Mayweather vs. Maidana 2 Winner: Judges' Scorecards, Purse Payout and More
On Saturday, pressure, activity nor biting were enough to stop Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0) from dominating his rematch with Marcos Maidana (35-5) en route to a unanimous-decision victory. In the process, Mayweather retained the WBA and WBC welterweight titles and WBC light middleweight title.
Instead of being resigned to leaning against the ropes and allow Maidana to throw wild combinations, Money strategically held, skipped along the ropes and used majestic footwork to gain advantageous ring position.
His hand speed, punching accuracy and ring savvy made the rematch look the way most expected the first meeting would. Here's a look at the official scorecards.
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Quite honestly, the final result could have been even more lopsided. Aside from the 12th round, it was hard to find a frame in which the challenger got the best of Money.
From the beginning of the bout, it was clear Mayweather decided against spending a lot of time standing stationary. He took command of the middle of the ring and tied up Maidana when they were in close.
Some may not have approved of Mayweather's strategy to tie up his opponent, but it was a smart counter to Maidana's roughhousing. One look at the ShoStat numbers shows just how much better than Maidana Mayweather was on Saturday.
Most of the action was clean, but things went to the schoolyard three-quarters of the way through.
With Mayweather controlling the fight and apparently using his glove to cover Maidana's face during clinches, the challenger looked to have bitten Money during the eighth round.
It caused a stoppage in the action and an odd moment. Later in the bout, Maidana was penalized a point for shoving Mayweather to the mat while leading with his forearm.
Referee Kenny Bayless quickly punished Maidana for his actions.
The Showtime broadcast team of Al Bernstein, Paulie Malignaggi and Brian Kenny suggested that Bayless' quick separations and his allowance of Mayweather's holding helped to shape the identity of the bout.
""I cam to fight like always. I thought I won, but if the judges like to see runners, then thats on them." Maidana
— Isaac Estrada (@RealBoxingNews) September 14, 2014"
To a degree that may have been true, but in all honesty, Mayweather simply proved himself to be the better man.
When the fight was over, Mayweather was especially hard on himself.
That grade might be a little harsh, but it's hard for a fighter and celebrity of Mayweather's stature to be honest in that situation. The lower the grade after a win, the better it makes you look.
Mayweather was also asked by Showtime's Jim Gray what was next on his plate. Predictably, Manny Pacquiao's name was brought up. While Mayweather was not totally dismissive about the notion of fighting the Filipino legend, he did point out that Pacquiao first has to deal with Chris Algieri on Nov. 22.
For his efforts, Mayweather took home a healthy paycheck of $32 million. Though Maidana's payout paled in comparison to Floyd's, there's no shame in a $3 million takeaway.
Expect Maidana to take some time off after securing the largest payday of his career. He could challenge anyone from Adrien Broner—in a rematch of the bout that spawned the Mayweather opportunity—to a fighter like the undefeated and feared Keith Thurman.
Mayweather said he would be back in May, though no opponent was named. Based on the physical conditioning he showed in this bout, he still looks to be at the top of his game. We'll be waiting anxiously to see who's next.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.
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