On Sept. 13, 11-time world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather will give fans all around the world what they want to see.
To see him go head to head one more time with Marcos “El Chino” Maidana after their thrilling first fight last May left sports fans clamoring for more. Thanks to Mayweather in September, we will have “MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana II,” with Mayweather’s welterweight world championships on the line.
“The reason I chose Maidana for a rematch is because of the fans,” Mayweather said at the Los Angeles stop on the media tour. “The bar is set so high for me, the fans expect so much out of me.”
Back in May, Mayweather was in a rough-n-tumble affair where many ringside observers, including me, had it scored 3-3 after six rounds and he was cut by a head-butt in the fourth round. Using his typical animalistic style, Maidana attacked Mayweather with punches from all angles and by the end of the night, had landed more punches on Mayweather than any other opponent Mayweather faced throughout his undefeated career.
Like he has done his whole career, Mayweather adjusted to Maidana’s style and was able to find his rhythm and use his expert technique to keep Maidana’s aggression from getting the best of him. The adjustments showed the world why Mayweather is the best boxing savant to step in the ring by taking a majority decision victory (114-114, 117-111, and 116-112) to go to 46-0.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM57JIKelk0
“The rematch with Mayweather is the only fight that really motivates me,” Maidana said. “I feel I earned it in the ring and Floyd owed it to me. I’ve already proved that I don’t care if the man I have in front of me is the best pound-for-pound champion. I was close to ending his reign last time. On Sept. 13, he will not get away undefeated.”
Maidana’s chance to redeem himself and earn a victory against the undefeated champion will again take place in the storied MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on Showtime PPV. The event will start at 8 p.m., instead of the usual 9 p.m. kick-off.
“It is to improve the customer experience,” Showtime Sports head Stephen Espinoza said. “This exciting rematch will serve to test the skill and will of both men and finish what was started last May.”
Despite all the attention and built up animosity surrounding the two camps this time around one thing is for certain: If Maidana tries to make the fight a brawl or MMA type match like he did the first time, the undefeated Mayweather will be well prepared to deal with him.
“I think that every time that Maidana has gone out and fought opponents, other opponents and even myself, he’s done the same thing,” Mayweather said after a recent workout. “Whereas out of the 45 that I’ve faced, I was able to do different things. I can box. I can counter punch. I can box on the move. I can counter punch on the move. The only way that he can fight is to slug.”
Kendrick Johnson writes for a daily newspaper and is an independent print journalist and sports television reporter who has covered the NBA Finals, NFL, NCAA football, MLB, NHL, championship boxing and UFC Fights. He’s done numerous interviews with some of the biggest names and personalities in sports. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @kendrickjohnso.
