Mayweather vs. Maidana 2 Results: Scorecard and Takeaways from Rematch
Insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting a different result.
On Saturday, that description rang true in a rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas. A packed stadium and millions of onlookers around the globe forked over tons of, well, money to watch Maidana spam his way to high punch totals, only to lose because of Mayweather's efficiency.
So much so was the rematch essentially a repeat of the first bout that the end result seemed as if Mayweather had actually taken his preparation seriously this time around.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
After, Showtime Sports provided a look at the official scorecards:
Let's go over some of the notable takeaways from the encounter.
Money Is Human
As dominant as Mayweather was Saturday, even he seemed none too pleased about his overall performance.
He told reporters after the fact that he felt his performance the first time around was better. For those fans of letter grades, win No. 47 on the way to that coveted 50-0 mark wound up getting hardly a passing grade from the man himself, per Showtime Sports:
On one hand, it is quite true that Mayweather is noticeably a tick slower than his usual self, but this was clearly on display in the first bout between the two, if not during his dance with Canelo Alvarez.
The fact of the matter is that Mayweather is 37 years old. Like it or not, the natural skill degradation that comes with the advancement of age is not something he simply gets to skip over.
Even with a clear loss of speed, Mayweather remains atop the mountain of the sport. He went out Saturday and imposed his will, fighting the exact fight he wanted to fight en route to eventually breaking Maidana down and scoring a rather easy victory.
He may not have felt at the top of his game, but we are still at a point where Mayweather does not have to be in order to take down those he chooses to step in the ring with.
Maidana's Lack of Adjustment Shines Through
After spamming his way to 858 punches in their last fight but only landing 26 percent of that barrage, many apparently gave Maidana too much credit when they figured he would have made adjustments in order to push for the upset Saturday.
Instead, there was Maidana again, taking a quantity-over-quality approach against the exact person it is impossible to use against. This time he landed even fewer shots, according to final numbers provided by Andy Glockner of The Cauldron:
It is important to point out that the approach seemingly won Maidana the fourth round after a few noticeable blows actually connected. That seemed to spark some confidence, which saw him settle down and engage in some thoughtful sparring in the fifth round, where Mayweather ran circles around him.
Really, there was a sense of deja vu near the end of the fight. The first time these two met, Maidana was clearly gassed late. Thanks to pretty much an identical approach this time around, he was once more, as illustrated by ESPN's Robert Flores:
Perhaps most disappointing of all from the eventual loser, though, was a rash of what seemed to be dirty tactics yet again.
Fans will recall from the first fight that Maidana very clearly threw multiple head-butts and may have even attempted a low blow or two. Saturday, he was seemingly at it again, this time with an alleged bite during a clinch, as noted by ESPN.com's Dan Rafael:
Even if the bite did not happen, it is still a notable event from the rematch, and the overall showing outside of it was still a disappointment for a man who seemed to somewhat be on the right path after the initial fight.
Maidana can claim all he wants that he felt he won, but doing the same thing over again is not a winning strategy. It's insane.
Mayweather Continues to Displease, but Pacquiao Possibility Should Compensate
To the naked eye, Mayweather is boring. Also, he seems to be ducking Manny Pacquiao.
One of those is not true. The other might be.
Saturday, Mayweather seemed to fall back and dance around rather than fight late in the match. Call it boring, cocky or perhaps even the aftermath of a bite from his opponent, but the match was in hand at that point, as was the cash from the pay-per-view, so the entertainment factor went out the window.
As one could probably guess, the crowd was none too pleased, as noted by SI.com's Chris Mannix:
Don't hold a grudge too long, though, as something seems to be changing when it comes to Mayweather's stance regarding a bout with Pacquiao.
The obvious question came up after Saturday's decision was announced, and instead of the typical negative response, he actually seemed open to the idea, as FightNights.com records:
Rafael expands on the complexities of the potential superfight that would perhaps go down as early as next May:
"He has two fights left and no obvious opponent other than Pacquiao, who is signed to rival HBO. However, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum claims the networks are willing to work together on a joint pay-per-view, like they did once before for the Lennox Lewis-Tyson fight in 2002.
It remains to be seen if a deal can be made -- it has gone unmade for years despite intense public demand -- and Pacquiao would have to win his welterweight title defense against Chris Algieri on Nov. 22 in Macau, China. But time is running out to make it and maybe Mayweather realizes it, seemingly softening his stance.
"
It would be unwise to wait around with bated breath on the matter. Still, the prospect of the fight coming to fruition is hard to ignore, and the positivity toward it is a welcome sight.
So in some ways, Mayweather is not going to change. Not when it works so well. In others, the jury might still be out.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
