On May 3, 2014, Marcos “Chino” Maidana will have the opportunity to make history in Las Vegas, Nevada when he faces the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.
An opportunity no one has been able to cash in on. As Mayweather likes to put it–45 have tried and 45 have failed.
Although, it can be argued that the level of competition in the last few fights has diminished for the self proclaimed “TBE” or “The Best Ever.”
When we examine Mayweather’s previous fights, we can clearly say he’s faced fighters that are not up to par.
In Mayweather’s last fight, he faced a young and timid Saul “Canelo” Álvarez who attempted to outbox the master himself. The outcome of that strategy was–as Bernard Hopkins aptly stated–a day in school with the professor.
Prior to that, Robert Guerrero provided “Money” his most profitable televised sparring session.
We have to travel back to the Miguel Cotto fight to talk about a boxing match where Mayweather was actually tested.
An aggressive Cotto hunted Mayweather like a lion prays on an antelope.
The Puerto Rican champion had a game plan that was working in the first few rounds of the fight. Nevertheless the slick and faster Mayweather is a ring general and knows how to control the tempo of any fight.
Mayweather was able to weather the storm and eventually out boxed and out lasted Cotto.
With that being said, where does Maidana stand?
Most so called experts have him winning zero rounds in this fight. The bets have changed drastically to the point where you can put your money on whether or not “El Chino” will win any rounds on Saturday night.
If you follow boxing and know anything about Maidana, you know the Argentine has always been the underdog, which is a role he embraces.
Photo by Naoki Fukada
A fighter that doesn’t shy away from a challenge, Maidana was a 5-1 underdog against Mayweather’s understudy Adrien Broner, who took the beating of a lifetime at the hand of Maidana in San Antonio, Texas last December.
Luck you say?
Maidana has been one of boxing’s elite fighters in recent years, going from small timer to superstar and fan favorite.
The fans do have to acknowledge that you’re not really on the mainstream map until you face a star like Floyd Mayweather who is undoubtedly the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport with a record to prove it.
Maidana’s trainer Robert Garcia understands that “The Moment” is now for Maidana, even if it means taking a loss.
The plan for Maidana is not simply to get paid handsomely. Instead, the goal is to put on a show like Maidana usually does.
Chino isn’t a stranger to the canvas, having been knocked down and gotten up relentlessly like a tornado picking up force and annihilating anything in its way before.
In order to have any kind of luck and momentum, Maidana will have to adopt the Ricky Hatton plan.
Any fighter that tries to outbox Mayweather in the center of the ring has learned a hard lesson. You won’t outbox the best boxer in the world.
If the Argentine slugger is to have any chance in this fight, he will have to bully Mayweather and put him against the ropes by using force.
In retrospect, Hatton’s problem in his bout with Mayweather was that he began walking into shots until he eventually got knocked out.
Yet, when you look at the fight, it was a pretty even bout prior to the knockout. Floyd was only 30 years old then and his body was able to withstand Hatton’s aggressiveness.
Seven years later, Maidana–at 30 years of age–is at the peak of his career and if he wants to make history he will have to be aggressive and smarter than Hatton was.
Can it be done?
Sure it can be done, especially when no one believes Maidana is capable of winning a single round.
A Maidana loss wouldn’t be anything unusual in the boxing world, while a great performance or a win would have doubters retracting previous comments.
Can it happen?
Of course it can. Why else would the fans be interested in the fight? One can only hope that come May 3, the mega event lives up to the hype.
This is “The Moment” for a fighter that’s always had to start fights losing on the scorecards before the bell even rings.
