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Via USA Today
LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana arrived together at their post-fight press conference Saturday night, about an hour after Mayweather had won a hard-fought majority decision in a much tougher fight than most expected.
The press conference began well, with Mayweather, sporting a cut over his right eye and a welt over his left, congratulating Maidana on a great fight.
"You're a great fighter and very tough competitor," Mayweather told Maidana, who hails from Argentina. "Congratulations on the new baby. She's beautiful.
"Next time, just don't hit me (below the belt) so much."
Maidana quickly replied: "Next time let me use my gloves," a reference to a drawn-out pre-fight controversy involving the gloves Maidana wanted to wear.
Things went downhill from there.
Maidana said, "give me a (bleeping) rematch."
Mayweather, standing at the podium while Maidana sat to the side, replied: "We can take it back down there right now if you want. Put the ring back up. … It's not a problem. If he feels he won, we can do it again in September."
September is when Mayweather is scheduled to fight again as part of a deal with Showtime.
For the 46th time 46 career fights, Mayweather, 37, came into the post-fight news conference a winner. And this time it was also as the world champ carrying the WBA and WBC welterweight titles
But it was not easy, a close, majority decision, much to the displeasure of the sellout crowd of 16,268, a partisan Maidana crowd that booed vociferously when the result was announced.
Judge Michael Pernick scored it 114-114, a draw. Burt Clements had it 117-111 and Dave Moretti scored it 116-112 for Mayweather.
Mayweather (46-0, 26 KOs), threw half as many punches as Maidana (425 to 858), but landed nine more. Still, the 221 punches Maidana landed against Mayweather were the most in his last 38 fights, according to CompuBox statistics.
He didn't endear himself to Maidana when he said that Miguel Cotto hits harder than Maidana, and so does Canelo Alvarez.
Mayweather, who made $32 million for the bout, said he decided to stand and fight against Maidana, but Maidana did not leave him much choice. He came in wildly throwing his signature overhand right early and often and connected against Mayweather, who looked off his game early in the fight.
"I always make the adjustments," he said. "That's the difference between me and every other fighter."
Mayweather said he wanted to give the fans what they came to see, so, "I stood there and fought him."
Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs), was carried around the ring on his trainer's shoulders after the fight ended, believing he had won. The disappointment was etched on his face when ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. announced Mayweather as the winner.
"If I had my gloves, I would've knocked him out," he said. "He never hurt me with a punch. He wasn't even that tough.
"I thought I won the fight. I feel like (the decision) was an injustice."
Maidana, 30, said it should be him that gives Mayweather a rematch, not the other way around, because "I won the fight. I'm not scared of him. Why not give him the rematch."
Mayweather overcame controversy and distractions that surrounded the event through the week leading up. the distractions might have caused the 12-1 odds a week ago to drop to 6-1 for Mayweather at fight time.
A major controversy surrounding the fight was which gloves Maidana would wear. Mayweather and the Nevada Athletic Commission rejected Maidana's original choice of Everlast gloves because they did not have enough padding in the knuckle area. Mayweather also rejected a second pair that the commission OK'd. It was not settled until hours before the opening bell.
Even after the post-fight press conference, both sides were still arguing about the gloves.
After the fight, as fans were leaving the arena, some kind of altercation broke out. The MGM Grand did not immediately release a statement but is expected to on Sunday. A call to the Las Vegas fire department was not immediately returned. ESPN said on Twitter that "apparently there were people injured." The Las Vegas Review-Journal said on Twitter that an eyewitness said people were trampled and a Review-Journal reporter tweeted he saw a man motionless on the ground.
Mayweather beat Maidana
Floyd Mayweather made adjustments and found a way to win and please the fans.
MARCOS MAIDANA ON LOSS TO FLOYD MAYWEATHER: "I DID EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO WIN"
FLOYD MAYWEATHER DISCUSSES HIS PERFORMANCE AGAINST MARCOS MAIDANA: "FOR THE FANS"
FLOYD MAYWEATHER AND ROBERT GARCIA DISCUSS GLOVE CONTROVERSY AT POST-FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE
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