Floyd Mayweather is the face of boxing, the unrivaled #1 fighter on face of the Earth for all intents and purposes, and, yet again, "Money" dignified his tagline as Forbes Magazine's highest paid athlete.
Nothing has gone wrong for Mayweather, and, although he never defeated arch-nemesis Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao, few are debating that Mayweather isn't the best fighter in the world.
In the ring, no mishaps have occurred, and he is deservedly unbeaten.
A handful of adversaries charged him past his limits, and forced him to dig deep and etch out a win not on his terms.
The earliest was likely Jose Luis Castillo, who lost a disputed unanimous decision to Floyd around a decade ago, when he was moseying his way past the best of his era, including Diego Corrales and Genero Hernandez. The win was heavily disputed and, thankfully, Mayweather corrected his mistakes and came back better to defeat the Mexican more convincingly.
The second -- recent Hall-of-Fame inductee Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya made the fight early, and troubled Mayweather. Luckily, Mayweather's youth, at the time, prevailed as De La Hoya was headed towards slippery slope that was the end of his career.
And, of course, in May of this year, Marcos Maidana, a slugger from Argentina, cracked and clobbered a less agile Mayweather, who served as an easy target in the early rounds until Maidana tired and Mayweather adjusted, closing with a close decision win at his fingertips.
Now, it has been announced by trustworthy sources that Maidana will get a second chance on September 14th in Las Vegas. A last chance against Mayweather, due to retire after bouts in May and September of next year.
Many have tried, none have succeed, but offensive-minded combination punchers have had the best chance. The guys who refuse to take a backwards step.
Beating Mayweather would require the perfect solution of power, stamina, speed, and timing. It would also require calmness under pressure and a no-retreat mentality.
There can be no distance or space for Mayweather. Disrupt his footwork. If you can't land, which you should whenever there is an opening, you have to smother "Money", blunting his counter attack. Maybe even flirt with the idea of fighting dirty and using mind games to ruin Mayweather's complacency in the ring.
Sound easy?
Maidana did almost everything and it still wasn't enough.
He needs an improved formula, new recipe, and we're not even sure if there is one!
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