12 Rounds of Thought - Mayhem

My initial thoughts on the “mega-fight” rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana.  Also, my thoughts on Leo Santa Cruz’s KO win, Mickey Bey’s controversial decision win over Miguel Vazquez and James De La Rosa’s upset of Alfredo Angulo. 

Round 1: Molina-Soto was by far the “Fight of the Night”… I could have been $77 richer today. 

Round 2: Alfredo Angulo needs to hang up the gloves.. he’s entered the Juanma world of shot fighters.  Lost 3 fights in a row and De La Rosa did everything he could to offer up a win to him, but he didn’t have enough left to take it.  Nice guy, but it’s time for him to walk away. 

Round 3: Mikey Bey vs. Miguel Vazquez wouldn’t even be worth a round if it weren’t for the GARBAGE decision.  How any judge saw Bey winning this fight 119-109 needs more than their eyes checked… they need to be committed.  The fight was beyond boring and Bey walked away with a gift.  Thank you TMT. 

Photo by Steve Marcus

Round 4:  Leo Santa Cruz is exciting… but my goodness, a showcase co-main event on a $77 card?  Roman had no right to grace the squared circle with Leo.  Leo-Rigo next please, it’s the ONLY way to redemption after this 2 round sparring match. 

Round 5: Floyd came into this fight with a clear cut gameplan… stay off the ropes, use the ring, clinch… and most importantly keep Kenny Bayless in his back pocket. 

Round 6:  I’m a huge Bayless fan… think he’s one of the best referees in boxing… but his showing left a lot to be desired.  It’s one thing to not allow a fight to get outta hand, but to penalize a fighter based off of a predetermined notion is absurd.  Anytime Maidana would get NEAR Floyd on the ropes, Kenny would be ready to jump in and break it up… I’m serious… watch the fight again… he was WAITING for an opportunity to jump in. 

Round 7:  The task was just too much for Maidana… him and his camp got too cute.  Trying to conserve energy was smart, but to completely abandon the aggressive style in the first few rounds lost them the fight.  You can’t allow Floyd Mayweather to be comfortable and Floyd was on a lazy-boy with the remote in his hand the first half of the fight. 

Round 8:  At the end of round three, Maidana stunned Floyd… and it seemed to finally wake him up.  He became more aggressive but Floyd used his agility and lateral movement to frustrate Maidana all night. 

Round 9:  I scored the fight 9 rounds to 3 (117-110) with Floyd getting an extra point for Maidana’s low blow.  The fight wasn’t close… not nearly as competitive as I thought it would be.  I expected more from Maidana… but at the same time, I expected more from Floyd.  Overall it was a disappointing night of boxing. 

Round 10: I stated on twitter that I don’t understand how people are fans of Floyd Mayweather.  It may have been a little out of line and many people took it out of context.  He’s a genius in the ring.  His ability to use the ring, defense and reaction to avoid punches is second to none.  The man has perfected that style and is an all-time great.  But my statement doesn’t speak to his skills… it pertains merely to preference.  I really don’t understand how anyone could be a fan of Floyd and enjoy spending your hard earned money to watch him fight.  Just my opinion… fandom is definitely a unique blend of emotion that is extremely subjective. 

Round 11:  Marcos Maidana had no chance in this fight.  Even if he was aggressive and rugged for 12 rounds, Floyd would have still won.  Floyd did what everyone expected him to do in the first fight and used his clear advantage in movement to frustrate Marcos and decrease his opportunities to do damage on the ropes.  Add Kenny Bayless allowing Floyd to clinch freely and not allowing them to fight off the clinch and you have a no-win situation for Marcos.  The better fighter won… and woulda won without the extra help. 

Round 12: Floyd is slipping… this fight was clear cut evidence that Floyd “Money” Mayweather is descending rapidly.  He was hit flush multiple times in this fight and his rapid reactions to flee from punches and exchanges tell me his undefeated days are numbered… if he decides to fight the best fighters in the sport. 

Pacquiao is what everyone wants… but another name emerged; Keith Thurman.  It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.  Thurman hasn’t defeated any fighter of credence and would be a tough sell to the casual fan.  The only other fighters of note would be a possible matchup with Amir Khan or possibly Danny Garcia.  Garcia’s stock is way down after a controversial win over Mauricio Herrera and a shellacking of unknown Rod Salka.  Khan would bring international interest, but still not enough to warrant a major event.    

Regardless, until I see the first press conference announcing Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, I will pay it no mind… and expend zero energy towards the rumors.  My money says he’ll fight Khan in May then finish his Showtime contract in September against the winner of Canelo-Cotto.  No Keith Thurman.  No Manny. 

Finally, the writing was on the wall that “Mayhem” was gonna be a major disappointment.  We as fans just let our optimistic imaginations get the best of us.  I mean, the first fight was competitive but it wasn’t a classic. The day the undercard was announced, we all knew it was trash.   Floyd, the cerebral assassin, was bound to figure out a strategy to dominate Maidana.  We all knew deep down inside that Kenny Bayless would NEVER allow the fight to be rugged and Floyd would get all the breaks.  Most importantly, we all knew that Floyd would not take any chances or risks to satisfy our hunger for a monumental moment.  There was a moment late in the fight where Floyd hurt Maidana with a stiff right, leaving him stuck in the corner… and Floyd did not follow up.  On the surface, it was the smart move since he was cruising to an easy victory.  But when you’re the self-proclaimed “Best Ever”, those are the moments you live for… the opportunity to leave a lasting impression.  Instead we’re left with a feeling of emptiness.  

Follow me on Twitter: @RLMalpica