Floyd Mayweather Jr., Marcos Maidana make weight for rematch

Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s rematch with Marcos Maidana will be dictated by what adjustments from their May clash will prove most effective.

“I don’t worry about the pace of the fight, I’ll just be Floyd Mayweather,” the 46-0 welterweight world champion said Friday after weighing in at 146 1/2 pounds for the pay-per-view bout at MGM Grand.

That comment all but confirms speculation that the fast-legged, defensive-minded fighter is locked in
on the idea of staying away from the entertaining exchanges that left him cut at the right eyelid in the first bout and saw him lose at least half of the early rounds.

Argentina’s Maidana (35-4, 31 knockouts) countered that his weigh-in weight of 146 pounds, a full pound under the welterweight limit, “proves” he can mount a sustained assault on Mayweather for the fight’s duration.

He complained of being fatigued in the later rounds in May, when Mayweather outboxed him to gain a majority decision victory.

“We’re good, I’m ready,” Maidana told the Los Angeles Times through a Spanish translator backstage. “I’m very confident. The 146 shows it. I feel it.”

On the weigh-in stage, Maidana told Showtime, “I’ll get to try and change history and change Mayweather’s record. The first fight was very close. There were a couple errors made in the first fight that I’ll rectify. I’m coming out aggressive like I did in the first fight and will please the fans. … My punches weren’t as effective as I wanted them to be the first time. This time, they will be.”

Maidana will earn a guaranteed $3 million, while Mayweather’s purse is a guaranteed $32 million, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

This is only Mayweather’s second rematch, 12 years since he repeated victory over Mexico’s Jose Luis Castillo.

The 37-year-old champion said he’ll lean on his vast experience for Maidana and be more receptive to his trainer-father Floyd Mayweather Sr.’s commands than he was during the first bout.

One other major strength that has Mayweather affixed as nearly an 8-1 favorite in Nevada sports books is his ability to take a good punch.

“I know I can make adjustments,” Mayweather said. “He’s a strong competitor. I’m going to stay strong, not rush, take my time, listen to my daddy’s instructions. He’s tough, but I’ve been here before.”

TIME CHANGE: Showtime, in a nod to East Coast viewers, is starting its pay-per-view portion of the fight card one hour earlier, at 5 p.m. Pacific, meaning the main event should start sometime in the 8 p.m. hour.

Covina’s John Molina will fight former three-division world champion Humberto Soto of Mexico at 4 p.m. on Showtime before the pay-per-view telecast begins. The co-main event is a World Boxing Council super-bantamweight title defense by Los Angeles’ Leo Santa Cruz against challenger Manuel Roman of Paramount.

FLOYD, OSCAR SPLITTING FOR GOOD?: On the eve of what could be the 10th and final Mayweather fight for Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya said he “would hate to think” that’s the case.

Yet, with Mayweather Promotions now licensed to do business in Nevada, Mayweather has recruited some of the Golden Boy employees who departed the company this year along with former chief executive Richard Schaefer. Ex-Golden Boy executive Bruce Binkow is helping oversee fight operations this week while Mayweather-Maidana II is promoted with Golden Boy’s license.

Schaefer is in town, associates said, but has maintained a low profile after meeting with Mayweather at the Los Angeles stop of the fight’s press tour earlier this summer. Schaefer declined to comment.

De La Hoya and Schaefer’s split is a civil court matter, with De La Hoya contending his former close friend has a contract through 2018 “that stipulates he cannot compete, [cannot] be involved in boxing.

“It’s a strong, solid contract that I’m standing behind 100%,” De La Hoya said.

Attempts to mediate the dispute, De La Hoya said, “took a step back recently.… We were making progress, [but] it’s going to be a fight.” He added, “You can make an argument he wasn’t [working in the best interest of the company].”

Speculation that Schaefer, a close friend of both Mayweather and the fighter’s powerful manager Al Haymon, is in line to take over Mayweather Promotions wasn’t met well by the boxer’s advisor and current CEO Leonard Ellerbe.

“What am I supposed to do?” Ellerbe said, ending an interview by saying, “Don’t insult me like that.”

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