FLOYD MAYWEATHER and Marcos Maidana continue to argue about their weaponry. It all began the day before they went to war on May 3, with the Argentine declaring an understandable intention to wear his customary Everlast MX gloves. Mayweather balked after the weigh-in, and insisted Maidana wear standard Everlast gloves. Eventually, and probably wishing to protect the highest purse of his career, Maidana relented.
With their rematch set for the September 13, the row continues.
“Yes, the issue with the gloves still has to be talked about with my team,” Maidana told reporters on Thursday. “The gloves that I used in the first fight were not very comfortable and they felt like pillows. The issue with the gloves is I want to use the gloves I’ve used, but I’ll fight him anyway. I want to knock him out.”
Mayweather indicated that his rival’s hard-hitting reputation, and impressive knockout ratio, had a lot to do with wearing the MX gloves.
“I just want an even playing field,” said Mayweather, when asked about the gloves. “He has so many knockouts, but those types of gloves (Everlast MX) have no padding. He says he beat me in the first fight. He should wear those same gloves again if he’s so sure he beat me.
He’s strong, but beat me the honest way.”
Mayweather went on to say that Maidana might be better suited to MMA should he wish to fight with the MX gloves, despite them being approved by boxing authorities. Maidana has promised to tweak his approach, irrespective of what covers his hands, and knock out Floyd this time.
Floyd, 46-0 and the man holding all the cards, disagrees.
“He cannot fight any better than in the first fight,” said Mayweather, who will be fighting in the fourth fight of a six-bout deal with Showtime. “It was an easy fight the first time. I’m not making any adjustments. He’s the one that has to make adjustments. All I know is, come September 13, I will be sharp as a razor.”
