Mayweather vs. Maidana 2: Early Fight Predictions, PPV Schedule and More

Undefeated Floyd Mayweather survived perhaps the biggest challenge of his career when he narrowly defeated Marcos Maidana in May. The world's best pound-for-pound fighter will look to prove his superiority once and for all on Sept. 13.

Maidana's deliberate style frustrated Mayweather throughout their first encounter and threw him off his game. Now that "Money" knows what to expect out of his opponent, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts and what type of strategy he employs.

In addition to Mayweather vs. Maidana II, the card will feature several other intriguing bouts as well. Here is a look at the entire Sept. 13 event along with predictions regarding how the main event will play out.

Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas

When: Saturday, Sept. 13 (Card starts at 8 p.m. ET)

Watch: Showtime PPV

Fight Card

Weight Class	Fighter	Fighter	Rounds
Welterweight	Floyd Mayweather	Marcos Maidana	12
Super Bantamweight	Leo Santa Cruz	Manuel Roman	12
Lightweight	Miguel Vazquez	Mickey Bey	12
Middleweight	Alfredo Angulo	James De La Rosa	10
Junior Welterweight	John Molina Jr.	Humberto Soto	10

Mayweather Keys to Victory

Harry How/Getty Images

After escaping with a majority-decision victory over Maidana in their initial bout, there is no question that Mayweather wants and needs to be more decisive in the rematch. Mayweather did earn the win from a statistical standpoint, but the disjointed nature of the fight made it look like Mayweather was in trouble and wasn't in control of the contest.

One can only assume that Maidana will employ a similar strategy on Sept. 13, so it will be up to Mayweather to adapt. Perhaps no boxer in the world is more complete than the reigning champion, and he intends to use that to his advantage, according to MLive.com's David Mayo.

"

What I can do, what makes me a little different than any other fighter, is I'm well-rounded and very versatile, as far as I can box, I can counter-punch, I can bang, I can do a little bit of everything. That's why I'm at the pinnacle in the sport right now. Can he switch up anything? I don't really think so. I mean, that's just my gut feeling.

"

Mayweather usually sits in a defensive posture and uses his speed and elusiveness to escape his opponents' advances. He shouldn't totally abandon what has allowed him to reach 46-0, but he most definitely needs to go on the offensive a little more often this time around.

That doesn't mean Mayweather should take unnecessary chances, but an increase in terms of aggressiveness will help him cosmetically in the eyes of the judges and the fans as well.

The fact that Mayweather beat Maidana with some room to spare on the scorecards of two judges last fight speaks to how dominant he can be. Even in one of his worst fights, Mayweather still came out on top. As long as Mayweather sprinkles in a little extra offense, he should prevail again.

Maidana Keys to Victory

Harry How/Getty Images

It can be argued that Maidana had a perfect game plan when he and Mayweather locked horns four months ago. He did everything he could to frustrate the undefeated champion, and he did so well in that regard that he had many believing he won the fight, or forced a draw at the very least.

With that said, it still wasn't enough to take down the world's top boxer. The biggest problem with Maidana's performance in the first fight is that he didn't actually connect with many shots. Most of his punches were blocked or absorbed harmlessly, so his connection percentage was low, and the damage he did was negligible.

Maidana and his camp apparently subscribed to the quantity-over-quality theory, and it didn't pay off for him in the end. Maidana did prevent Mayweather from fighting his preferred fight, though, and that is something he must do once again.

Now that Maidana has already stepped in the ring with Mayweather, he believes that experience will work in his favor, per BoxingInsider.com:

There was obviously some merit to Maidana's strategy last fight, but with Mayweather quite likely to make adjustments, El Chino must make some changes as well.

More than anything, Maidana should be selective with his punches. Rather than wearing himself out with punches that aren't landing, Maidana needs to do a better job of picking his spots and inflicting maximum damage with minimal effort.

If Maidana is to be believed, then he plans to be even more aggressive in terms of pursuing a knockout, according to Joe Gallagher of the Manchester Evening News:

Beating Mayweather is the tallest task in boxing, but Maidana has already hung with him once. If he can make some tweaks and be more accurate, then he'll have a puncher's chance Saturday night.

Prediction

Many predicted Mayweather to beat Maidana by decision in their first meeting, and while that came to fruition, it probably didn't happen in the manner most expected. With that in mind, Mayweather will be hellbent on turning in a far more dominant performance.

Maidana showed that he could keep it close against Mayweather, but he certainly didn't show that he could hurt Mayweather. He also didn't do enough to slow Mayweather down, so he has a long way to go before he can truly push Mayweather to the brink of defeat.

Boxing fans have seen how incredibly Mayweather is at his best, and he was nowhere near that level in May. If he makes even the slightest improvements in the rematch, then another victory is pretty much guaranteed.

Now that Mayweather knows he isn't bulletproof, expect him to enter this fight determined and hungry before leaving it with a clear triumph by unanimous decision.

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