adminLAS VEGAS. — Floyd Mayweather expects Marcos Maidana to be “once again extremely dirty and wild” when they clash here in the early hours of tomorrow morning.The welterweight champion and the Argentinian are set for a rematch after Mayweather won their first bout by majority decision in May. The result took Mayweather’s record to 46-0, and he said afterwards Maidana had done “a little bit of everything”.
Maidana has urged the WBA and WBC champion to “stop crying and just fight” in the re-match.
“I just have to go out there and be me and be first,” the 37-year-old five-division champion said on Monday while preparing for the 12-round bout at the MGM Grand Garden
“I can’t really say how the fight is going to play out, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to be once again extremely dirty and wild. My job is to keep everything under control the best way that I can,” Mayweather said.
Maidana made a fast start to their May 4 bout, launching a blizzard of punches and trapping his opponent against the ropes at every turn in the first few rounds.
Mayweather, widely regarded as the world’s best boxer, pound-for-pound, went on to dominate the fight. One judge scored it a 114-114 draw and the other two had it 117-111 and 116-112.
“The fight was not close,” said Mayweather, who has won 26 of his fights inside the distance. “He came out, he won the first round, I won the second round, he won the third and the fourth, and from the fifth on he lost every round.
“I got tackled, the guy tried to knee me, I got a head butt, there were rabbit punches, there were low blows and the list goes on and on.
“He did a little bit of everything. That night I had to do two jobs: I had to be the boxer and referee.”
Asked how he would prepare for similar tactics by Maidana, Mayweather replied: “My job is to prepare for everything all around the board, but I’m going to let the referee do his job and be fair to both parties.
“I’m just going to let the fight play out like it plays out and go out there and do what I do best. If a knock-out presents itself, of course I’m going to take full advantage of a knock-out. I always find a way. Whether I am 26 or 37, I still find the way to win.”
Maidana believes the first fight was so close that he simply needs to make a few refinements to win the second.
“I feel I just have to make a few adjustments, put a little more pressure on, land better punches, and yes I can win; I can win by decision,” said the hard-hitting Argentine.
“But obviously the knock-out would be nice, and that’s a possibility as well. In the first fight my attack, the pressure, was very good, but I didn’t do well with my distance control.
“I smothered a lot of my punches. I wasn’t able to really catch him with good solid shots, to extend my punches. That’s one of the things I’m working on.”
Maidana was unfazed by Mayweather’s claims that he was a dirty fighter. “You know what? It doesn’t bother me,” said the 31-year-old, whose record stands at 35-4, including 31 knock-outs.
“It doesn’t bother me. There are things that he does as well in there, so it’s time for him to stop crying and just fight.
“I hope he decides to stand and fight; to fight like a man. I hope he doesn’t start running or trying to move away.” — Reuters.
Online Reporter