Mayweather vs. Maidana 2: Rematch a Return to Elite Form for Money
Floyd Mayweather was not Floyd Mayweather in May. Sure, he did as he always does, winning in a decision over Marcos Maidana that should have been unanimous. It was his 46th win, another checkmark in a box that puts him high among the all-time greats.
But anyone who watched the fight knew something was...off. Mayweather's quick feet were nowhere to be found. He moved around the ring as if someone had attached training weights to his ankles without him realizing. Maidana, aggressive and stalking his prey for all 12 rounds, landed more punches against Mayweather than anyone in history.
His wild, flailing and arguably dirty style cost him the fight. It also called into question whether, at age 37, Mayweather was finally starting to show signs of slippage. For the first time in his career, Mayweather was made to look pretty good—as damning a phrase that exists for one of boxing's true perfectionists.
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Were we seeing the beginning of the end, like Roy Jones Jr.'s win over Antonio Tarver? Was Mayweather setting himself up for a one-punch, Pacquiao-esque legacy alteration? Has the celebrity lifestyle finally overtaken Mayweather's love of the sport.
Nope. Nope. And nope—or at least not to the point it's had any significant effect.
Mayweather was Floyd Mayweather Saturday night, defeating Maidana via unanimous decision in their much-hyped rematch. The judges scored it 116-111, 116-111 and 115-112, but Mayweather could have seen a 117 or 118 next to his name without anyone blinking.
Every last detail except the final outcome changed from May to September. Where Mayweather was borderline stodgy in the first fight, he was jumping around and moving with animation—almost as if to prove to himself he could still do it. Where Maidana was aggressive to a fault in the first fight, he was more subdued and picked his spots—almost as if to prove to himself he could fight Mayweather's style.
Where Justin Bieber was—OK, Bieber was still there. But he was in the stands, not walking Mayweather down to the ring. Progress, no matter how incremental, is still progress.
Anyone who says the first and the second fights mirrored each other is lying. So is anyone who says the fight was especially entertaining.
There were only two truly noteworthy rounds the entire night. The fourth round was Maidana's best of either fight, as he combined May's aggressive nature with September's more cerebral style to send Mayweather backpedaling. At that point, it was still early enough to think Maidana had a shot of winning without knocking Mayweather out cold.
Four rounds later, with those hopes all but dashed, Maidana may or may not have gone full Tyson. Clinched with his head near Mayweather's waist and his face planted on Mayweather's glove, Maidana allegedly decided to quench his thirst for cowhide, champing down and sending Mayweather into a fit of rage. I say allegedly because no one can know for certain. From the replay it sure looked like Luis Suarez had a friend in the I Didn't Learn Biting Was Bad In Preschool club. (Name is currently a work in progress.)
“He bit my left hand, so my fingers were numb,” Mayweather told George Willis of the New York Post. “He’s a tough competitor. I couldn’t use my left hand. But I did what I had to do.”
How much damage Maidana could do to Mayweather's hand is, well, also up to interpretation. It seems dubious that Maidana would be able to numb Mayweather's hand through a boxing glove and while wearing a mouthpiece. If he did, kudos on that jaw strength, Marcos.
But the most remarkable thing about Saturday night was how unremarkable everything was. Which is to say it was quintessential Mayweather. In the first fight, Maidana used the ropes to trap Mayweather and fire off a machine gun round of power shots. In the second fight, Mayweather used the ropes as a springboard, bouncing off to force the action to the center of the ring.
This wasn't a fun fight. This wasn't a fight that will have boxing fans talking for years. If this was your introduction to the sport, apologies all around. It was, however, a return to form and a quintessential Mayweather performance.
At his best, Mayweather does not fight people. He outboxes, outthinks and embarrasses them. He takes away his opponent's best form of attack and then watches as they aimlessly try to stick to their strategy, throwing in a few peppering jabs along the way. He unravels them mentally and physically and then smiles at the end of the fight, looking as if he'd taken the punishment of a light jog.
Maidana wasn't as thoroughly outclassed as Canelo Alvarez last September, but it was close. Mayweather landed more than half of his punches, including an astounding 58 percent on power shots. Maidana landed 93 fewer punches than in the first fight, a byproduct of his stylistic change and his inability to keep Mayweather on the ropes.
"He's beatable," Maidana told USA Today's Mark Whicker. "If you're aggressive with him he doesn't know what to do. But he's fast on his feet, I can tell you that."
"But he's fast on his feet" is the Mayweather equivalent of a buddy telling you he could date a girl "if she didn't have a boyfriend." Mayweather being fast on his feet and knowing how to use his quickness to his advantage is among his defining traits. Maidana throwing it off as an aside misrepresents just how much Mayweather's quickness thwarted anything the Argentine attempted.
What remains to be seen is what's next for Mayweather. A return to form is great, and we know his contract with Showtime stipulates he fights twice next year before being boxing's version of a free agent. Manny Pacquiao, all these years later, still looms as the matchup everyone wants to see.
In typical Mayweather fashion, he's refused to rule it out, so I'll do it for him: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will not happen in 2015. Won't. Happen. There is not a single chance in the world Pacquiao's representation will allow him to secede from Team HBO to Team Showtime just to appease Mayweather.
The more likely scenario involves fighting Amir Khan in May and an undetermined opponent next September before a possible 2016 clash with Pacquiao. By then, Mayweather will likely be 39 years old. Pacquiao will be 37. It will be Wizards Michael Jordan playing Lakers Gary Payton at one-on-one. By then, Father Time will have caught up to both fighters—and then some.
For at least one more night, though, Mayweather remains the best in the world.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
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