Maidana: I won the first fight and I'll win again

Argentinian slugger and former world champion Marcos “Chino” Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs) held an open media workout Tuesday afternoon at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard, California in preparation for his rematch with pound for pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather (46-0, 26 KOs). The two will meet once again Saturday September 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas live on Showtime Pay-per View.

“I am very well prepared. I have trained very well. We have made some adjustments to capitalize on this fight,” Marcos Maidana told Fightnews.com. He looked very sharp hitting the pads as his trainer Robert Garcia and media looked on.

“Training camp for the rematch has been the same, but we have been doing a lot more sparring. We have worked more on my distance, but besides that everything has been the same,” Maidana added.

Former world champion and two-time Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia told us about Maidana's preparation. “Training camp has been going great. We have been doing more sparring and working on keeping the distance between him and Floyd.”

Maidana will look to avenge his majority decision loss to Mayweather last May in a tough battle. Mayweather dethroned Maidana in unifying the WBA and WBC welterweight titles and the Argentinian looks to regain his title. “I feel happy getting the rematch with Floyd Mayweather. It was a good fight, I thought I won the first fight, and I will win again on Sept. 13,” Maidana said.

Mayhem: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2 will be a scheduled 12 round championship fight for Mayweather's WBA/WBC welterweight and the WBC junior middleweight world titles.

“Every time I go in the ring I leave it all in the ring I don't care who it is you will see the same aggressive and dangerous Marcos Maidana,” Maidana promised.

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Also on hand were WBC Super bantamweight and two division world champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz, IBF lightweight champion Miguel “El Titere” Vasquez and fan favorite junior welterweight contender John Molina Jr., all of whom are fighting on the Mayweather-Maidana 2 undercard.

Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs) of Lincoln Heights by way of Huetamo, Michoacan Mexico will take on former stable mate Manuel “Suavecito” Roman (17-2-3, 6 KOs) of Paramount, California. “Going into this fight, I will go out there and give it my best. I know a lot of people are saying that the opponent is not up to my caliber, but I just go out there and fight who they tell me to fight,” Leo Santa Cruz told Fightnews.com.

Roman is no stranger to Santa Cruz as the two have sparred together before on various occasions.

“Manuel Roman is a great fighter and has the same qualities of my past opponents. Many people don't know much about him. We have sparred in the gym together before and he knows how to fight me,” Santa Cruz said. “He wasn't an easy sparring partner; we would go at it back and forth. I didn't beat him up easily as I have with other partners. This is a business and I have to do whatever it takes to come out with a victory.”

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Vasquez (34-3, 13 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico will defend his title defense against Cleveland's Mickey Bey (20-1-1, 10 KOs).

“I feel great physically, mentally and spiritually. I am more prepared for this fight than ever before,” Vasquez said. “I know that Mickey Bey is strong and fast. There's a reason why Mayweather has him on his team. But I feel ready for him and it's an opportunity to show my fans and the world what I am capable of.”

Vasquez vs. Bey will be a scheduled 12 round championship fight as it will be Vasquez seventh defense of IBF lightweight title. “I'm ready to fight and show that I belong in this level,” Vasquez concluded.

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Molina Jr. (27-4, 22 KOs) of Covina, California will take on former world champion Humberto “Zorrita” Soto (64-8-2, 35 KOs) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico in his first fight under new trainer Jose Santa Cruz, father and trainer of WBC bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz.

“I like the things that my new trainer has implemented going into this fight. I am going to utilize my jab and use my reach to my advantage,” Molina Jr. said.

Molina vs. Soto will be part of the Showtime telecast prior to the Mayhem: Mayweather Maidana 2 Pay-per view.

“Soto is definitely not someone to take lightly. He's a crafty veteran that has been in the ring with the best fighters. I am not looking past him,” Molina told us. “Whether I win decisively or by knockout, as long as I get the victory and give the fans what they want to see is all I care about.”