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

09/07/2014 Vivek Wallace

(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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Marcos Maidana vs. The World II

09/07/201409/06/2014 Vitali Shaposhnikov

It has certainly been a while since we have heard Floyd Mayweather Jr. mention the blueprint to beat him, the one that every fighter facing him claims to have a hold of before realizing inside the ring, that they never did.

Everyone has a plan, until they don’t. So many various angles have been tried, too many strategies and approached to mention, yet nothing seemed to phase Mayweather Jr.

In his last fight against Marcos Maidana, Mayweather Jr., despite emerging a winner yet again, looked tired and certainly beat up; at least more than we are used to seeing. Many claimed that Maidana should have been given the victory nod that night, while some agree that despite the fight being extremely close, Floyd did deserve the win.

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The problem returns home and the machine plans feast on Ortiz’s “0”

09/06/2014 Chris Carlson

Adrien Broner put his foot down in order to obtain home field advantage in the city of Cincinnati against the sturdy Emmanuel Taylor. Coming off a fight of the year win, Lucas Matthysse takes on Roberto Ortiz, who has never lost a fight as a professional. The Showtime tripleheader’s first bout will be between Andre Berto and Steve Upsher Chambers.

In his last fight Adrien Broner was unspectacular, ho-humming his way to a decision versus Carlos Molina. Many fans craved for Broner to face a top flight junior welterweight. Instead he will face Emmanuel Taylor, who is fresh off his best victory over Karim Mayfield.

As Broner’s star began to rise many media members and followers of the sweet science overrated him. His close points win against Ponce De Leon was chalked up as a learning experience.

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Shantel Jackson vs Floyd Mayweather: A Look at Allegations and Counter-Points

09/05/201409/05/2014 Vivek Wallace

With so much information floating around about this latest saga in the life and career of Floyd Mayweather, it’s only fitting that we should look at the core elements and separate the unimportant peripheral matters. The suit was filed by Shantel Jackson as a basis for “General”, “Compensatory” ($$$), and “Punitive” damages against Floyd Mayweather. Here’s a glimpse at her allegations and the counter-points they’ll have to withstand to win in court:
(Ms. Jackson Allegation #1): “He bent her arm, restrained her, and pointed a gun at her foot, asking ‘Which toe do you want me to shoot?’ “He then demanded her to remove her 17 carat diamond engagement ring at gunpoint”. This action was one of many reported in which Mr. Mayweather attacked her and imprisoned her, preventing her from leaving….a few times in which a gun was present.

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Manny Pacquiao – Chris Algieri LA Presser Coverage

09/15/201609/04/2014 Michael Montero

On November 22nd the new kid on the block Chris Algieri (20-0, 8KO) faces Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38KO) in Macau, China. For the past two weeks both fighters and their camps have travelled almost 25,000 miles on an epic worldwide media tour promoting the event. Today’s stop was in Los Angeles, as a sizeable crowd of press and fans gathered at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on the Avenue of the Stars.

For Huntington New York native Chris Algieri, 2014 has truly been the year of his life. Back in February he faced the more experienced Emmanuel Taylor on ESPN Friday Night Fights and pulled the mild upset, which earned him a spot on HBO against the feared brawler Ruslan Provodnikov in June. After a disastrous opening round in which he was dropped twice and suffered a gruesome injury to his eye, Algieri bravely fought on and scored a major upset via split decision. In a matter of months the former kickboxer with a master’s degree in nutrition has punched his way from obscurity into the opportunity of a lifetime against Pacquiao. But can he keep the upsets coming?

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The Sweet Sucker Punch

09/04/201409/03/2014 Xavier Biggs

Tyrell’s final opponent was Francesco Damiani from Italy. Damiani was about 225 pounds of brutal, awkward mayhem. He was an extremely determined brawler who earlier defeated the giant Cuban, Teofilo Stevenson. Stevenson had defeated Tyrell several tomes in international competitions. This obviously wasn’t going to be a walk in the park for Tyrell.

Tyrell was coming off an impressive victory over Lennox Lewis earlier in the box-offs….

…Suddenly I was popped out of my reflective trance by Bobby Dance’s voice, “Hey, your brother’s getting ready to go next.” I was paralyzed with anxiety as I sat on the sofa peering at the TV as Howard Cosell broke down their bios while the fighters were escorted to the ring by their trainers. This was the most anticipated bout of the evening.

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Mayweather vs. Maidana II: Fight Preview and Analysis

09/04/201409/02/2014 Bill Barner

On May 3, 2014, Marcos Maidana lost a majority decision to Floyd Mayweather. Although falling short on the judges’ scorecards, the Argentine hit Floyd Mayweather more times than any Mayweather opponent in history (221 times according to CompuBox). On September 13, 2014, Maidana will get another bite at the apple as he becomes the second person ever to earn a rematch against Floyd Mayweather. What follows is a look at the key factors going into their second bout.

RING REAL ESTATE

Three words describe each fighters’ key to success: location, location, location. During their first bout, Marcos Maidana dominated the match when he pinned Mayweather to the ropes. Any time Maidana smothered Mayweather against the ropes, the Argentine would opened up with wild power punches at every angle. With no space between him and his opponent, Mayweather’s sharpshooter accuracy and unmatched quickness were not enough to land good punches effectively. During these moments Mayweather looked human, even beatable.

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Joseph Parker: Going back to the future

09/03/201409/02/2014 Bryce Wilson

New Zealand, made up of two small islands, the shaky isles as it is sometimes referred to, isolated and diminutive in population, can be both a forward thinking yet deeply conservative country. Paradoxically everyone loves a winner in New Zealand so long as the winner in question remains both humble and unassuming.

When placing its winning bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup, a foundation of the countries’ successful tender was a pledge that the tournament would be played in ‘a stadium of 4 million’ and so it proved to be. The comparatively small size of New Zealand, where almost everyone knows someone, means that when their sports stars excel they often do so carrying the weight of a nation on their shoulders.

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Countdown to Mayweather vs Maidana II: Why Maidana’s Mission Could Be Mayweather’s Downfall

08/31/2014 Vivek Wallace

Floyd Mayweather’s resume boast a laundry list of formidable talent, yet each of those men carried one very flawed trait; one which Maidana has never owned or known. That one trait? Fear. The UK’s, Ricky Hatton also lacked fear, yet inadequate size blunted his best chance at achieving an upset. Oscar De la Hoya and Miguel Cotto were arguably the only fighters in Mayweather’s recent history with adequate size who didn’t enter the ring afraid, yet both made the mistake of trying to box, failing to realize that you can’t try to beat a master at his own game. Going into their initial showdown, fans and media alike viewed the Maidana matchup as a “classic case of Mayweather targeting a tailor-made opponent”, who had “no shot”. Less than a minute into the bout, that perception was far from the reality.

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Pacquiao vs. Algieri: SF Scoop

08/30/2014 Vitali Shaposhnikov

Yesterday, the AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants welcomed team Pacquiao and team Algieri for their the press conference. Both teams were in good spirits, and while neither Pacquiao nor Algieri had anything crowd thrilling to say, there was enough appealing information to make the event worth attending.

Of course the question of Pacquiao vs. Mayweather came up numerous times as expected, but the response from Pacquiao was as default expected. Manny said that he is willing to fight Floyd whenever, and that any great fighter needs to fight other great fighters. Algieri grabbed the microphone and defended Pacquiao, suggesting that fights do not get signed and opponents don’t get picked as easy as the media believes it to be. Chris stated that fighters don’t just get to pick their rivals and fight them, instead claiming that there is a lot more that goes into this process.

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