Bradley doubts Maidana can beat Mayweather
Unbeaten American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. believes Argentina’s Marcos Maidana has virtually no chance of defeating pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their May 3 welterweight showdown.
Mayweather had ended weeks of speculation Tuesday when he finally announced that he will fight Maidana on May 3, picking the Argentine over Britain’s Amir Khan.
In an interview with Boxing Scene, Bradley said he likes Maidana but does not think his style will trouble Mayweather.
“No, no, no, no, no, no,” Bradley said when asked if Maidana can upset Mayweather. “I like Maidana. He’s a brawler-type fighter.”
“But listen – when you get in there with Floyd, you can’t be sloppy. And there are times when Maidana gets sloppy. Floyd’s gonna make you pay. He’s so smart. He reads you, and he’s like 10 steps ahead of you,” he added.
“There is no way. There’s no way Maidana’s gonna touch Floyd Mayweather,” Bradley stressed.
Bradley is not the only boxing personality who doubts Maidana.
Boxing trainer Kevin Cunningham, in a separate Boxing Scene interview, said Maidana only has “puncher’s chance” against Mayweather.
“That’s about it,” Cunningham said. “I ain’t seen no improvement (in Maidana), not really. He’s a good, tough, rugged fighter, and he’s the same good, tough, rugged fighter that I’ve always seen.”
Maidana will definitely be a huge underdog against Mayweather, but his trainer, Robert Garcia, and promoter Richard Schaefer both insist that he has a chance of pulling off an upset thanks to his tremendous punching power.
“Marcos Maidana has the game-changer in his punch, in his fists. With one punch, he can change the game of boxing,” Schaefer told ESPN when he confirmed the fight. “Mayweather is undefeated, but with that one punch, Marcos Maidana can certainly change it all for Floyd.”