Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana 2 Results: Analyzing Key Rounds from Rematch
Floyd Mayweather got everything he wanted Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He got his victory, defeating Marcos Maidana by unanimous decision, he maintained his perfect record, and he got paid.
According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, Mayweather made $888,889 per minute of the rematch for a grand total of $32 million.
Not all rounds are created equal, and some of those precious seconds were more valuable than others for the undefeated legend. From Mayweather's early domination to Maidana's mid-round resurgence to the late-round frustrations, some three-minute spells were more instructive than others in this contest.
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Let's take a look at a few of the key rounds from the big rematch.
Round 1
The opening salvo was the complete antithesis of the first fight. Maidana ditched his all-out strategy for a tame, calculating approach, which essentially backfired.
Maidana threw just 16 punches in the opening round, per Showtime Stats, setting the tone for the early goings of the fight:
Mayweather had no problem fending off the non-attack and displayed excellent accuracy and timing with his own punches. The tepid start carried over into the next round, per Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix:
This round was disappointing for fans, who were likely hoping for another rousing start to the contest. It was a coup for Mayweather, as it let him set into his counterpunching strategy and move the fight toward the center of the ring, where he could best evade Maidana's furious swipes.
Round 4
Maidana set himself up for this tantalizing three minutes of action with a stinging overhand right that came in at the end of the previous round. It appeared he finally had a sound strategy in place, mixing body shots with dangerous combinations to Mayweather's head. Unfortunately, he had trouble pinning Mayweather against the ropes, with the latter's footwork working to perfection.
Perhaps it was this round that caused Mayweather to give himself a rather pedestrian grade for his performance.
"I felt sharper in the first fight. My rhythm was a little off. I gave myself a C, C-minus. I thought I could have done a lot better. I got hit with some shots I shouldn't have," he said, via Rafael.
It was an entertaining round, with the fighters trading furious punches, and it was perhaps the only round in which Maidana truly looked up for the task at hand. The fact that Mayweather escaped without taking any serious damage allowed him to reassess and punish Maidana more and more as the fight dragged on.
Round 9
This round was more of an oddity than anything else. Maidana pushed forward with greater effort, sensing that he was losing whatever slim grasp he had on the bout and that he needed to move in for the knockout blow. He did his best to get into Mayweather's head, perhaps hoping to distract him for later rounds.
Things took a turn for the weird when Mayweather complained to referee Kenny Bayless that Maidana had bitten his glove.
After the match, Mayweather told reporters, via SportsCenter, what his opponent had done to him:
Mayweather is the top pound-for-pound fighter because of the way he gets out to early advantages in matches. This was a classic example of a boxer who saw no other recourse against Mayweather's diabolical defensive schemes and let his emotions get the best of him.
Round 10
Maidana's frustrations continued into the next round. Mayweather had dominated the majority of the fight, and things were getting desperate for the challenger.
According to Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole, Maidana pushed Mayweather to the mat and lost a point for his foul:
Maidana lost a crucial point, and it was essentially the last round with any drama. Maidana did his best to get Mayweather off his substantial game, but the hard rights from the 37-year-old prizefighter kept coming, while his ample ring movement allowed him to avoid the vast majority of his foe's harsher blows.
Showtime Stats gave an update on the punching stats after 10 rounds:
Maidana could have won the round, but Mayweather was winning both the battle between the ropes and the battle between the ears.
Two rounds later, Mayweather had his unanimous decision and unblemished legacy in hand. This is almost certainly the last time a fighter gets a rematch against Mayweather, unless a yet-to-be-determined boxer is somehow able to do the unthinkable and defeat the champ.
It's clear that Mayweather's genius on the canvas doesn't make for exciting rematches, as it only affords him the opportunity to more precisely pick apart his opponent and come away with an easy victory.
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