Mayweather Jr. vs. Maidana: is Floyd starting to decline?

By Boxing News - 05/05/2014 - Comments

floyd722By Gerardo Granados: Once upon a time there was a boxer who was able to handle pressure fighters with such ease, that some boxing fans thought that he belonged to the all-time top ten greatest list; but now it seems like father time Kronos will not forgive him and at age 37 has already started to diminish his once outstanding boxing skills. Don’t get me wrong I loved the way Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KO’s) fought last Saturday night, it was marvelous to see how hard he wanted to destroy Floyd (46-0, 26 KO’s), Chino was there to punch Money into submission. While it was surprising to see that Floyd had a wrong game plan and it took him too much time to adjust, not the less he tried to please fight fans.

Maidana had the weight advantage and that is a factor to consider but the definitive factor was his hunger and determination. Marcos showed that he has improved a lot since he joined trainer Garcia who has turned him into intimidating fighter. The face expression of Floyd while the score cards were announced is simply priceless.

How is it possible that Maidana was able to trouble Mayweather Jr that much? Hey in the past Floyd was able to deal with bigger fighters’ way more talented than Chino, but that was a long ago. Yes, he fought and dominated Saul Alvarez but Canelo had the wrong game plan and failed to do what Chino did since the first ring bell. Now, Chino was really competitive but still lost the fight I had it scored 116-112 for Money and there were 2 close rounds to score that could have gone to either one.

A friend of mine asked me how is it possible that Maidana looked so good meanwhile Canelo was schooled. Alvarez is bigger, stronger, hits harder and even is faster but, Maidana was simply a hungry lion who was inside that ring to kill the reigning lion king. It was a real pleasure to see Chino fight the way he did and for me this bout has enough merits to be a candidate for fight of the year.

At age 37, Mayweather Jr. should start considering the right time to retire. He still is good but maybe his body is just starting to betray him. Josesito Lopez was stopped by Maidana but for a couple of rounds, Lopez gave hell to Marcos. So how is it that Floyd struggled that much? I thought this would be an easy night for Mayweather Jr. but now I am starting to wonder if he will struggle that much on his next bout even more if a rematch is allowed. But, what about the reader do you think Floyd skills are starting to decline?



Comments are closed.