Floyd shakes off 'bite' to stay perfect

Floyd Mayweather worked far too hard against Marcos Maidana their last time out to have to do it again in their rematch on Saturday night.

Mayweather dominated Maidana from the opening bell, using his boxing skills to keep the Argentine off balance and pile up points on his way to a unanimous 12-round decision to retain his WBC and WBA welterweight and super welterweight titles before a crowd at the MGM Grand that sometimes booed the lack of action.

It almost came at a cost, though, in a bizarre scene in the eighth round when Mayweather claimed that Maidana bit him on his wrist while they were in a clinch near the center of the ring.

"He bit me!" Mayweather yelled to the Showtime announcers working ringside.

Mayweather remained unbeaten in his remarkable 18-year pro career, winning for the 47th time and doing it with such dominance that about the only one complaining about the decision was Maidana.

"I was pressuring him and I was the aggressor," Maidana said. "I won the fight."

Mayweather lived up to his 'Money' nickname by earning at least $32 million for the rematch, bringing his total purses to more than $100 million over the plast year.

Though he was not marked up, he was upset over the bite.

"We were tangled in the center of the ring and I didn't realize what it was. Then I saw that he bit me," Mayweather said.

"After the eighth round my fingers were numb, I couldn't use my left hand."

Maidana denied he bit Mayweather.

"How can he say I bit the glove with my mouthpiece?" Maidana asked. "I'm not a dog."

The fight was a marked contrast to their first bout in May, when Maidana roughed up Mayweather in what turned out to be a close contest.

Mayweather won that bout but it was close enough for him to offer an opponent only the second rematch of his career.

Maidana won't get a third fight after failing to land any big pun-ches.

Two ringside judges scored it 116-111 for Mayweather, while the third had it 115-112. Associated Press had it 117-110.

"I felt sharper in the first fight, my rhythm was off," Mayweather said. "I got hit with some shots tonight I shouldn't have gotten hit with. But that comes with the sport."

Mayweather complained long after the first fight that Maidana was a dirty fighter and complained even more when Maidana seemed to try to hit him below the belt in a clinch in the eighth round, then apparently tried to bite him.

Mayweather immediately jumped back and gestured to referee Kenny Bayless that Maidana bit him on the wrist.

He went to his corner and showed Bayless where the bite was, then went over to the Showtime announcers' table to complain.

Maidana would later be penalized a point for tackling Mayweather as he tried desperately to find something that would work.

By the end of the ninth round, Maidana was so out of sorts he went to the wrong corner.

Maidana spent many of the early rounds trying to figure out a way to get inside like he did in May.

Mayweather kept him at a distance, circling around and landing left jabs and hooks, then scampering out of the way before Maidana could respond.

Punch stats showed Maidana throwing far more punches (572-326) while Mayweather landed more (166-128). Mayweather's was hit with only 22 percent of the punches thrown at him while landing 51 percent of his own.

"I do have some bumps and bruises," Mayweather said. "But I listened to my dad (trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr.) who always said hit and not get hit. That's the way you last in this sport."

(China Daily 09/15/2014 page23)