Photos by Porfirio Barron Jr./Round By Round Boxing
On Saturday, August 16, 2014, during the Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook match at the StubHub Center, Showtime’s Brian Kenny sat down with Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs) to discuss his impending rematch with pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (46-0, 26 KOs).
In May of this year, Maidana fought Mayweather tough, but dropped a majority-decision verdict in Las Vegas. The fight was an exciting affair to watch and immediately after, many fans clamored for a rematch.
Perhaps in an effort to put on a more convincing performance, Mayweather opted to immediately jump back in the ring with Maidana, and thus “Mayhem” was born.
But what, if anything, will be different about the second go round on September 13? In watching Maidana during the promotional tour and hearing him speak with Kenny, one thing is certain, the 12 rounds the Argentine slugger fought with Mayweather have certainly increased his confidence.
In speaking with Kenny, Maidana said that before the first fight he felt a bit of anxiety and thought Mayweather would be more difficult. He also stated that he felt he would not be able to find Mayweather in the ring.
Contrary to what Chino believed, we all saw that he was able to find Mayweather early and often in the first bout and although his punches weren’t always clean and effective, the aggression did bother Mayweather and allowed Chino to win some rounds in the eyes of the judges.
The interesting thing here is that often times in a rematch, boxing fans and pundits break down what the fighter who lost the first time must do differently to change the outcome. But in this case, one can argue that Maidana did everything to the best of his abilities in his first attempt at dethroning the self-proclaimed TBE (The Best Ever) and shouldn’t chance anything.
The thing is, even with the top-notch performance he turned in the first time around, it just wasn’t enough for Maidana, who admits that after the fifth or sixth round Mayweather began to take control. Chino has also stated that he and Robert Garcia are only making minor adjustments to the game plan, which means they are likely assuming that the referee will allow the same rough tactics from both men.
But given the numerous complaints the Mayweather camp had about the first fights third man in the ring, Tony Weeks, chances are someone like Jack Reiss–who wouldn’t let Sakio Bika even look at Anthony Dirrell the wrong way without warning him in their rematch–will be the referee the second time around.
If a highly-sensitive referee makes his presence felt early on in the rematch, that’ll spell big trouble for Maidana who needs to make the fight ugly or even dirty to stand a chance.
Maidana always stands a chance because he punches like a mule kick, but if he isn’t allowed to work on the inside, Mayweather will have an easier time cruising to a wide-margin points victory.
