Maidana showed early on that pundits who took this fight lightly would be proven wrong. The aggressive challenger tallied the early lead by being the busier fighter and consistently putting Mayweather on the ropes.
The juxtaposition of Maidana's reckless attack and Mayweather's slick efficiency made those rounds difficult to score. But in the end, it was Money's ability to adjust to his opponent's style that once again earned him the nod in the eyes of the judges.
Once Mayweather was able to move the fight to the center of the ring and off the ropes, his advantages in the speed and defense categories shined through.
The 37-year-old Mayweather improved his record to a perfect 46-0, and he captured the WBA welterweight title in addition to retaining his WBC and The Ring welterweight straps at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Most figured that the 30-year-old Maidana was overmatched coming in to the fight, but he had manufactured some surprising results in the past. The Argentinian brawler defeated Adrien Broner prior to his clash with Mayweather, and he certainly had momentum on his side.
It would have been very easy for Mayweather to dismiss Maidana and look ahead to his next challenge, but that obviously wasn't the case. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe made it crystal clear prior to Saturday's bout that Mayweather was well aware of how dangerous Maidana could be
Mayweather wasn't exactly cautious, but he was quite cognizant of Maidana's power as Ellerbe suggested. Mayweather's biggest assets are his quickness and defensive ability, which he used to his advantage in order to neutralize "El Chino."
Maidana was unable to string together many meaningful power combinations, and Mayweather simply picked him apart as he has done to so many opponents in the past.
Every boxer seemingly has grand plans and blueprints to beat Mayweather, but nobody has been able to execute his strategy effectively. Maidana was no exception as he revealed a desire to work over Mayweather's body
Maidana's strategy certainly sounded good on paper, since body shots could have potentially slowed down Mayweather and hindered his movement. Unfortunately for "El Chino," he was unable to land significant body shots with any type of consistency due to Mayweather's stifling defense.
Although Maidana was unable to pull off a shocking upset, simply being in the ring with Mayweather helps his credibility. He already had some pretty big opponents under his belt before Saturday's fight, and there are unquestionably some more on the horizon for him.
With that said, the main focus now shifts toward Mayweather. Boxing fans hold their breath in anticipation whenever Mayweather goes through the fight selection process. Inevitably, the one fight that remains on the minds of many is Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao.
The Mayweather and Pacquiao camps have never been able to reach an agreement, but Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum was extremely vocal and even belligerent leading up to Mayweather's fight with Maidana.
As intriguing as that fight remains, especially after Pacquiao's convincing revenge win over Timothy Bradley, fans probably shouldn't get too excited over the possibility. Unfortunately, there aren't many challenges left for Mayweather aside from Pacquiao.
He already vanquished a rising star in the form of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, and he has taken down everyone put in front of him. Bradley, Kell Brook and Amir Khan are all possibilities for Mayweather, but one can only assume that he would beat all of them with relative ease.
Mayweather simply operates at a different level than every other boxer in the world, and that includes Pacquiao. Hopefully Mayweather and his camp can come up with an intriguing and entertaining fight, but after watching Mayweather's virtuoso performance against Maidana, that is difficult to imagine
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