Sport
Floyd Mayweather Jr., dominates Marcos Maidana to retain Championship belts in rematch bout
Floyd Mayweather Jr.,(r) throws a right hook against Marcos Maidana during their WBC/WBA welterweight title fight, Sept. 13, 2014. PHOTO/Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP
Floyd Mayweather Jr., dominated Marcos Maidana from the opening bell, using his boxing skills to keep the Argentine off balance and pile up points on his way to a unanimous 12-round decision to retain his welterweight and super welterweight titles before a crowd at the MGM Grand.
It almost came at a cost, though, in a bizarre scene in the eighth round when Mayweather claimed that Maidana bit him on his wrist while they were in a clinch near the center of the ring. “He bit me!” Mayweather yelled to the Showtime announcers working ringside.
Mayweather remained unbeaten in his remarkable 18-year pro career, winning for the 47th time and doing it with such dominance that about the only one complaining about the decision was Maidana.
“I was pressuring him and I was the aggressor,” Maidana said. “I won the fight.”
Mayweather earned at least US$32 million for the rematch, bringing his total purses to more than US$100 million in the last year. Though he wasn’t marked up, he was upset over the bite. “We were tangled in the center of the ring and I didn’t realize what it was. Then I saw that he bit me,” Mayweather said. “After the eighth round my fingers were numb, I couldn’t use my left hand.”
Maidana denied he bit Mayweather. “How can he say I bit the glove with my mouthpiece?” Maidana asked. “I’m not a dog.”
The fight was a marked contrast to their first bout in May, when Maidana roughed Mayweather up in a close fight. Mayweather won that bout, but it was close enough for Mayweather to offer an opponent only the second rematch of his career. Maidana won’t get a third fight after failing to land any big punches.
Two ringside judges scored it 116-111 for Mayweather, while the third had it 115-112. The Associated Press had it 117-110.
