Mayweather-Maidana: Preview

Floyd Mayweather, shown here against Canelo Alvarez, will square off against Marcos Maidana

Floyd Mayweather, shown here against Canelo Alvarez, will square off against Marcos Maidana

By Joseph Rodriguez

Going into Saturday night’s rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana the number of possible outcomes for the fight depends on the number of people you ask. I hear Floyd is going to win more convincingly by a wider unanimous decision than the 1st fight. I hear Maidana by knockout or a close spilt decision in an ugly fight. I guess that is why fighters fight the fights, nothing is ever guaranteed in the ring. What may be a bit overlooked is the fact that the most important person in the ring may not be either fighter. Kenny Bayless, one of boxing most respected referees, will be the man in charge of the action in the ring and how this fight plays out may be in large part to how it calls it.

In the 1st fight with Maidana one of the uproars in the Mayweather camp was the way the fight was refereed. Mayweather complained that there was a lack of officiating that allowed Maidana get away with rabbit punches and headbutts. It’s not as if he acted alone, Mayweather’s use of his forearms and elbows did not go unnoticed either. Only one thing is certain about the fight, if Maidana is not allowed to work on the inside, smother and apply pressure on Floyd there is no chance of him winning. Mayweather is arguably one of the best pure boxing technicians ever and there is no way of Maidana would be competitive fighting at a distance.

Through the promotional tour and press conferences each fighter’s camp has lobbied for how the referee should manage the fight. These statements do not go unnoticed even by the most impartial referees. I happen to think Bayless is one of the top referees in the sport and hope these statements have fallen on deaf ears. Bayless must let the fighter’s work out of clinches, fight with their free hand, and ultimately not insert himself as a central figure in the fight. The best referee is the one who goes unnoticed in the ring. If Bayless is quick to break the fighters each time a little bit of pushing and shoving occurs on the inside, this fight will be over before it begins.

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