Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Floyd Mayweather, Marcos Maidana, Timothy Bradley, and more!

09/16/2014 Vivek Wallace

Layton F. (Brooklyn, NY): I never thought I’d see the day, but to me, Floyd Mayweather looked old and out of sorts. I just didn’t think he looked the same. Is it safe to say that he’s no longer the guy he was?

Vivek W. (ESB): The old adage has it that “time waits for no man”! Oddly, we’ve seen Floyd Mayweather dominate for so long that we’ve grown accustomed to the notion that he’s some blind exception to the rule, and unfortunately, this is not the case. While there were some points that just didn’t quite seem normal for him, statistically, we see the same level of success. From day one, Mayweather’s statistics have been mid to high 50 percentile (or greater) in offensive connection rates; all while holding the opponent down to a very low 20 percentile connection rate in exchange. Has he been touched a bit more lately? Certainly seems that way, but again, all percentages remain intact, so is he truly “slippin” (as Steven A. Smith of ESPN went on record to say)?

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The Current 20 Most Exciting Boxers – A Statistical Analysis

09/16/201409/16/2014 Steven Chang

Boxing is at it’s most exciting when it’s highly skilled, competitive, back and forth fighting with plenty of drama. It peaks when a fighter is hurt and the crowd screams as killer instincts and the will to survive are on full display.

It’s rare to get life changing fights, both for the fighters and fans, such as the grueling Castillo vs. Corrales, but once in a while, a fight has all the right elements to captivate the public. A shaken Froch, climbing off the canvas to slowly dominate Groves and score a controversial stoppage, brought in an 80,000 plus crowd to Wembley stadium for the rematch.

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The Calm after the “Mayhem”

09/15/201609/15/2014 Michael Montero

On Saturday night Floyd Mayweather did what he was supposed to do earlier this May – dominate Marcos Maidana. The rematch billed “Mayhem” turned out to be anything but, as boxing’s pound for pound king pitched a near shutout in front of 16,144 fans at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.

Mayweather, clearly more focused this time around, kept the match in the center of the ring and moved or held to avoid taking punishment from his slower, plodding opponent. Other than a flush right hand Maidana landed at the very end of the third round and a bizarre hand biting incident in the eighth, this was pretty much a glorified sparring session. Punch stats tell the story, as the Argentinian slugger threw more, but landed at less than half the rate than Floyd did. Marcos landed just 17% of his jabs (41-237) and 26% of his power punches (87-335), while “Money” landed 43% of his jabs (64-149) and an astonishing 58% of his power shots (102-177). It was target practice, and Floyd’s holding and mauling tactics quelled “Chino’s” attack. Compare that to the first bout, where Maidana threw almost as many power punches (540) as he did total punches (572) in the rematch.

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This Day in Boxing History: Ali vs. Spinks II – September 15, 1978

09/15/201409/15/2014 Bill Barner

Approximately 13 years before Muhammad Ali ever stepped into a boxing ring with Leon Spinks, then Cassius Clay had overcome great odds by defeating Sonny Liston to become World Heavyweight Champion.

Ali went on to successfully defend that title nine times against such legendary boxers as George Chuvalo, Cleveland Williams, and Floyd Patterson.

However, Ali was stripped of the belt because of his refusal to report for induction into the U.S. military for the Vietnam War.

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“My Fingers Was Numb!” Mayweather Survives Alleged Nom, Dances to UD in Maidana Rematch

09/15/201409/14/2014 Christopher Lettera

(Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/Mayweather Promotions) Fortify your stomach and think back for a moment on what visceral terror you have seen in this our great and noble sport of boxing. I’m not talking about a sustained beating so much as I’m referencing those singularly weird, graphic manifestations of brutality that years later you can’t shake, even if the fight itself wasn’t particularly noteworthy in the long run.

I’m thinking of that soft-ball sized hematoma that Holyfield head-butted into existence on Hasim Rahman’s forehead back in 02. Or that pearly-white segment of Vitali Klitschko’s skull I swear I can see in photos of that canyon-deep cut he endured against Lewis.

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Floyd Mayweather Remains Perfect In Rematch With Marcos Maidana on SHOWTIME PPV

09/14/201409/14/2014 Showtime Boxing

After 24 rounds of boxing with Marcos Maidana, Floyd Mayweather is still the undisputed pound-for-pound champion.

Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) successfully defended his WBC and WBA Welterweight and WBC Super Welterweight World Championships with a unanimous 12-round decision victory in a rematch with Argentine slugger Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) on Saturday in front of 16,144 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, live on SHOWTIME PPV®.

“Money” strategically fought the fight that he wanted, effectively avoiding the looping punches against the ropes that “El Chino” was able to land in their first bout and pivoting back to his domain – the center of the ring.

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Mayweather defeats Maidana; Santa Cruz destroys Roman; Bey defeats Vazquez

09/14/201409/13/2014 Rob Smith

Marcos Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) resorted to biting tonight but it still didn’t help him against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) who easily registered his 47th consecutive win on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Maidana took Mayweather’s left hand out of commission in the 8th round after allegedly biting Mayweather hard on his fingers of of his left hand while he had him in a headlock.

The referee Kenny Bayless didn’t see the bite by Maidana so he couldn’t do anything about it. Never the less, Mayweather was unable to use his left hand again with regularity until a couple rounds later. What was interesting is that Maidana denied biting Mayweather after the fight even though a replay showed Maidana appearing to bite Mayweather.

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Mayweather vs Maidana II: Keys to Victory, Four to Explore, Official Prediction!

09/13/201409/13/2014 Vivek Wallace

Four months ago, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather encountered what most viewed as the toughest night of his 18 year career at the hands of Argentinean slugger Marcos ‘Chino’ Maidana. From the moment the final bell rang, fans all around the world have been split on what we witnessed. Mayweather critics felt he would avoid a risky rematch at all cost; supporters felt there was no need for one. Yet here we stand at the doorstep of a sequel, and tonight, once and for all, questions raised will be questions answered. As we prepare for this epic showdown, we take a look at keys to victory, four critical game changers to explore, and an official prediction:

FLOYD MAYWEATHER – KEYS TO VICTORY

Tonight, Mayweather will need to start fast and dictate the tone early. Part of that process will need to be dedication to aggressive body work. In their first fight, once he went to the body, we saw an immediate change in the overall aggression of Maidana as Mayweather slowed him down rather quickly. Aside from body work, Mayweather needs to keep all exchanges in the middle of the ring. Maidana missed 637 punches in the first fight, and of the 221 he landed, more than 70% came against the ropes. If Mayweather can stay off the ropes, be first, and commit to the body, a little footwork would cement his chances of victory, barring an unexpected powershot that he fails to overcome.

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Interview: Rick “The Raccoon” Glaser

09/12/2014 Joseph Gaxiola

Joseph Gaxiola of Eastside Boxing recently caught up with longtime boxing professional businessman Rick “The Raccoon” Glaser. The Raccoon has worked with major players in the fight game throughout his illustrious career and took some time out of his hectic schedule to inform us about how he initially got into boxing, his present status in the game, and the overall state of the game.

ESB: Rick, thanks for taking time out of your day for a boxing chat buddy.

RG: Joe, thanks for having me, we’ve talked about doing this for awhile, but I think the timing now is great because there is a lot going on in boxing. Its easy to talk to you because you’re a smart guy as opposed to having to talk to a dumb one.

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Mayhem II: Follow The Money!

09/12/2014 Gary J. Cooper

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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