At the MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather had to go through the gears in his tougher than expected bout with Marcos Maidana. The pound for pound king remained on the top spot following a Split Decision on May 3rd, 2014, reached from scores of 112-116, 111-117, and 114,114. BoxingBase.com had it closer at 114-113 for Mayweather.
The hard fought win keeps Mayweather’s record clean, now reading 46 wins, 26 knockouts, and drops Maidana’s to 35 wins, 31 knockouts, 4 losses. Mayweather now becomes the unified RING, WBC, and WBA Welterweight Champion.
Mayweather vs Maidana: The Fight
For the first three rounds, Mayweather found himself pushed back into the ropes, being roughed up and bullied by a marauding Maidana. The man was uncomfortable; any doubt over whether Maidana had came just for the pay check had been cleared up in the opening seconds.
This bulldozing, fearless Maidana was the same force who’d handed ‘The Problem’ his first defeat in Maidana vs Broner last December. But Mayweather, despite being tagged with a few clean blows, was more of an elusive target than his figurative ‘little brother’ in his opening act with Maidana.
Now behind on the scorecards, Mayweather changed his fight strategy for the remainder of the fight – and soon had to after being cut over his right eye following a 4th round accidental head clash. He deserves much credit for this; when he says he’s one of the few fighters who can adapt to any situation, he can certainly back it up. Mayweather stayed off the ropes and started returning fire center ring with his foe.
The pair traded shots, with superior boxer Mayweather scoring with the more effective jab and counter shots. Though the tenacious Maidana never took a step back, his foe’s strategy quickly began taking the fight from him. And when the scores were announced, there was little to dispute – unless you’re named Marcos Maidana or Robert Garcia, that is. Though the pair put up quite the protest, it’s still hard to make a solid case for a Maidana win.
Both fighters deserve big applause for their performances here; Maidana for his balls-to-the-wall rampage and competitiveness down the stretch, and Mayweather for turning the fight around under immense pressure.
So what’s next for both fighters? Mayweather stated post fight that if the fans want a rematch, they’ll get it. If he remains true to his word, Mayweather vs Maidana II will be a big crowd puller, certainly with Maidana’s huge Argentine fan base. A second encounter would likely be less competitive, however, as Mayweather would implement the night’s game-changing strategy from the get-go. He would command the center of the ring and look to pick Maidana off.
Mayweather vs Maidana: Undercard
Amir Khan scored one of the most dominating 12 round decisions in recent memory on the night’s undercard. The Unanimous Decision, consisting of scores 119-105, 117-106, and 119-104, was awarded to a disciplined, stronger Khan following three knockdowns suffered by Collazo. Boxing Base had no qualms, scoring Khan vs Collazo 119-105. Khan’s Welterweight debut certainly made a statement, which will land him a big name opponent later this year – if not Mayweather himself.
Adrien Broner made easy work of an overmatched yet game Carlos Molina. Broner won a Unanimous Decision through scores of 98-92, 100-90, and 99-91. Boxing Base had the bout at 97-91 for Broner. J’Leon Love also scored a Unanimous Decision, beating Marco Antonio Periban with scores of 95-93, 97-93, and 96-93. British Middleweight Olympian, Anthony Ogogo, won his bout with Jonel Tapia, scoring a TKO in the 3rd round.
What did you think of Mayweather vs Maidana? How did you score the bout, and did you agree with the victor? Is a rematch necessary? If so, what could Maidana do differently to become the first man to defeat Mayweather?
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