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."
