Marcos Maidana makes his entrance at New York’s Times Square for the first stop of a publicity tour for his rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the aftermath of his majority-decision victory in May, Floyd Mayweather Jr. called welterweight rival Marcos Maidana “more like a WWE wrestler” than a boxer.

At what turned out to be a midnight press conference in the nation’s capitol after both fighters were delayed by a thunderstorm, Mayweather (46-0, 26 knockouts) also said that referee Tony Weeks was too lenient in controlling Maidana (35-4, 31 knockouts), who he claimed used dirty tactics in the fight.

Maidana took issue with Mayweather’s comments during a Monday conference call with reporters who were waiting for the stranded fighters at DAR Constitution Hall, the second stop in a five-city tour in advance of the Sept. 13 rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I think that Floyd is a fighter that is always coming up with excuses,” said Maidana, through Golden Boy vice president and matchmaker Eric Gomez. “He calls me a dirty fighter, but, well, he’s very dirty. He uses his elbows a lot. If he wants to fight clean, then I’ll fight clean. If he wants to fight dirty, then I’m with you.”

Mayweather’s victory added Maidana’s WBA welterweight title to the RING and WBC championships he already owned.

Maidana was asked if he expected Mayweather to fight him differently in the rematch.

“I didn’t see any difference. I felt that Floyd fought the way that he always does. He ran. He ran away,” said Maidana. “This second fight, if he decides to stand and fight, then I’m going to beat him a lot easier. If he runs, I’ll chase him down and beat him.”