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Marcos Maidana continues to engage in a word war with Floyd Mayweather Jr. ahead of their rematch on Sept. 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Maidana, who lost his WBA welterweight title in their first showdown in May 3, expressed confidence that he can avenge his split-decision loss to Mayweather in the second fight.
The 31-year-old Argentine, who holds a 35-4 record with 31 knockout victories, said that the first bout made him realize that Mayweather, who is still undefeated in 46 professional fights, is not that great, contrary to what other fighters and boxing analysts are saying about the unbeaten champion.
"In my first fight against Floyd, I learned that he's not that great, he's not that superhuman boxer everybody talks about," Maidana said via BoxingScene. "If I wouldn't have been so anxious looking for the knockout, I would have beat him."
Maidana put a lot of pressure on Mayweather's shoulder for almost the entire fight and had several brilliant moments before the reigning pound-for-pound king escaped with a decision win.
In their upcoming rematch, Maidana said he believes that the reigning welterweight and light middleweight champion will run a lot after having a tough night on May 3 in a fight considered by many as the toughest for the 37-year-old Grand Rapids, Michigan, native.
"I think Floyd is going to run around inside the ring," Maidana said. "In our first fight, he said he was going to stand up and fight and he didn't. So, it wouldn't surprise me if this time around he does the same thing."
The Buenos Aires native also accused Mayweather of being a dirty fighter, saying that Floyd Jr. has been getting away with a lot of illegal tactics like using his elbows in his previous fights.
"In all of his fights, he brings his elbows out," Maidana said of Mayweather. "He really likes to use his elbows. One of his moves is to put his elbow in the fighter's throat and the referee for some reason let him get away with it. We all know he does whatever he wants because he has the judges in his pocket. He is a dirty fighter."
