By Andreas Strøjer Tynan Schmidt: Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KO’s) failed to live up to expectations against Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KO’s) on Saturday, May 3. That is the inevitable fact Floyd must have realized by now. However, before he went toe-to-toe against Argentinian slugger Marcos “El Chino” Maidana on Saturday, everything looked like another day at the office. Another guy was set up for him very similarly to recent opponents; coming off one of the biggest victories of his career, slow, flat footed and aggressive. And a Spanish-speaking Latino even.
Floyd has emphasized that fact by continuing his softer approach in the buildup for the fight. In recent years, Floyd has run out of serious competitors and only a few optimistic fans had imagined the world’s pound-for-pounder number one leaving the ring without his O in any of those fights. Most of them before facing Canelo, and boy, was that an off-guess.
The lack of realistic belief in the underdog has led to imbalance in the buildup. The need for Floyd trash talking his opponents has therefore been less evident and instead, we even saw “Money” trying to put his opponent on a pedestal:
“This is a true champion. The best will be fighting the best.”
Floyd knows perfectly what drives business and that isn’t the prospects of another easy 12-round fight of a few single shots landing faster than the poor guy can see, while he hopelessly chase him around the ring leaving to the inevitable unanimous decision when the announcer declares “and still welterweight champion of the world”.
And yet, with this in mind, the after statements from Sunday just over midnight from Floyd should come as quite the surprise:
“In September, if we fight again, will it be the same fight? Absolutely not. I could have made the fight a lot easier if I wanted to.”
Mayweather is most likely referring to the fact that it ended up being a fight on the terms of Maidana and taking credit for doing what the fans wants:
“I normally like to go out there and box and move. But he put pressure on me, so that’s when I decided I’d make it competitively and fight differently. I wanted to give the fans what I know they wanted to see, so I stood there and fought him.”
A man in complete control of himself with a wish to please the crowd? I don’t buy it. “I could, I just didn’t want to” and “I do what the fans want to see” aren’t statements you associate with the Michigan native. Floyd was not in control of the fight and until the last announcement of the judges’ scorecard, nothing was certain. Things weren’t as usual. The distance game and the shoulder roll didn’t work for most part of the fight. Floyd was cut. Floyd was hurt.
Did he win the fight? Yes, but only slightly. Is he the better fighter? Most definitely, but the question is now what caused this situation. Is the age finally beginning to show – should he be considering retirement while still at the top? Or alternatively, did he just underestimate the magnitude of the kamikaze style fighting Argentinian bulldog?
If they do it again in September, this is what we will get an answer to. They know each other now. Maidana will be doing the same thing that worked well, but Mayweather should rethink his game plan. And if they don’t do it again? A scratch on the legacy of Floyd Mayweather Jr. will remain and his ambitions of leaving the sport as TBE – The Best Ever – will probably not be the case. It’s time to get back to work, you’re not there yet, Mayweather.
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