Saturday night we will finally see the rematch of the highly competitive first fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana. The much hyped event has built to a fever pitch, with today’s weigh-in generating more excitement than any of the press tour stops. All that’s left is fight night.
After all the talk and ALL ACCESS episodes leading up to MAYHEM, the two fighters stepped on the scales today:
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. – 146 1/2
MARCOS MAIDANA – 146
With the weights official, the fight is on. The fighters will continue their epic battle from earlier this year. Because of that tense contest, many are questioning the outcome of an upcoming Mayweather fight for the first time in a very long time.
Floyd has been recognized as the pound-for-pound king for many years, and even the Manny Pacquiao sentiment has faded. When Juan Manuel Marquez knocked Manny cold in December of 2012, following a disputed loss to Timothy Bradley earlier that year, Mayweather assumed the throne.
But the one opponent that dogs every great boxing champion is age. And Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be taking that opponent into the ring with him Saturday night, an ally of Marcos Maidana.
Floyd is 37 years old. Is that why Maidana was able to make a rough fight for him last May? Are his other-worldly boxing skills finally eroding? The speed, the defense, the total command of the ring, is that all fading away?
Or is “Chino” Maidana just that tough? Is he just that awkward with just enough power? Would he have had the success that almost no other fighter had against the slick Floyd Mayweather if they had fought two or three years earlier?
Is Maidana the Ken Norton to Floyd’s Muhammad Ali?
These questions make for an intriguing rematch…and a huge pay-per-view haul and live gate.
Floyd is, indeed, getting up in age, for a boxer, and his style is one that is extremely hard to maintain as the reflexes become less sharp. I don’t know that that is why he had trouble with Maidana the first time around.
Maidana is a tough matchup for Mayweather and that could be just one of those boxing “perfect storm” types of things. Maidana presses, gets in on his opponent’s chest, throws power shots from odd angles.
Meanwhile, Mayweather assumes a posture of defense-first, with slicing punches from both hands as his response to any aggression. All while moving, feinting, using his legs, using his upper body movement.
Add them up, and Maidana’s style neutralizes some of Mayweather’s brilliance. That doesn’t mean that Maidana is the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world. Just that he is very capable of giving the type of performance we saw the last time he was in the ring.
This time, what will happen? I expect Floyd to have enough of his elite skills at his disposal to make this an easier victory, likely by decision. No matter what Floyd says, then and now, he may not have chosen to make it entertaining for the fans the first time. But he will make it his business to take the drama out of deciding a winner this time.
I believe he has the skill to do just that and he has the tape of the first fight to work from. Say what you will about Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he knows boxing better than almost any other fighter. It’s been his life since he was a pre-schooler.
Armed with that knowledge, he will make Maidana look like a crude brawler who doesn’t have a plan B. There will most likely be booing form the sellout crowd. Floyd will once again be made to answer for his boring tactics in the post-fight interview following a one-sided decision. But he will win convincingly.
Unless Father Time says otherwise.
That’s my only caveat. If we saw an aging Floyd Mayweather last time, then the four months since then will only serve to make his once-elite skills even less sharp.
But I’m not on the fence. Floyd Mayweather Jr. goes to school on the first fight and dominates. Think Roberto Duran – Ray Leonard II, the No Mas fight. I’m going with Floyd by an easy decision.
