Mayweather vs. Maidana 2 Winner: Floyd Emerges Unscathed Despite Dirty Sequel
Floyd Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) befuddled Marcos Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) with blindingly fast hands and dazzling footwork to overcome roughhouse tactics and a change in approach by the hard-punching slugger from Argentina.
The world's best had his way against Maidana, 31, on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Judges at ringside scored the bout for the ever-moving Mayweather 115-112, 116-111 and 116-111. It was a hard fight to win but an easy one to score.
"I did what I had to do," Mayweather, 37, told Showtime’s Jim Gray after the fight.
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What Mayweather had to do against Maidana the second time around was move. He learned that the hard way in the first bout. Maidana is a killer when the target is stationary. Mayweather came into the rematch committed to using his legs this time.
TheSweetScience.com’s Michael Woods noted Mayweather’s approach was to fight smarter and not necessarily harder:
"Floyd Mayweather had some difficulty last time against Marcos Maidana, and said he made it harder on himself because he wanted to give fans their money's worth, four months ago. This time, "TBE" had an easier time of it, as "Money" fought smarter, not harder…
"
Mayweather got bumped on the head by a Showtime camera operator as he entered the ring. Perhaps it was a clue of the kinds of things he’d have to deal with once the fight began. Before it was over, this one would get rough and dirty.
This fight was nothing like the first. Mayweather moved side to side noticeably more after the opening bell sounded. He was there to box. Maidana moved markedly less forward, choosing instead to fight carefully from a distance.
Mayweather staggered off the ropes and fell to the ground after missing a hook early on. Were his legs gone?
Not quite. Despite the momentary stumble, this was vintage Mayweather.
His legs, the same ones that helped him dash by his opponents in all 46 previous outings, were still there and gliding him around the ring effortlessly against Maidana. His counterpunches where sharp. His jab to Maidana’s body stifled the forward-walking Argentinean in his tracks. He landed crisp left hooks and right crosses with ease and precision.
Maidana finally corralled Mayweather at the start of Round 3, but it was only for a moment. Unlike the first fight, anytime Mayweather felt the ropes at his back, he moved away from them in a hurry. This played out over and over again in the fight. Maidana just couldn’t trap him.
In the first three rounds, Mayweather was a sniper. His weapon of choice was the right hand, and it was an easy shot.
But Maidana landed a hard right on Mayweather’s chin at the end of Round 3. Mayweather’s body moved and his knees buckled. Perhaps still feeling its effect, Mayweather found himself on the ropes much more for the next three minutes of the fight. Maidana strafed him with shots from all angles. Mayweather remained accurate but moved less.
But as the middle rounds came, Mayweather’s game plan returned: Darting. Ducking. Dodging. Pivoting. And yeah—clinching, when it seemed appropriate. Maidana landed hard punches here and there in the fight but far too few of them to matter.
Mayweather was too good.
Late in the fight, things got dirty. As Mayweather was holding Maidana in one of the scores of headlocks referee Kenny Bayless allowed him to lock anytime the puncher was close, Mayweather’s face lit up with pain and he flew into a rage.
Mayweather claimed both then and after the fight that Maidana bit his hand. With Mayweather visibly angry, Bayless halted the action to sort through something he didn’t see. After a brief pause and a warning to Maidana’s corner, the action resumed.
Mayweather used his emotion to continue his dominance. Instead of losing his cool, Mayweather simply ramped up his energy level and continued his consistently intelligent approach of keeping Maidana at the end of his punches.
Later in the fight, Mayweather was knocked to the ground after more self-initiated holding. Bayless deducted a point from Maidana for the rough tactic, though he might have been wiser to deduct something from himself for over-refereeing a fight that didn’t much need it.
Bayless was overactive. He rushed in to break the action almost every single moment Maidana came within bodily contact of Mayweather. Even when the fighters’ hands were still free, Bayless would ask them to step away from each other and box from a distance.
This was perfect for Mayweather, a fighter who didn’t need any more advantages over Maidana than he already had coming in.
Regardless, Mayweather delivered when it counted. He was fast, accurate and in control. Perhaps smarting from the alleged bite, he gave Maidana a hard shot downstairs in Round 11 that Bayless called a low blow. Maidana milked it for all it was worth, but he was greeted by one just like it when the action resumed after the break.
The fight was rough. Maidana was tough. But Mayweather was magnificent and smart enough to move more in the final round than he did in any previous. Why wouldn't he? The fight was won.
The bout ended in familiar fashion. Mayweather clinched Maidana until the bell sounded as Bayless did nothing.
According to punch-count statistics, via CBSSports.com, Mayweather out-landed Maidana 166 to 122 overall, including 58 percent of his power punches.
"I give myself a C or C-minus," Mayweather told Gray when asked to assess his performance. "I'm better than that. I got hit with some shots tonight I shouldn't have."
While the perfectionist in him might be getting the better of Mayweather in that statement, there were several flush shots Maidana landed in the fight that had to leave at least some fans wondering if a faster-handed Manny Pacquiao could do the same.
Gray must have wondered, too. Because after everything Mayweather had just gone through, after picking up his second win of the year over Maidana, Gray asked Mayweather if fans might see him finally face Pacquiao in May 2015.
"If the Manny Pacquiao fight presents itself, let’s make it happen," said Mayweather.
Yes, Floyd. Let’s.
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