By Edward Chaykovsky
Trainer Robert Garcia admits he made a miscalculation for the first fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. (46-0, 26KOs). Maidana came in extra heavy, to have a size advantage and because they anticipated Mayweather to be much stronger than he actually was. Because of the extra weight, Maidana (35-4, 31KOs) wasn't as a fast he wanted to be and he tired in the second half of the fight.
For the rematch, scheduled for September 13th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Maidana will be lighter when he enters the ring. By shedding some weight, Garcia expects his boxer to be faster, stronger and more energized in the second half.
“I’m going to try to bring him into the ring at a different weight this time. Not as heavy. I think that was a mistake on my behalf. Since it was the first time fighting Mayweather, we wanted to take any advantage," Garcia said.
“Floyd is not as strong as we thought, so we are not making that mistake again. Chino would have been a lot faster and a lot stronger if he would have walked into that ring lighter. He would have had the same energy he had in the first six rounds."
