Floyd Mayweather was just “Old Money” in the early rounds of his welterweight unification match with Marcos Maidana on Saturday, as if his reputation alone should have been enough to tame his opponent.
It wasn’t. Maidana clawed at Mayweather, earning repeated warnings from referee Tony Weeks for his rough-house behavior and pushing Mayweather into the ropes.
An upset seemed possible as Mayweather, 37 seemed puzzled and vulnerable to his opponent’s reckless manner.
But maybe Mayweather was just making the fight more dramatic, luring his opponent into a false sense of comfort and giving the fans an emotional ride, ever the showman.
Mayweather woke up in the later rounds, displaying the hand speed and the dazzling combinations that have made him the top draw and fighter in the sport, and he earned a majority decision victory by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 114-114 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, maintaining his perch atop the sport with a 46-0 record. R. MARSH STARKS/Reuters Mayweather stays on top of the boxing world, improving his undefeated record to 46-0.
?I was in a tough competitive fight,? Mayweather said in the ring afterward. ?I normally like to go out there and box and move. But it was a tough fight and I decided to stay in there and give the fans what they wanted to see. I wanted to stand and fight. He put a lot of pressure on me. After the head butt I couldn?t see for two rounds. But that?s what champions do. True champions adjust to anything. He?s a champ and I?m a champ and we did what we did tonight.?
From entering the ring with Justin Bieber and circus performers on stilts to the fake dollar bills that dropped like confetti from the sky during his entrance, the star of Saturday’s show was Floyd “Money” Mayweather, though Maidana showed with his aggression that he also had what it took to be a leading man.
Maidana was also the much bigger man. He weighed 165 pounds by the time he stepped into the ring while Mayweather was 148 pounds, according to Showtime’s unofficial scales.
Maidana landed a wild overhand right midway through the first round, causing Mayweather to flail into the ropes. The crowd erupted as Maidana tried to rake Mayweather with shots. But Mayweather covered up and stood his ground and later landed a short left hook that seemed to stun Maidana toward the end of the round.
Mayweather landed a sharp body shot with his jab that drove Maidana back to start the second. But Maidana found success when he pushed Mayweather into the ropes, landing some clubbing shots.
Weeks warned Maidana for roughhousing tactics to start the third round after Mayweather complained of Maidana hitting behind his head. Moments later, Mayweather landed a sharp right that snapped Maidana’s head back. Eric Jamison/AP The fight was much closer than anticipated as Maidana came out swinging early.
Things got rougher in the fourth as Maidana was warned again by Weeks for roughhousing, and a tiny cut seemed to appear over Mayweather’s right eye midway through the round, though it’s not clear if it was called from a butt or a punch since Maidana was fighting wildly. Maidana was finding success raking Mayweather against the ropes with looping overhand rights in the early rounds and seemed to be out-working Mayweather.
But in the sixth, Mayweather seemed to wake up, finally finding his rhythm and landing his trademark straight right repeatedly, using his superior hand speed to good effect. Mayweather was again the sharper of the two in the seventh as Maidana’s relentless assault slowed and Mayweather was able to pick him off with shots as he came charging in.
Maidana appeared to connect with a left hook that was low while Mayweather was against the ropes to start the eighth round but Weeks didn’t take a point away despite complaining by Mayweather. Later in the round, Maidana landed a sweeping overhand right that had Mayweather gulping air and trying to steady himself in the middle of the ring. STEVE MARCUS/Reuters Mayweather’s defense is too much for Maidana to handle.
Mayweather dominated the ninth and tenth, landing punches almost at will- including a one-two combination that found its mark consistently, causing Maidana to spend almost the entire tenth in retreat as Mayweather showered him with shots, up top and also to the body.
In the 11th, the two went barreling into the ropes and onto the canvas, where Maidana landed a short, illegal punch while they were both down. Maidana seemed to tackle him but he couldn’t beat him.
