Mayweather, Maidana make weight
Both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana made weight for their world welterweight title rematch Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.
Mayweather, who is 46-0 with 26 knockouts and will be defending his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association welterweight belts as well as his WBC junior middleweight title, weighed in at 146½ pounds. Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs), who lost a 12-round majority decision to Mayweather when they met the first time on May 3, weighed 146 pounds.
According to figures from the Nevada Athletic Commission, Mayweather will earn $32 million Saturday while Maidana’s purse is $3 million.
This is only the second time in Mayweather’s career he has granted an opponent a rematch. In April 2002, he defeated Jose Luis Castillo in a lightweight title bout by unanimous decision, then met Castillo later in December and defeated him again by unanimous decision.
“He’s a good, tough fighter,” Mayweather said of Maidana. “He’s earned a rematch. I’m just going to come in and fight a smart fight, take my time and listen to my corner.”
Maidana said he will try to put more pressure on Mayweather and use his boxing skills more efficiently this time.
“I’ve been working on my jab in the gym and I think it can be an effective weapon in this fight,” he said. “I have a great opportunity and this time. I know what to expect from him and this time I will come out victorious.
MGM officials said 8,000 attended the weigh-in Friday. The odds in the MGM Resorts sports books still favored Mayweather, who is minus-750 with Maidana at plus 500.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
