Photo by Tom Casino
Reigning pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. is set to fight September 13, 2014 and the announcement has the boxing world wondering who will win the Mayweather lottery next.
Of the many names that have been thrown out—such as Amir Khan, Danny Garcia and Manny Pacquiao—a rematch with Marcos Maidana is a real possibility.
For a champion boasting record that now stands at 46-0, it would seem Mayweather has little to prove to the sport of boxing. After the Maidana fight there was a strong divide in opinion among boxing’s hardcore and casual fans over Mayweather’s win.
This was despite two of three judges picking Mayweather over Maidana, 117-111 and 116-112, on their cards. The other judge, who was potentially blind, saw it 114-114.
Maidana seemed to mostly shine earlier on in the fight when Mayweather was on the ropes, which certainly earned him a few rounds. However, Maidana was able to do this mostly, if not only, because Mayweather opened himself up.
Photo by Tom Casino
Perhaps Mayweather’s greatest vulnerability is being on the ropes and he knows this. Few are entertaining the likelihood that Mayweather purposely put himself there so that Maidana could get in some decent work and make the fight exciting.
In the fight, Mayweather retreated to the ropes, but Maidana did not force him to back up. This is a key distinction because Mayweather’s retreats were intentional.
When Maidana wasn’t throwing illegal punches, his shots seemed to miss, suggesting that Mayweather was even toying with Maidana.
Deliberately backing up to the ropes could have been a potentially disadvantageous tactic for Mayweather, since judges tend to measure effective aggressiveness in terms of coming forward.
Yet, his approach effectively contributed to breaking Maidana down over the course of the fight. Once Maidana gained confidence tagging him against the ropes, Mayweather switched gears by coming forward more than he did in the earlier rounds.
He used slick movements to land critical lead-right hands and check-hooks, and continued to stick quick, hard jabs to the body.
To Maidana’s credit, he came ready to fight—a mentality that will likely be amplified should there be a rematch.
Maidana’s determination to win was apparent, even refreshing, considering Mayweather’s ability to mentally frustrate and completely break the will of his opponents. But while Maidana’s aggression might make for some exciting moments in a rematch, it is simply not enough to overcome Mayweather’s boxing IQ.
Mayweather’s ability to control the fight, even when not dominating his opponent, is a high-level skill that many cannot recognize.
Photo by Tom Casino
For Mayweather, pleasing fans is a catch-22.
If he dominates his opponent, fans are disappointed by a shutout. If he makes the bout exciting by allowing the other guy to get some work in, they question his capabilities and longevity in the sport.
With the Mayweather vs. Maidana match allegedly generating less than a million pay-per-view buys—according to long time boxing insider Rick Glaser—making the first fight close was a smart move, at least business-wise, on Mayweather’s part.
A rematch will most likely draw in more revenue and reaffirm why Mayweather is the pound-for-pound king when he dominates Maidana the way he truly can.
