Mayweather vs. Maidana 2: Highlights of Saturday Night's Main Event

Floyd Mayweather Jr. made the rematch with Marcos Rene Maidana on Saturday night in Las Vegas look easy. In the first bout, Mayweather allowed Maidana to gain an advantage by forcing him against the ropes.

It made for a more competitive fight back in May. This time around, the pound-for-pound king made the right adjustments. He used lateral movement, clinching and combinations to avoid the problematic areas that made him uncomfortable in the first bout.

It was a great counter to Maidana's game plan, and it was the biggest reason Mayweather won the rematch with ease.

Here's a breakdown of the biggest moments of the bout.

Round 1

John Locher/Associated Press

At the very beginning of the bout, Mayweather laid claim to the middle of the ring. He didn't want to allow Maidana to establish any momentum early. Maidana was also a bit less aggressive in the first few rounds because he wanted to conserve his energy.

Both tactical changes wound up favoring Mayweather. The combination of the two allowed the pound-for-pound king to set the fight's tempo.

Round 4

Maidana did have a solid fourth round. He was finally able to corner Mayweather against the ropes, but it didn't last the entire frame.

In fact, the round went from being one that looked to clearly favor Maidana to one that Mayweather might have stolen with hard left hooks and uppercuts.

I scored the round even, which was a brief positive note for Maidana but also a credit to Mayweather's performance, because it was perhaps the challenger's best round.

Round 8

Things got weird in the eighth round. Mayweather had apparently been covering Maidana's face during clinches. It seemed as if Maidana was fed up, and he appeared to bite Money's hand.

Immediately, Mayweather reacted with a grimace on his face and complained to referee Kenny Bayless. After the bout, Maidana claimed he didn't bite Mayweather, but several replays suggest otherwise.

Round 10

Late in the fight, Maidana's frustration seemed to be at an all-time high. He used his forearm to push Mayweather to the mat. This infraction led to a point deduction from Bayless.

Maidana turned up the heat after being penalized, but Mayweather again answered with movement and sharp counterpunching to regain control.

Biggest Takeaways

Maidana gave a strong effort, but Mayweather's game plan and execution were near flawless. Money did take some shots, and it appeared as though his nose may have even been broken at some point.

Still, he showed toughness, skills and resolve en route to a victory.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.