Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana 2 Results: Key Highlights from Money Triumph
Floyd Mayweather extended his professional record to 47-0 with a unanimous-decision victory over Marcos Maidana on Saturday evening and was fully deserving in his Las Vegas triumph.
The rematch didn't ascend to the same levels of excitement as the first meeting between this pair four months ago, but two fighters of this quality are always culpable to cause drama.
The storyline was no different at the MGM Grand, and with Money walking away as an undefeated champion once again, we break down some of those highlights that impacted the bout most heavily.
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Was There a Bite?
The incident that everyone is talking about in the wake of Mayweather's win is of course whether or not Maidana could be held accountable for biting.
In the eighth round, Mayweather reeled from the fray, telling referee Kenny Bayless in no uncertain terms that he had been bitten on the hand by his foe.
Replays made it difficult to determine a definite decision on the incident. The BBC's Juan Arango felt there was no evidence to the claim:
ESPN Skip Bayless argued that even if there was a bite, it by no means warranted Money's reaction:
David Mayo of MLive.com disagrees, however, stating there was a bite and providing comments from the referee after the match:
It will be debated as to whether a bite occurred, and if so, to what extent it impeded the alleged victim. That being said, Money nevertheless came through any controversy to move beyond the levels of doubt. The incident did not affect the end result in any considerable manner.
El Chino Expends Early Energy
By and large, the positives were few and far between for Maidana, but those signs that suggested a win could be on the cards for the challenger mainly came early on.
Mayweather still managed to maintain his grasp on the bout, but El Chino stormed out of the traps. Of the rounds one might argue as going in his favour, it was the opening exchanges that featured his brightest sparks.
The third and fourth rounds in particular looked promising for Maidana. Skip Bayless hints the second may have gone in his favour, too, while SHO Stats highlights just how many punches were thrown by the South American in the fourth:
As Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated stated, however, the pace couldn't be maintained, and Maidana swiftly showed a drop in tempo:
Whether it's a negative sign of Chino's misplaced tactics or inferior stamina or just Mayweather's stopping power, it hurt the challenger in the end to go so hard so early.
With his energy drained and hands not firing as frequently, it proved an essential decider in the fixture's overall makeup. Maidana perhaps gifted his opponent a little too much.
Money Sacrifices Style for Substance
It's a ranking of priorities that will inevitably divide opinion, but Mayweather's decision to see out the last few rounds around the fringes of the ring was always going to be his most assured path to victory.
Having not stopped a fight early since his 2011 knockout of Victor Ortiz, Money once again displayed his intelligence in avoiding his opponent with superior conditioning, much to the displeasure of some in Vegas.
As Mayo attests, the boos rang out as a result of his evasive manoeuvres, but with a 47-0 record at stake, the pride was Mayweather's to defend:
This was the case for the final four rounds and more if one counts portions of the fight earlier on. The eventual victor capitalised upon Maidana's exhausted resources, picking his battles with a fine glance.
In a way, some fighters have come to master this as an art, and Mayweather's latter years in particular have seen him hone the tactic to a T.
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