When a fighter talks themselves up, and when the American boxing media tells us someone is the next big thing...I tend to have a personal warmth when they get exposed. We had one such case this past weekend when Adrien "The Problem" Broner (27-1, 22) got exposed as a loud mouthed fraud by Argentina's Marcos "Chino" Maidana (35-3, 31) who really did blow open the myth that Broner was the next Mayweather.
Maidana set off like a man possessed and really dominated Broner in the opening round. It was the sort of start that Maidana would have dreamed of having as Broner's bravado and confidence seemed to suddenly vanish. If Maidana had dreamed of winning the round his dream got even better in round 2 when he dropped Broner after repeatedly hurting him. It was clear that this wasn't what the American press or Broner, or almost expected. Maidana was there to not just beat Broner but to beat him up.
It wasn't until round 3 that Broner did anything of note in terms of aggression and it was the aggression that just saw him taking the round. He was however threatened with a point deduction for pushing off with his elbow. Bizarrely that same warning came up several times as Broner continued to push Maidana yet no point was ever taken.
With Broner taking round 3 it wasn't beyond thinking that he was going to turn things around. That didn't happen however as Maidana used his very under-rated jab in round 4 to neutralise the speed of Broner. It was only the speed of Broner that he actually seemed to have above Maidana who had power, aggression and more importantly desire. Real desire.
The desire of Maidana was on full show in round 5 as he again hurt Broner who lazy through out. Although Broner saw out that particular storm it was clear that he had no answer to the left hook of Maidana, the jab of Maidana or the flurries of wide shots that Maidana was landing at will.
Although Maidana seemed to slow in rounds 6 and 7 he was still doing the eye catching work. Broner was landing more than he had early in the fight but wasn't landing a significant number of shots and what he was landing looked light and slappy when compared to Maidana's thudding shots.
By the end of round 7 Maidana, according to commentators, had landed 60 more punches than Broner. Broner had landed more in round 7 (22 to 20) but with many of his shots being singles with little sting on them it was still clear that Maidana had the fire in his belly. That fire saw him dropping Broner for a second time in round 8. Unfortunately for Maidana he effectively the knockdown from the books by being deducted a point for a headbutt whilst Broner was holding him. Although the headbutt was stupid Broner's reactions were stupid with him selling it as if he was a WWE "superstar". The fans, knowing what Broner was up to, soundly booed the American who had by now become public enemy #1.
Maidana had come in to the bout assuming he would need a knockout to win. In round 9 he really went for the knockout as he dominated and battered Broner across the the ring. It was as close to a 10-8 round without a knockdown with the American taking a battering and landing very, very little in return. By now it had become obvious, Broner wasn't a special fighter, Broner wasn't the next Mayweather and Broner wasn't some great in the making. Broner was merely the human punch that Maidana was abusing
As with all good punch bags Broner took the shots well and was forced to take them again in round 10 and 11 as Maidana did all he could to prevent the judges from robbing him. The crowd egged on Maidana with chants of "Chino" and by round 11 the fight looked in the bag. Maidana's confidence was through the roof and and he went for the finish again in the 11th.
Having lost the 11th Broner flirted with a point deduction again for a shot well after the bell. Lawrence Cole, who seemed to "know the score" regarding Broner's status as the next American star gave Broner yet another warning but nothing else.
In regards to competitive action round 12 was the most competitive. Broner seemed to be aware he was trailing and he went for a tired Maidana throwing the kitchen sink at him. Maidana, being a South American, showed his machismo and fight back rocking Broner several times with left hooks despite being physically knackered. Thankfully for Maidana Broner's attack never had him in any distress, preventing any sort of dodgy stoppage, instead Maidana saw out the final bell.
There was a fear after the final bell that the judges, which have stunk this year, were going to do the impossible and rob Maiana of his clear victory. Thankfully the judges didn't. They had it 115-110, 116-109, 117-109 all to the right guy and the new WBA Welterweight champion, Marcos Maidana
Showing posts with label WBA Welterweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBA Welterweight. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 December 2013
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Diego Gabriel Chaves v Keith Thurman
Unbeaten American Keith Thurman (21-0-0-1, 19) successfully claimed the WBA interim Welterweight by scoring his biggest win so far, stopping Argentinian Diego Gabriel Chaves (22-1, 18).
The fight started in exciting fashion as both men traded shots with the fight starting in the fashion many expected. The fireworks, whilst not relentless where certainly exciting and seemed to suggest there was no way that the judges would be needed.
The same exciting action continued through the first 4 rounds with Thurman gradually growing into the bout and getting more success. Originally he looked to be getting tagged a fair bit more than he'd have liked and his nose was actually bloodied at the end of round 3 though in round 4 he certainly took the round, arguably his first.
After an excellent round 5 that was brilliant to watch with both men landing huge head shots from both the bout suddenly took a major turn as both men started to box. The trading had taken a break as jabs became the order of the day with both men seemingly becoming aware of the other mans power. This tactical battle seemed to suit Thurman who was longer and faster than Chaves and was getting his jab off and moving well.
The boxing continued for a few rounds as Thurman started to take control of the bout slightly with his boxing and although the men started to trade up a big more in rounds 7 and 8 it seemed neither man could really take control of the trade sequences. It appeared every time one man had success the other would come back and land their own 2 or 3 punch combination.
In round 9 the bout took a huge turn with Thurman landing a lovely body shut that sent Chaves down. Although Chaves regained his feet and saw out the round it was obvious the body shot had left lingering effects and Thurman immediately went on the assault at the start of the tenth before sending Chaves down again and forcing a 10th round stoppage.
With Thurman now the interim champion and Broner the "regular" WBA champion a bout between them two would seeming to be the logical one.
The fight started in exciting fashion as both men traded shots with the fight starting in the fashion many expected. The fireworks, whilst not relentless where certainly exciting and seemed to suggest there was no way that the judges would be needed.
The same exciting action continued through the first 4 rounds with Thurman gradually growing into the bout and getting more success. Originally he looked to be getting tagged a fair bit more than he'd have liked and his nose was actually bloodied at the end of round 3 though in round 4 he certainly took the round, arguably his first.
After an excellent round 5 that was brilliant to watch with both men landing huge head shots from both the bout suddenly took a major turn as both men started to box. The trading had taken a break as jabs became the order of the day with both men seemingly becoming aware of the other mans power. This tactical battle seemed to suit Thurman who was longer and faster than Chaves and was getting his jab off and moving well.
The boxing continued for a few rounds as Thurman started to take control of the bout slightly with his boxing and although the men started to trade up a big more in rounds 7 and 8 it seemed neither man could really take control of the trade sequences. It appeared every time one man had success the other would come back and land their own 2 or 3 punch combination.
In round 9 the bout took a huge turn with Thurman landing a lovely body shut that sent Chaves down. Although Chaves regained his feet and saw out the round it was obvious the body shot had left lingering effects and Thurman immediately went on the assault at the start of the tenth before sending Chaves down again and forcing a 10th round stoppage.
With Thurman now the interim champion and Broner the "regular" WBA champion a bout between them two would seeming to be the logical one.
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Paul Malignaggi v Adrien Broner
American youngster Adrien Broner (27-0, 22) successfully leaped from Lightweight to Welterweight and claimed the WBA title from Paulie Malignaggi (32-5, 7) in a thoroughly competitive bout that defied the odds from the start to the end.
The defending champion started well with his work rate clearly taking him the first 2 rounds with out any issue at all, in fact the only issue was whether or not Broner should have been deducted a point for a flagrant low blow. Broner started incredibly slowly and appeared to looking to scout Malignaggi and it wasn't until round 3 that the highly touted youngster finally let his hands go and made a case for winning a round.
Having seen Broner move up a gear in round 3 Malignaggi came out for 4 to try and prove that he was still the champion and appeared to claim another round as Broner took the first minute off. In fact by the end of round 4 it was obvious that Broner wasn't so much an "elite boxer" than a boxer "with elite athletic abilities". Broner was looking one dimensional, technically limited and incredibly lazy in the ring despite having a huge power edge and incredibly fast hands. For those declaring Broner the next Mayweather questions need to be asked about what they were watching.
Broner picked up the pace in rounds 5 and 6 and despite landing an elbow at the end of round 5 he did look like a fighter who had the ability to move up the gears if he needed to. Going in to round 7 Broner looked like he was going to slowly break down Malignaggi but the local fighter showed off his toughness and landed his share of shots in round 7 that could well have gone either way.
In round 8 a pocket of fans did start what felt like a forced "Adrien Broner" chant though Malignaggi did actually have an excellent round that he may well stole with his flurries and activity whilst Broner,
Broner opened up again in round 9 as he really tested the chin of Malignaggi who showed his trademark toughness and fired back every time he as caught. It was a sure sign that Malignaggi wasn't going to be intimidated by the younger, stronger man who at one point appeared to be slowing and not as lightning quick with his hands as he had been earlier.
The final 3 rounds seemed to all belong to Broner as Malignaggi's work rate had slowed dramatically. Instead of the regular flurries and movement we had seen earlier from Paulie he was happy to try and smother Broner and fight closer up. This appeared to stop Broner from getting the leverage on his shots that he needed and gave Maliganaggi a chance to catch his breath.
Sadly it was probably in those final 3 rounds that Malignaggi failed to do enough to claim the rounds he needed for a victory with the result being a highly unexpected split decision in favour of Broner.
In the post fight interview with Jim Grey of Showtime Malignaggi made it very obvious what he thought of the outlandish scorecard of Tom Schreck who had the bout 117-111 in favour of Broner. Questions do need to be asked about what Schreck was seeing, though if the words of Malignaggi are to be believed, he's in Al Haymon's pocket.
One thing we learned from this bout is that Broner is certainly a long, long way from being as good as he thinks he is.
The defending champion started well with his work rate clearly taking him the first 2 rounds with out any issue at all, in fact the only issue was whether or not Broner should have been deducted a point for a flagrant low blow. Broner started incredibly slowly and appeared to looking to scout Malignaggi and it wasn't until round 3 that the highly touted youngster finally let his hands go and made a case for winning a round.
Having seen Broner move up a gear in round 3 Malignaggi came out for 4 to try and prove that he was still the champion and appeared to claim another round as Broner took the first minute off. In fact by the end of round 4 it was obvious that Broner wasn't so much an "elite boxer" than a boxer "with elite athletic abilities". Broner was looking one dimensional, technically limited and incredibly lazy in the ring despite having a huge power edge and incredibly fast hands. For those declaring Broner the next Mayweather questions need to be asked about what they were watching.
Broner picked up the pace in rounds 5 and 6 and despite landing an elbow at the end of round 5 he did look like a fighter who had the ability to move up the gears if he needed to. Going in to round 7 Broner looked like he was going to slowly break down Malignaggi but the local fighter showed off his toughness and landed his share of shots in round 7 that could well have gone either way.
In round 8 a pocket of fans did start what felt like a forced "Adrien Broner" chant though Malignaggi did actually have an excellent round that he may well stole with his flurries and activity whilst Broner,
Broner opened up again in round 9 as he really tested the chin of Malignaggi who showed his trademark toughness and fired back every time he as caught. It was a sure sign that Malignaggi wasn't going to be intimidated by the younger, stronger man who at one point appeared to be slowing and not as lightning quick with his hands as he had been earlier.
The final 3 rounds seemed to all belong to Broner as Malignaggi's work rate had slowed dramatically. Instead of the regular flurries and movement we had seen earlier from Paulie he was happy to try and smother Broner and fight closer up. This appeared to stop Broner from getting the leverage on his shots that he needed and gave Maliganaggi a chance to catch his breath.
Sadly it was probably in those final 3 rounds that Malignaggi failed to do enough to claim the rounds he needed for a victory with the result being a highly unexpected split decision in favour of Broner.
In the post fight interview with Jim Grey of Showtime Malignaggi made it very obvious what he thought of the outlandish scorecard of Tom Schreck who had the bout 117-111 in favour of Broner. Questions do need to be asked about what Schreck was seeing, though if the words of Malignaggi are to be believed, he's in Al Haymon's pocket.
One thing we learned from this bout is that Broner is certainly a long, long way from being as good as he thinks he is.
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