Mayhem II: Follow The Money!

Mayhem II: Follow The Money!

Last night I caught some twitter buzz about Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos “El Chino” Maidana II. Specifically, @boxingcrazy78 said,

“The ref for @FloydMayweather vs @ChinoMaidana is Kenny Bayless. I’m telling you now, this is already a different fight hugely in Floyd’s favor”

This is kind of a big deal, since in the last fight Maidana’s strategy was essentially to fight as dirty as possible in order to find a way past Mayweather’s stellar defense. If you don’t recall just how dirty Maidana was, there is a brilliant video on Bad Left Hook that breaks down the dirtiness, frame-by-frame. If you thought “El Chino” looked dirty before, you should seehim in slow motion.

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Five Reasons Why Maidana will be Mayweather’s Toughest Fight for Years

Five Reasons Why Maidana will be Mayweather’s Toughest Fight for Years

Defying logic, following no formula, and enthralling all that watched; the first fight between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana was a tribute to the very essence of sport itself.

Whilst the art and skill of any sport can capture the imagination, there is nothing more enchanting than a good underdog story, and so far in the careers of Mayweather and Maidana, this is the biggest for both of them.

Sure, other fighters have come just as close – maybe closer – to defeating Mayweather (Oscar De La Hoya, Jose Luis Castillo) but both were seen as legitimate threats at the time. Maidana had upset the odds before, most notably when he derailed the Victor Ortiz and Adrien Broner hype-trains, but having already lost to some B-level fighters, no one was expecting him to cause the pound-for-pound number one boxer on the planet any problems.
So when Maidana landed the most punches we have ever seen Mayweather hit by, when he won at least a third of the 12 round fight and when he continually put “Money” in bad spots, it simply shocked the world.

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Mayweather -Maidana 2: To box or not to box that is the question?

Mayweather -Maidana 2: To box or not to box that is the question?

Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana will meet once again at the MGM Grand Garden Arena this Saturday night live on Showtime PPV. Will Chino’s melee create “Mayhem”, or will it be muscle memory for the money man?

Damn near everyone is convinced that Floyd Mayweather will do a number on Marcos Maidana in the rematch. Isn’t this the same sentiment most fans had prior to the first go round? Maidana was a huge underdog at the sports book, ranging from 12-1 all the way up to 15-1 on a few betting website.

Even though Marcos gave Floyd by far his toughest and roughest fight of his career, barley any one gives him a real chance to get the job done against the future Hall-of-famer.

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Mayweather vs Maidana Preview

Mayweather vs Maidana Preview

A seasoned 37-year-old champ, Floyd Mayweather Jr, will climb through the ropes at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night knowing that the last time his champ status was questioned to a point that warranted a rematch (Jose Luis Castillo), he provided clear answers and removed all doubt; that was in 2002. Since then Floyd’s put in some great performances over the years, perhaps not in the most exciting style but in his own, unique style which has kept him undefeated so far, despite not having stopped an opponent since 2011.

Marcos Maidana’s 31 years’ old and is a hungry, aggressive, and exciting fighter with a point to prove in the world of boxing. His style seems to be borne of the school of blood and guts with a ‘let’s fight’ approach. He’s picked up a couple of losses along the way which is no surprise given how he operates in the ring, but he’s also picked up knowledge and experience which is making him better and better at fighting, and he’s already stopped 31 of his opponents and has never been stopped himself.

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Mayweather vs. Maidana: Money on a decision

Mayweather vs. Maidana: Money on a decision

Rematches may lack some of the drama and anticipation of other fights. They make up for it in predictability.

I’ve spent hours reviewing old fight footage, watching the most recent fights, fights against opponents with similar styles, fights they won, fights they lost…

While you can learn from any of these, none can teach you as much as watching a previous fight against the same opponent. Instead of speculating as to how this boxer will fare against that puncher, or how a three inch reach advantage will win or lose against superior hand speed, you ask one question: What happened last time?

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Maidana: I’m going to pace myself on Saturday

Maidana: I’m going to pace myself on Saturday

Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs) says he’s ready to fight hard for 12 rounds on Saturday night, but he plans on pacing himself more against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KOs) this time instead of using up all of his fuel in the first 6 rounds like we saw last May. Mayweather and Maidana will be squaring off on Showtime pay-per-view in this highly anticipated rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Maidana is supposedly coming into the fight at a lighter weight this time. Just how much lighter is unknown, but if he comes into the fight at below 155, then he can probably forget all about winning or doing well. Maidana’s No.1 advantage last May in his previous fight against Mayweather was his weight. Maidana came into the fight weighing 165 pounds against the 150 pound Mayweather, and that extra weight gave Maidana the ability to manhandle Mayweather for parts of the fight.

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Floyd Sr sees no point in Mayweather-Maidana 2 rematch

Floyd Sr sees no point in Mayweather-Maidana 2 rematch

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) As far as trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr is concerned there’s really no point in his son WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KOs) fighting Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs) in a rematch this Saturday night because he thinks that Mayweather Jr already clearly beat Maidana last May, and he doesn’t see there being any reason for a rematch.

Floyd Sr. didn’t agree with the fight being scored as a 12 round majority decision obviously. He saw the fight as a definite victory for Mayweather.

Mayweather chose to fight Maidana again because he wanted to show the fans that he could beat him easier the second time around. Mayweather isn’t saying this but he really didn’t have any other interesting options in terms opponents to fight. Amir Khan was unavailable, Shawn Porter suffered a defeat, and Kell Brook and Keith Thurman don’t have big enough names for Mayweather to fight them.

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Mayweather: Arum and Pacquiao are mentioning my name to sell tickets to Algieri fight

Mayweather: Arum and Pacquiao are mentioning my name to sell tickets to Algieri fight

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr told the media on Tuesday that there is zero truth to him being in negotiations for a fight against WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. There are no secret negotiations of any kind. Mayweather feels that Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank are mentioning his name in order to try and sell tickets and attract interest for Pacquiao’s November 22nd fight against little known fighter Chris Algieri in Macao, China.

“Not true,” Mayweather said. “I can’t say what the future holds, but Arum and Pacquiao is trying to sell tickets for the (fight with the) guy named (Chris) Algieri. Trying to sell tickets for that fight. I don’t know where they fighting, I don’t know anything about what Top Rank is doing.”

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Mayweather: Maidana is a B level fighter

Mayweather: Maidana is a B level fighter

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KOs) plans on showing the boxing world the difference between an A-level fighter and a B-level fighter this Saturday night on September 13th in his rematch against #2 WBA, #3 WBC Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mayweather points out that Maidana won only 3 rounds the last time he fought him last May and this was with Mayweather choosing to purposefully fight his type of fight by electing to punch with him with his back against the ropes instead of staying in the center of the ring like he normally does against his opponents.

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Countdown to Mayweather vs Maidana II: Another Career Defining Moment for Mayweather?

Countdown to Mayweather vs Maidana II: Another Career Defining Moment for Mayweather?

(Note: Countdown to Mayweather vs Maidana II is an EastSideBoxing exclusive by resident scribe Vivek “Vito” Wallace who will take provide a glimpse into the epic showdown each week on Sunday, with a final prediction/analysis piece to be published on the day of the fight).

In last weeks ‘Countdown to Mayweather vs Maidana II’, we took a look at Maidana’s fearless mission to unseat the best talent in the sport. As we get closer to this epic showdown, it would only be fitting to assess the opportunity for victory of the man across from him. Floyd Mayweather remains the most enigmatic force in the world of sports. Few unanswered questions in the present, no visible regrets of the past. Recent headlines surrounding him demonstrate nothing short of utter chaos, but if there’s ever been a place that serves as a sanctuary for the man they call ‘Money’, it can be found in the ring.

At age 37, facing the proverbial ‘west side’ of his career, Floyd Mayweather knows that the window of opportunity to secure his spot on the Mount Rushmore of boxing is quickly closing. Many legendary nights in the past helped him enter the discussion, but how well he finishes down the home stretch could very well tell the tale, as it relates to etching his name in that unprecedented stone.

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