Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana
Whenever the pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather steps into the ring the sports world seems to take notice. This PPV is being billed as "The Moment" and it will certainly be the biggest moment of his opponent, Marcos Maidana's career. Both fighters are putting their title belts on the line in this WBC/WBA welterweight unification fight. Mayweather will be bringing his WBC belt into the ring and Maidana will be bringing the WBA belt he took from Adrien Broner to the ring. Maidana's forceful win against Mayweather's self appointed "little brother" is what earned him this fight and the power he showed in that bout is what makes him so dangerous. While Mayweather looks to keep his perfect record Maidana looks to shock the world.
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| Mayweather was nearly perfect against Canelo |
By now most fans, even casual ones are aware of how Mayweather likes to fight. He is one of the best defensive fighters of all-time and to call him slick might even be an understatement. What makes Mayweather so successful on defense is his shoulder roll which either blocks or deflects his opponents punches. Nothing in boxing drains a fighters energy more than swinging and missing and Mayweather makes his opponents do that constantly. On offense Mayweather is a very accurate puncher and still has some of the fastest hands in the sport. His best weapon is his straight right hand and he also has a stiff jab that keeps opponents at bay. Occasionally Mayweather will throw an uppercut, he doesn't throw it often but he may find success with it against Maidana who will be coming straight forward applying pressure. One might think getting Mayweather against the ropes is the best way to beat him but even with his back on the ropes he remains calm and avoids nearly every punch coming his way.
Mayweather takes a lot of criticism for "ducking" opponents and hand picking his opposition but he still has a very strong resume. It is no secret that Mayweather has a perfect record of 45-0 with 26 knockouts and he has beat many top fighters on his way to the top. Mayweather has faced, and beaten the likes of Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton before his short lived retirement. After he came back to the ring Mayweather went on to beat Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero, and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. At this point the only relevant questions seems to be whether or not Mayweather will try to retire 50-0, breaking Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0.
For his part Maidana will do his best to give Mayweather his first career loss. Maidana is best described as an action hero and reminds a lot of people of the late great ultimate blood and guts warrior Arturo Gatti. The reason for that is because Maidana seems to get more dangerous after he has been hurt in a fight. He relies on his constant pressure and huge punching power to overwhelm and beat down opponents, something he did very well against Broner. What makes Maidana so dangerous is the fact that he has such tremendous power in his both hands. Maidana dropped Broner with a left hook but his overhand right is just as strong and may be his best shot at beating Mayweather. Mayweather was rocked and nearly dropped by Mosley in the 2nd round of their fight from an overhand right so Maidana should be throwing that punch often. Maidana also needs to really focus on his defense because he has been hurt in the past and usually takes a lot of punches. Even in his win over Broner he ate a lot of counter punches and those are Mayweather's specialty.
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| Maidana was at his best against Broner |
Whenever Maidana has had a high profile fight he usually enters the ring as the underdog and he seems to relish that status. He has always had to fight the best available and has upset the apple card on many occasions. Maidana has an impressive career record of 35-3 with a ridiculous 31 knockouts. His three losses have come at the hands of Andriy Kotelnik, Amir Khan, and Devon Alexander all of whom are good boxers. While Alexander easily beat him the fights against Kotelnik and Khan were much close and could have gone either way. His biggest wins have come over Erik Morales, Jesus Soto Karass, Josesito Lopez, and Broner and if he were to beat Mayweather his career would take off to heights he hasn't yet seen.
While Mayweather will come into this fight as the heavy favorite Maidana is the type of fighter who always has a punchers chance. Maidana is going to apply more pressure on Mayweather than he has seen in some time and he will be throwing a lot of overhand rights. If age finally catches up to Mayweather he could be in for a tough night against the power punching Maidana. That seems unlikely however because Mayweather keeps himself in excellent physical condition and should be sharp. The fighter with the most recent success against Mayweather was Cotto and this fight could resemble that bout but it could also resemble Mayweather's fight against Alvarez which was a blowout. Whatever happens fans will either be amazed by the ability of Mayweather of shocked that Maidana was able to pull off the upset.
PREDICTION: Marcos Maidana will come to win this fight, not just be the opponent but that won't be enough against Floyd Mayweather. There is a chance that if Mayweather doesn't hurt his hands he could stop Maidana late because of his accurate punching. However Maidana has too much heart and it is doubtful his corner will throw in the towel because he is a one punch knockout type fighter so Mayweather will win this fight by a wide margin on the scorecards with a unanimous decision.
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