Marcos Maidana will be a heavy underdog
in his May 3 showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but trainer Robert
Garcia believes that his fighter has what it takes to pull off an upset.
In an interview with BoxingScene, Garcia said that Mayweather has faced great fighters in his first 45 fights, but no one had the same style as Maidana.
“Mayweather has never fought an opponent
like Maidana. He’s has had good opponents. Miguel Cotto, Oscar de la
Hoya, Canelo Alvarez, but not one of them has the style of Chino, which
is difficult because of the way he punches,” Garcia said.
The 2012 Trainer of the Year also
reiterated his previous statement that even the best boxers before
tasted defeat during their prime.
Garcia pointed out that boxing greats
like Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard lost before, not because their
opponents were better than them, but because their opponent’s style was
tailor made for both fighters.
“Ali is the best ever and he’s had
defeats, Sugar Ray Leonard lost, so it is not impossible,” Garcia said
of defeating Mayweather. “It is the styles that make fights. Duran beat
Leonard because of his style, not because he was better than him, and
the style of Chino is perfect to get an upset.”
Maidana, who is coming off a big win
against Adrien Broner in December last year, vowed to train harder than
before to have a good chance of handing Mayweather his first defeat.
“I know I’m in a difficult fight and
beating Mayweather is no small task, so we are training hard on speed,
technique, and defense,” Maidana said. “I’m focused on improving
everything so we have more chances to win.”
Maidana admitted, though, that his
performance against Broner will not be enough to defeat Mayweather, but
he confidently said that it’s time for the reigning pound-for-pound king
to absorb his first setback.
“I also know that I cannot measure my
chances by what happened with Broner, because Mayweather is much better
than that,” Maidana stressed. “Everyone, at some point in life, we
have to lose – and it’s time for him to lose. This is a fight that can
change my career, but mostly my life.”
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