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Marcos Maidana drops hints about new plan for Floyd Mayweather

Marcos Maidana drops hints about new plan for Floyd Mayweather

For as long as preview shows have been made to hype pay-per-view bouts, there has bee one constant: The boxers who starred in them wouldn't let the cameras film sparring.

That, of course, is understandable, because the opponent will watch and be able to see what he's working on.

But Showtime's "All Access" cameras caught Marcos Maidana and trainer Robert Garcia working on adjustments Maidana plans to use when he rematches with Floyd Mayweather on Sept. 13 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas for the WBC welterweight and super welterweight titles.

In one scene, Garcia is showing Maidana how to get low in order to convince Mayweather that he's going to throw to the body, only to then come up and fire a right hand to the head.

In the first episode of "All Access: Mayweather-Maidana II," which debuts Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime, Maidana is hitting the heavy bag when Garcia approaches him and gives instructions in Spanish.

Throw a lot of punches, but don't get so close so that you can throw the straight right hand. Get low so that he thinks you're going to throw low. Then, all of a sudden, you throw high.

It is a pretty extraordinary scene as these things go, because it appears that Garcia is giving away his strategy on national television, for everyone, including Mayweather and his team, to see.

Now, Garcia is no fool and is one of the sport's sharpest trainers. He is well aware the cameras are everywhere and are always on. It's highly unlikely that he got so wrapped up into what he was doing that he forgot the cameras were there.

So that begs the question: Was Garcia showing Maidana something he wants him to do in the fight, or was it dummy footage he wants Mayweather to see? That's part of the intrigue in this.

These types of shows are supposed to make fans feel like the curtain has been peeled back and the fighters are revealing themselves fully. That's rarely how it turns out. And it's especially true when it comes to strategy.

This would be likely Maidana uploading his game plan to the Internet for Mayweather to study and break down.

So, in this first episode of All Access, Maidana and Garcia do appear to give away a few secrets. They work on Maidana cutting off the ring, though it's hardly a secret that Maidana will want to fight in a confined space. And in the scene immediately after Garcia goes through the motions and demonstrates how to come out of the crouch and throw the right hand, Maidana throws a combination at the bag and ends with a left.

Did it mean anything or not? Probably not, but judge for yourself Saturday on Showtime.