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Floyd Mayweather Jr. won a close majority decision over Marcos Maidana during their May 3 encounter and remained unbeaten in 46 bouts. But while Floyd won in the bank with his $32M guaranteed purse and the expected PPV numbers, Marcos Maidana hit Mayweather with more punches than anyone before him. So the question now is, has Maidana laid down the blueprint for defeating Floyd Mayweather Jr.?
Let’s find out:
Pouring It On
Right from the opening bell, Maidana came right at Mayweather. He dragged Floyd to the corner and poured it on with overhand over hand rights. Although Mayweather hit him with a couple of clean punches, Maidana’s volume and activity bothered Mayweather.
By the third round, referee Tony weeks warned Maidana for roughhousing Mayweather. But the argentine was relentless and refused to hold back. He kept on coming at Mayweather with that overhand right. Mayweather was cut in the fourth round from an accidental headbutt. He later admitted that he had a hard time seeing in the next couple of rounds because of the cut. Mayweather hasn’t been cut as badly in recent years and the cut seemed to take him off his game. On the other hand, Maidana saw and smelled blood. He just kept coming and coming despite getting hit cleanly by Mayweather.
It seemed that Mayweather tried to let Maidana punch himself out. But credit Alex Ariza and Robert Garcia, Maidana got tougher as the fight got going. Of course, Maidana hit him with low blows and almost wrestled him off the ring in the eleventh round. But just as Mayweather picks you apart with his defensive prowess, you’ve got to pull out all the tricks in the books to get him off his game. And that’s where Maidana was successful. Cotto, Canelo and Ortiz roughed up Floyd, but they respected him too much. Before the bout, Maidana said Floyd is an excellent fighter, “but I don’t give a F**k about him.”
That was the difference. And that also proved that Floyd is only human and very much beatable.
Finding Ways to Win
On the other hand, Mayweather summoned all of his greatness and found the way to win. Before the bout, he was prophetic because he said that opponents will try to “keep the pressure up”, try low blows and headbutts, but he always finds a way to win.
And he did just that. Mayweather was the more accurate puncher. He connected on 54% of his total punches 230/426. He was more accurate with his power punching at 65% or 178/274. Of course, this was because Maidana was a standing target. That was one of the reasons why Mayweather took this fight. Floyd hurt Maidana a couple of times, but not enough to really put him in serious trouble. Maidana ate most of Mayweather’s punches and kept coming forward. So hitting Maidana was never a question, hitting Floyd Maywether Jr was.
Cracking the Code
Mayweather has always said that nobody’s going to crack the “May-vinci code”. Forty five fighters before Maidana, most of them the best in the world, have tried and failed. But Maidana may have showed us the blueprint in defeating Floyd Mayweather Jr. And it’s simple as seven words: “I don’t give a F**k about him”.
Jose Luis Castillo provided Floyd his biggest challenge ever. Some thought he won that first bout. But Mayweather at that time wasn’t fully the defensive genius that he is today. Everyone says that Mayweather is unhittable. That has changed in the last two years. He is 37 years old and no matter what he says, he has lost a step or two- just like Manny Pacquiao has.
In the last few years, Floyd has answered the “hittable” question by saying that he wants to engage some more because it’s what the fans want. That is correct: the fans want to see him fight some more, but he has to engage some more because that bicycle is getting older too. Floyd will never admit it, but he has become a more susceptible target with age and he is no longer as cat quick as before.
Of course, to be able to hit Floyd, you’ve got to throw twice as much punches. Maidana threw 858 total punches but landed nine less punches than Mayweather. But the 221 punches that he landed were the most ever on Mayweather. That is an eye opener. Mayweather also threw just 152 jabs, the fewest in his last four fights. And unlike in those four fights where Mayweather cruised on auto-pilot, he had to bleed for his points against Maidana.
Most of Mayweather’s punches were power punches because Maidana forced him to engage by roughing him up. Floyd looked a little tired after the bout, especially after fighting with a significant cut for eight rounds. Again, it was because Maidana roughed him up.
Who’s Next?
Amir Khan fought an impressive bout against Luis Collazo. He might finally get his wish this September. During the post-fight press conference, Mayweather hinted that he was willing to give Maidana a rematch. That would be interesting. Bernard Hopkins wants to get into the picture, but it’s unlikely that it’s going to happen within one year. And then the Great One, Muhammad Ali added his own thoughts via twitter. Ali congratulated Mayweather and said that “maybe we can see him rumble with Manny Pacquiao” next.
But it’s Mayweather who calls the shots. He’ll tell us whom he’ll fight next. But that next guy can take a page out of Marcos Maidana’s book. To be more accurate, he can simply memorize Maidana’s “seven great words”: I don’t give a f**K about him.” That could very well crack the May-vinci code the next time around.
