The Marcos who doesn’t think

“Boxing is not about your feelings. It's about performance.” Manny Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

When we hear the name Marcos, two things immediately come to our mind: Martial Law and brilliancy.

The late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos was known both as a brilliant orator and as a leader of the most hated regime that lasted for 20 years.

But he was a thinking president; perhaps, one of the most intelligent presidents to ever serve the country.

That was the secret of his staying power.

There was another Marcos whose name reverberated all over the sporting world last September 14.

This Marcos, 31, is otherwise known as “Rene Maidana” of Margarita, Santa Fe, Argentina. He is known in the boxing world as Marcos “El Chino” Maidana.

He is the Marcos who does not think.

Awarded with a once-in-a-lifetime rematch against boxing’s most charismatic personality, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) blew away a second chance to become the first man to beat the 37-year-old black tornado, who cruised to a 12-round unanimous decision--John McKaie, 116-111; Dave Moretti, 116-111; Guido Cavalleri, 115-112--in their championship tiff at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

TEETH

Instead of using his brains, Marcos Maidana used his teeth in desperation in the 8^th canto to bite Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs).

It’s good the referee did not disqualify him for doing a Mike Tyson on Mayweather.

Early in the bout where they disputed the three baubles: WBC welterweight, WBC light middleweight, WBA super world welterweight, the five feet and eight inches Mayweather made sure Maidana could not anymore trap him on the ropes like in their first bout on May 3, 2014 on the same arena.

So accommodating was Mayweather in their first duel that he allowed Maidana to come near him they almost had a kissing scene from first to the 12^th stanza.    

Mayweather’s laxity in the first battle nearly cost him his unblemished record en route to escaping with a majority decision win--Dave Moretti, 116-112; Burt A. Clements, 117-111; Michael Pernick 114-114.

Although Mayweather spent the night eluding Maidana’s heavy-loaded uppercuts and maximizing his signature lateral movements, the tattooed Argentine brawler failed to introduce a new strategy that would convince his fans he deserved a third match should the fight ended in another hairline win for the loud-mouthed American champion.

FIRST

Like in their first meeting, Maidana could not send home a combination and missed several shots in the midsection.

It was also a failure for Maidana’s headhunting binge. 

Maidana wanted to brawl; Mayweather wanted to dance and uncork crisp punches side by side, fully aware that he needed to widen his lead in the scorecards if no knockout would come.

They had a mismatch even in the tune and the calisthenics.

Both their work rates were not as intense as in their first fracas in May this year where Maidana became the first fighter to inflict a wound on Mayweather’s right eyebrow with a legitimate punch.

The majority decision win in their first showdown also boosted loser Maidana’s stock and put a big question mark on Mayweather's capacity to absorb a punishment from never-say-die fighters like Oxnard-trained Maidana.

The unanimous decision win last September 14 stretched Mayweather’s victory without a knockout to five.

THREE YEARS

His last KO win came three years ago when he pulverized in four Victor Ortiz for the WBC 147-lb diadem on the same ring.

Mayweather’s not-so-impressive triumph in the Maidana rematch had the tell-tale signs of tiredness and weariness.

When he faces Manny Pacquiao (56-5, 38 KOs) in 2015 according to the grapevine, Mayweather will be up against the faster version of Marcos Maidana. He can still run yes, but he won’t be able to hide.

Pacquiao, 35, must first tackle tall Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) for the 12-round WBO welterweight championship in Macao on November 22, 2014.

A loss to Algieri will further dampen the dream match against Mayweather.

But since the Filipino congressman-cum-boxer and professional basketball coach is expected to walk over the inexperienced Algieri, there’s no stopping now for boxing’s two toughest senior citizens to finally meet in 2015 for boxing’s biggest and most expensive promotion in history.

'Maidana Pacquiao's' handwriting on Mayweather's wall

'Maidana Pacquiao's' handwriting 
on Mayweather's wall

"Man is a strange animal. He generally cannot read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it."
Adlai E. Stevenson

By Alex P. Vidal

As long as Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s main faculties are intact after 12 rounds, some Nevada ring judges don't have the guts yet to call spade a spade.
If they could snatch him away from the jaws of defeat, Dave Moretti and Burt A. Clements made sure Mayweather remained unblemished even if he looked like a kindergarten pupil pummeled from pillar to post by a gang of neighborhood homicidal maniacs.
It took a combination of Manny Pacquiao and Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs) or "Maidana Pacquiao" to expose the flamboyant black fighter as a hogwash.
True to his reputation, Mayweather isn't a risk taker. He knows how to unwrap his safety nets if the enemy packs wallops in both fists. He has mastered the art of timing when to boob and weave to avoid his rival's bazooka-like bombs. Mayweather is allergic to a waterfront brawl thus exposing himself like a scared rabbit like what he did when he recently kept his WBA super welterweight diadem via majority decision, 116-112, 117-111, 114-114.

WOBBLY

Standing on wobbly legs each time he was trapped in the ring by the Argentine dynamo, who could be mistaken for a bull because of his ferocity and never-say-day attitude, Mayweather would mimic Muhammad Ali's rope-a-dope style and gyrate his way to freedom and safety.
Piqued by his pretensions and copycat, Ali (56-5, 37 KOs) dared his fellow black American champion to test the mettle of the more dangerous Pacquiao. Ali must have seen "Maidana Pacquiao's" handwriting on Mayweather's wall. The same wall that Ali saw when Joe Frazier (32-4, 27 KOs) landed the "punch that shook the world" that toppled him with a big thud to the canvas like a deck of cards for a clean knockdown scored by Frazier, who retained his WBC and WBA heavyweight crowns by 15-round unanimous decision at the Madison Square Garden in New York on March 8, 1971.
Like Mayweather, Ali was also undefeated when he lost that epic battle against fellow unbeaten Frazier, whose style as a brawler was similar to Maidana and Pacquiao or "Maidana Pacquiao." Although he managed to avenge that embarrassing loss to Frazier twice (one in the "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975) in his comeback fight after being stripped of the world heavyweight crown for his refusal to to be drafted to the US Army to shoot the Vietcongs in the Vietnam War, the 1971 debacle against Frazier was registered in history as one of Ali's lousiest performances.    

MAJORITY

Mayweather's majority decision conquest of Maidana last May 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, failed to convince oddsmakers who are now contemplating on a rematch. Unheralded Maidana may or may not get the much-ballyhooed rematch in September, but one thing is for sure, he exposed Mayweather's Waterloo: gore him like a wounded bull and bedazzle him with blinding over right blows as he backpedals and attempts to use the ropes for sanctuary.
Against Manny Pacquiao in a dream match, Mayweather will continue to dig deeper in his bag of tricks to avoid being trapped under an avalanche of hooks and uppercuts and reach the limit for a decision win like what he did when he survived Juan Manuel Marquez (12-round unanimous decision), Shane Mosley (12-round unanimous decision), Miguel Angel Cotto (12-round unanimous decision), Robert Guerrero (12-round unanimous decision), Saul Alvarez (12-round majority decision), and Maidana.

MYSTERIOUS

Mayweather described the mysterious customer from Buenos Aires as "a hell of a fighter, a very tough competitor."
"Congratulations on your new baby. You have a beautiful family but in the next fight don’t hit me in the dick,” he declared during their post-fight press conference.
"Next time let me use my gloves," Maidana, 30, retorted. "I don’t know what to say. The truth is the fight was a good one. I did everything possible to win, but the work we did wasn’t enough for the judges. I don’t think anyone has ever attacked him and landed as much as I did. I pressed the action most of the fight. He’s a great boxer and he was able to manage a few moments in the fight…All I want is for this f--ker to give me a rematch!"
Next time, should promoters make a mistake of arranging a rematch, fight fans won't be able to see a repeat of the 1971 Ali-Frazier "punch the shook the world" because Mayweather will know how to play smart once more: boob and weave to avoid an opponent's scud missiles and rope-a-dope ala Muhammad Ali to escape a trip to dreamland.