“Tougher Than Anyone Will Ever Realize”: Boxing World Impressed After Being Reminded of Floyd Mayweather’s “Underrated Side”

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one of the few boxers who fought against top contenders throughout his career without being defeated once. His impeccable defense assisted him in never truly looking vulnerable or out-skilled. However, there were certain exceptions. Marcos Maidana, the former lightweight and welterweight champion, could capitalize on a rare opening he found in Mayweather’s defense and hurt him in their rematch. Notably, Maidana fought Mayweather twice.

Although he lost both fights, he was one of the very few opponents who truly tested Mayweather’s ability to overcome adversity in a fight. Yet, even in one of Mayweather’s most competitive bouts, the rematch had Maidana landing 128 punches out of 572 thrown giving him a 22% accuracy rate. Meanwhile, Mayweather landed 166 of 326 punches which gave him a 51% accuracy rate, more than double the accuracy rate of Maidana. It only goes to show Floyd’s superb defensive skills against a formidable fighter like Maidana.

However, the matchup had its fair share of controversy before it even kicked off. There was an infamous confrontation between both camps. Mayweather accused Maidana of attempting to compete with gloves that had less padding on the knuckle area. His promoter, Leonard Ellerbe, declared that Mayweather would not fight Maidana unless he changed his gloves to the ones which had sufficient padding. Eventually, Maidana’s choice of gloves was not approved by Nevada State Athletic Commission, and the boxer was sanctioned to fight with a pair of “standard Everlast MX gloves”.

Nonetheless, during the fight, there was a rare occurrence for boxing fans to enjoy at the end of round 3. Breaching Mayweather’s famed defense, Maidana landed a clean straight right to Mayweather’s forehead. ‘Money’ was hurt as his legs got wobbly but before Maidana could look for the finish, the closing bell rang and the referee separated both boxers.

Recently, a clip of the same resurfaced on the internet and the fans were impressed to see how Mayweather held up against a whopping straight right from Maidana.

Fans debate Floyd Mayweather’s ability to withstand power shots

Mayweather is known for his unique style of rolling his shoulders and parrying his opponent’s punches. His ability to absorb hard-hitting shots is something the boxer has relatively not received much credit for. User @dantheboxingman shared the clip on Twitter with the caption stating, “Floyd Mayweather had a great chin and poker face. Took a sneaky flush shot from Marcos Maidana towards the end of round 3 in their rematch and went to his corner as nothing happened.”

The fans did not shy away from expressing how impressed they were witnessing Mayweather absorb that shot. One fan thinks that no other welterweight could have taken the shot besides Mayweather. He stated, “This would have sat any other welterweight down or sleep.”

Along similar lines, another fan highlighted one of the most impressive traits of Mayweather inside the ring. He stated, “Like nothing happened, that boy was wobbled. One of Floyd’s best attributes on defense were the front’s he’d use when he got stung.”

One fan named Sammy lauded Mayweather and stated, “Floyd is tougher than anyone will ever realize. He’s also crafty in the ring with his elbows and sneaky tactics he uses in the ring. Indeed, his chin is solid, he’s was always more than well conditioned, maybe the most conditioned fighter of his era.”

A fan brought up the Shane Mosley fight in which he absorbed a clean shot. He stated, “And the Sugar Shane Mosley fight.”

Read More: “They Ran”: Floyd Mayweather, With Perfect 50–0 Record, Being Branded as ‘Best Defensive’ Boxer in History Doesn’t Sit Well With Boxing World

One fan named Enrique Aleman mentioned how Mayweather’s chin has not been fairly rated. He stated, “I think that was such an underrated side of Mayweather, his solid chin and grittiness to fight thru adversity all while never letting his opponents see him vulnerable.”

It is safe to say that the fans at large were impressed to see Mayweather’s ability to absorb punches. Were you impressed to witness Mayweather take such a clean punch? Share it with us in the comments below.

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