Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Blueprint to Knocking out Marcos Maidana in Rematch

Floyd Mayweather's return to the boxing ring is a big deal for sports fans on its own, but when you put the brash, undefeated champion in a rematch with the fighter who gave him his toughest fight ever in Marcos Maidana, September 13 will be a historic day.

Coming out of that first bout with Maidana in May, Mayweather would have been forgiven if he took an easier opponent to get his wind back.

Instead, "Money" opted to go with the bout that would line his pockets with more green and prove that first win was just an off night.

However, Mayweather is also tempting fate. He's 37 years old and going up against a fighter six years his junior who came as close as anyone to getting the best of him. This means "Pretty Boy" will have to change his style to avoid losing that precious zero in his loss column.

The easiest way to prove Maidana was a fluke in that first fight is to knock him out, which is much more difficult than it sounds. The challenger has never been knocked out in 35 professional fights, and Mayweather has just one knockout in six fights since 2010.

With everything pointing toward another trip to the judges' table, how does Mayweather go about knocking Maidana out to avoid another close call this time around?

Mayweather can't be afraid to change his style, especially against a fighter whose bread is buttered with powerful striking.

Harry How/Getty Images

Mayweather has made a living by destroying opponents with speed and frustrating them with his defensive acumen. That style works brilliantly against most fighters since they can't keep up with him for more than five rounds, but Maidana has proven capable of matching Mayweather's stamina.

In fact, CompuBox (h/t Josh Slagter of MLive.com) indicated Maidana broke through the defensive wall in the first fight to hit Mayweather more than any his previous opponents ever had:

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CompuBox has now tracked 38 of Mayweather's 46 professional victories, and says Marcos Maidana's 221 punches landed Saturday night is the most of any fighter. ...

Maidana threw 858 punches over the 12 rounds, connecting on 26 percent overall. He connected on just 11 percent of his jabs (36 of 318), but 34 percent of his power punches (185 of 540).

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Mayweather proved he can take that kind of punishment and still keep coming, which he will have to do again versus the powerful Maidana. However, the one thing that would mitigate El Chino's potent punching is making him more defensive.

It's not a complete overhaul of what made Mayweather great for the last 18 years, either. He scored knockouts in 13 of his first 15 career bouts.

Granted, those were against lower-level fighters, but the point is power punching has been a part of his game at some point and can be again.

"Pretty Boy" recently told BoxingScene.com that it's his ability to be a chameleon in the ring that will frustrate Maidana on September 13:

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The first fight was exciting. He has the will to defeat me. He's a tough fighter. But, I'll demonstrate the difference in the rematch, as I will be faster and stronger. Maidana always fights in the same way...but I'm versatile, capable of doing different things in each fight. I can box, I can counter punch and I can move. ... The only way I see Maidana beating me is by knockout, but that'll never, ever happen.

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That chameleon-like approach to fighting is what makes Mayweather so great and hard to pin down in a single fight for all of his opponents. No one adapts in the ring like he does.

Another reason for Mayweather to fight more aggressively is Maidana's defense—or lack thereof. Mayweather was playing defense most of the time in the first fight. Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times noted in his fight recap that Mayweather spent the early portion of the bout against the ropes:

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In the opening round, the brawling Maidana attacked, pinned Mayweather on the ropes and fired clubbing overhand rights. Not all shots landed, but the large contingent of Argentine fans roared their approval.

Maidana continued that strategy in the second, with Mayweather covering up and scoring on counterpunches. It's typical of Mayweather to spend the first couple of rounds measuring his opponent.

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Because Mayweather likes to read opponents early, it can be difficult for a knockout to come by. That can't happen this time around, nor should it since "Money" knows what Maidana can and can't do coming off their first matchup just four months ago.

Any strategy that Mayweather wants to implement should be worked on during camp.

Maidana knows his only chance to pull off the upset is by doing what he did early in the first bout—fire away as soon as the bell rings.

On the other hand, Mayweather can catch the challenger off guard by coming out with all guns blazing. It would also set the champion up to score his first knockout in a fight since controversially dropping Victor Ortiz in 2011.

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