Mayweather-Maidana II Breakdown And Prediction

As Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana once again take the stage the predictions are flowing throughout the country as to whether or not Marcos Maidana’s second chance at dethroning Floyd Mayweather can be a successful one. Our writer Gabriel Gonzalez breaks down how he thinks the second fight is going to play out:

There are a couple big factors that play into this second showdown. Referee Kenny Bayless is probably the biggest one though. There is two ways he is going to referee this fight. I’ll call them the "Mayweather way" and the "Maidana way". The Mayweather way is that every time Maidana gets on the inside and tries to rough Floyd up, Bayless will step in and break them apart. He will now allow the holding and rough house pushing that helped Maidana keep Floyd on the ropes in the first fight to happen this time around. The Maidana way would be that he allows what happened in the first fight to happen in the second fight. Basically, he lets them fight. If Bayless chooses the Mayweather way then it’s going to be an easy night for Floyd. If he chooses the Maidana way then Floyd is in for a round night again.

If Bayless does let them fight then the question is can Maidana finish the fight stronger this time around. I ask myself one question…Did Maidana get tired in the first fight or did Floyd figure him out? The five to six rounds of their first showdown was all Marcos Maidana. He had Floyd flustered, confused, and he was winning rounds. His team says that he got tired in the second part of that fight. This time around their sole focus has been on Maidana’s conditioning. They are planning to come in and throw a hundred punches per round. However, I remember them saying that they would do it the first time too. The truth is, it’s not easy to keep up that pace for twelve rounds no matter how conditioned you are. Maidana has to be smart, aggressive, and throw a lot of punches but not to waste to many. It's not easy to do.

Maidana has 31 KO’s in 35 wins which means this guy has power. However, ever since he moved up to welterweight he hasn’t carried that one punch KO power with him. He can knock you down, he can stop you with his relentless attack, but he can’t end the fight in one punch. I think one thing that is underestimated about Floyd Mayweather is his ability to take a punch. Maidana hit Floyd with a lot of clean shots in the first fight and Floyd was able to take them. He seemed flustered, annoyed, and even tired at times, but he was never hurt. Maidana needs to hurt Floyd this time around. Can he do it? I’m not so sure he can. More clean punches need to be landed. Mayweather knows what is coming this time but so does Maidana. Maidana is not scared, he’s not going to be as nervous in this fight, and if he has learned some things in the first fight he could make this night hell for Mayweather. He said that Floyd’s punches didn’t hurt him so he may risk taking even more chances in this fight by going after him. But if he underestimates Floyd's power he could get caught.

Mayweather needs to do what Mayweather does. In the second part of their first fight even with his back to the ropes Floyd was able to land flush shots without taking to many back from Maidana. He figured out where the punches were coming from and gave himself just enough space to fend him off. The idea this time around would be to keep the fight in the middle of the ring where Maidana stands no chance against Floyd's speed, timing, and defense. I don’t see Mayweather being able to do that if referee Kenny Bayless let’s this be a fight. Maidana’s continuous pressure and punches forced Floyd to the ropes in that first fight. I think Floyd is going to be on the ropes again alot in this fight and the key will be landing the cleaner shots like he did in the second part of their first fight.

It’s an intriguing matchup. If Bayless stays out of it it’s going to another fun fight to watch. If not, then Mayweather will likely cruise to an easy victory. In my opinion, Mayweather wins either way. I don’t see Maidana hurting Floyd, though he definitely can. The fight will likely play out the same way the first fight did. Mayweather will land the cleaner punches while Maidana makes the fight fun with his continuous onslaught landing punches everywhere and anywhere he can. This time I think Mayweather wins the rounds clearer than he did in the first fight though, which had a lot of close rounds that could have went either way. 

Floyd Mayweather defeats Marcos Maidana by UD. My score is 116-112