Jul 14, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana (right) stare at each other during face off to promote their upcoming welterweight rematch during a press conf at Times Square.
Jul 14, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana (right) stare at each other during face off to promote their upcoming welterweight rematch during a press conf at Times Square. REUTERS

Barely a month before their anticipated fight on Sept. 13, Marcos Maidana is already proclaiming that Floyd Mayweather is overrated by the boxing community.

The Argentine and former WBA welterweight champion took everyone by surprise when he went toe to toe against the undefeated fighter and world's number 1 pound for pound boxer. While he lost via a majority decision to the "Money" Mayweather, he exceeded all expectations.

Yahoo Sports reports that during a Showtime round table last Aug. 16, the 31-year-old boxer declared that Mayweather is not actually as good as people measure him.

"I was able to pin him to the ropes and land punches, so he's not as difficult or as invincible as people think. He's hittable. You can land on him. I made mistakes. I was a little too anxious. He never hurt me, but he's got a respectable punch. You've got to respect him," Maidana told the interviewer through an interpreter.

Maidana maintains that he has not changed his game plan to accommodate the strategies of Mayweather's camp. The challenger is working on his distance control plus some other tweaks to improve his performance and was also critical of the style of play of the undefeated champion. Maidana insisted that Mayweather could only box and moved around a lot, suggesting that the champion cannot go out on a full blown brawl.

He did acknowledge that he still has to improve his conditioning and pacing to fare better in the upcoming 12-round fight. He claims that the nerves got the better of him in first fight, part of the reason why he faltered and lost some energy in the latter rounds. This time around, he is better prepared to put his pedal on the gas for the whole 12 rounds.

"I came out strong the first six or seven rounds, and after that I had to take a break and catch my breath a little bit. I had to pace myself. I have to not get as anxious for this fight," he said.

Watch the video of the Showtime interview of Maidana below:

(Video Courtesy of: Youtube/Shosports)