporting marketplace. In order for mega-stars such as Mayweather to hold their status as great beacons of sporting capitalism, they must be hugely adaptive to the wants of the public who elevate them to their pedestal.

For all his ‘panto bad-guy’ antics outside the ring, Floyd Mayweather understands the importance of satisfying the consumer. By leading the way in terms of social media usage and connecting with the masses, he amplifies the value of himself and his fights.

An undefeated record also helps.