By Rick Reeno
Former champion Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31KOs) admits that he can be a little rough in the ring.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (46-0, 26KOs) and members of his team have complained about Maidana's "rough" tactics during their May fight, which Mayweather won with a twelve round majority decision. A rematch is scheduled for September 13th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"Marcos Maidana came out and gave a tough effort, I mean he fought his heart out but it wasn’t clean," Mayweather said.
“Was I ever hurt? Sure, the shots to the back of the head hurt. Whenever you're in a heated battle you are going to be sore. It comes with the territory. Is Maidana a better fighter than Canelo? No. Cotto? No. He's just a dirtier fighter. I didn't get a deep gash from a punch; I got it from a head butt."
No dispute from Maidana on the issue. However, he's not letting Mayweather off the hook that easy.
"Maybe he's right. Maybe I am dirty. It might be a tactic [to tell everyone that I'm dirty] for the [potential] referee [to get influenced during our rematch]. But if I'm dirty then he's also dirty," Maidana said.
During the fight, Maidana says he retaliated several times to Mayweather's use of the elbow. He says Mayweather uses his elbows to create space when a fighter pins him against the ropes or tries to keep him on the inside.
"You know what, when he fights he uses the elbows. He does that with a lot of opponents. But they don't reciprocate it. I did it. In this fight I did it and gave it back to him," Maidana said. "It's a defensive tactic. He puts the elbow in the throat, [but] it's not fair."
