I will
forever remember the joy – the euphoria in the crowd as Marcos Maidana was
announced the winner over Adrien Broner, the cacophonous exclamations of shock
and pleasure as Maidana sent Broner to the canvas in the second
round, the hundreds of fans who lined up in the hotel lobby after 1 a.m.
chanting and singing, flashing their cameras and mobbing Maidana as he
walked into the fight hotel, trainer Robert Garcia reveling in Maidana's
performance after the fight with a celebratory drink, erasing the sting of
Pacquiao-Rios just a few weeks past. These moments are indelible to me.
They are why the sport in my estimation has no parallels: the
perseverance, the viciousness, the surprise, the upset, the glory, the elation.
These are the intoxicants that make boxing so special.
Of course
there are other images that made an imprint: Broner hurriedly leaving the ring
after his first loss, the solemn and consoling beers shared by members of his team in the hotel lobby as joy and revelry were just a few feet
away – their conversation was nothing above a whisper. These defeats hurt. They
quash dreams, change realities and force people to consider their immediate
futures.
The
boxing world was turned on its head on Saturday with Marcos Maidana battering
the supposedly better-skilled Adrien Broner over 12 rounds to win a hard-fought
decision. Knocking him down in the second and the eighth, Maidana earned his
first outright world championship after years of being so close to the top of
the mountain.
Sure,
many boxing fans disliked Broner's sense of entitlement, his out-of-the-ring
antics and his lack of professionalism, but the night wasn't all about Broner's
comeuppance. Maidana's fearlessness, power and perseverance have connected with
boxing fans. They know that Maidana was never handed anything in the sport. He
was brought in to lose to Victor Ortiz and Amir Khan. He was hand-picked by
Devon Alexander to make his debut at 147. He was selected by Adrien Broner as a
credible steppingstone to greater things in the sport. Maidana's glories in boxing have all been as a result of his sweat equity. He was never a
"chosen one" or groomed by Golden Boy to be anything other than an
opponent.
But it's
not just having a strong will that finally took Maidana to the top. Lots of
boxers have never-say-die attitudes and the internal fortitude to become
champion; however, they lack the technical skill to get there. After feeling he
had plateaued as a fighter, Maidana enlisted Robert Garcia to help him improve.
Saturdays' result was a stunning testament to how well the two have worked
together.
Maidana's
lead left hook was his money punch against Broner. But that deserves some
additional discussion. It wasn't that he threw the punch that was so
surprising; it was his ease with landing it. The Maidana of five fights ago
would never have had the same type of success in connecting with that shot that he did
on Saturday. Against Broner, Maidana disguised the punch with a shoulder feint.
This forced Broner to defend against a potential incoming jab. Instead, Maidana
unfurled a delayed looping left hook that nailed its target. In the past,
Maidana didn't have feints or a jab. He would rush in with power shots through hell or
high water. However, Broner defended Maidana the way that he did
because of Maidana's improved jab. That
whole sequence of success should be attributed to Maidana's further refinement under Garcia.
And
unlike what Brandon Rios failed to do against Manny Pacquiao, Maidana went for
the jugular from the opening bell, attacking Broner with right hands from over-the-top at close range, jabs to the body, grappling and left hooks. His
determination and punch output immediately put Broner on the defensive.
Broner
and his team were so worried about Maidana's lead right hands at the outset
that Maidana was able to score with his other offerings. Interestingly, of the
big punches that Maidana landed during the fight, very few were his traditional
right hands – the ones that dropped Ortiz and sent Khan to funny town. He had
more success against Broner with a right hand that he started above his head
and shot it down to the back of Broner's. It was an untraditional punch, but it
proved to be effective.
All of this
speaks to Garcia's game plan. He knew how paramount it would be for Maidana to
establish his other punches. He formulated a strategy that took advantage of
Broner's slow starts and his willingness to mix it up. And as Broner rallied
back into the fight (which he did in the middle rounds), Garcia never let up on
Maidana, imploring his fighter to keep the pressure on and go for the big
shots. Garcia knew that Maidana was the "opponent" and that the fight
was in Texas, a jurisdiction that can be very hospitable to star fighters. It
wasn't enough to be up by a few rounds and play it safe; the fight had to be in
the bag.
And there
were many rounds, especially late in the fight, where Broner had good opening
minutes, hitting Maidana solidly with combinations and backing him up towards
the ropes. Yet Maidana dug down and fought back with his own determination vis-a-vis vicious bombs. He wasn't conceding rounds and he was willing to fight for all
12 (another new wrinkle in his game).
After the
final bell sounded, the long delay in announcing the result was sickening.
Could Maidana really get robbed? Surely, there are worse robberies that occur
in the sport throughout the year. I had the fight 115-110, which equates to
eight rounds to four, minus two points for Broner for the knockdowns and one
point for Maidana for the egregious head butt in the eighth. Although there
were three or four swing rounds in the fight, a judge would've had to bend over backwards to find a way to give the match to Broner. But this is boxing; these kinds of awful scenarios happen. It's why the sport can be so soul
crushing at times. I was feeling uncomfortable. I'm sure that many in the audience
were feeling similarly.
Finally,
Jimmy Lennon Jr. grabbed the mic and said that there
was a unanimous decision. I had some immediately relief. When he
announced that the first judge, Stanley Christodoulou from South Africa, had it
115-110, I didn't even need to hear whom he had as the victor. Christodoulou is
one of the finest judges in the sport, and if he had the score wide, I knew it
was for Maidana. The final two scores were read (116-109 and 117-109) and the
boisterous crowd erupted in a wave of revelry as "El Chino's"
name was called. Saturday wasn't my first rodeo, but let me assure you
that this was the most passionate crowd response I have witnessed in my
years of attending live boxing.
After the
fight, fans, members of the media and those in other boxing
camps congregated and expressed a combination of awe, jubilation, bewilderment and shock. They had seen a special performance. Very
few had predicted that Maidana would win, and certainly even fewer thought that
he would win a decision in Texas against a groomed star such as Broner. It
was an unforgettable post-fight scene, with excitement and libations all around.
As for
Broner, I will not bury him here. I'll say that he fought back bravely after
getting beaten up early in the fight. After seven, I had the bout even. But I
think that the eighth round was the fight. Broner had an excellent first minute
and landed hard right hands and left hooks. However, Maidana caught him with
that left hook again and followed up with a blistering combination that led to
the second knockdown. After Broner got up, Maidana continued to charge at him
and rough him up. Although Broner was successful in milking a head butt for a
point, I think that Maidana's ferociousness really stunned him.
Broner
wasn't used to a guy walking through his shots. (And make no mistake; I saw
Maidana on Sunday morning, he was really marked up). In addition, Broner's hand
speed and accuracy weren't enough to thwart Maidana's desire to come forward
and engage. Certainly, Maidana felt Broner's power, but was it
anything worse than what he had experienced from Victor Ortiz (who knocked him
down three times) or Jesus Soto Karass? Broner had only been in one real war in his
career, against lightweight Antonio DeMarco, but that fight was effectively over
in the mid-rounds after Broner started to unleash his power shots. Here,
following that same blueprint, Maidana wasn't as compliant as DeMarco had been,
and Broner had difficulty matching Maidana's punch volume and effort.
Let me
also make some notes on the defensive differences between Broner and his role
model, Floyd Mayweather. Broner absorbed the shots that he did on Saturday
because he doesn't use his legs with the frequency or skill that Mayweather
does. It's one thing to have a Philly shell defense; it's another thing to know
when and how to spin out from the ropes, when to disengage and how to reset the
action. Mayweather is just far more fluid with his feet than Broner is. Floyd uses distance and movement to
control the pace of the action; Broner is often a stationary target.
I read an
interview with Mayweather from earlier this year where he talked about the characteristics
of his defensive style. He said that the most important part of his defensive
posture was keeping his right hand up by his cheek to protect himself from the
left hook. He would take getting hit with the jab as long as he could block the
hook. Broner bit for Maidana's feints and after watching dozens of Mayweather
fights, I'm not sure that he would've done the same. It's why jabbing can
sometimes work against Mayweather. He'll give you a jab to land as long as he
can stop the hook.
One
attribute of the Philly Shell is the ability to limit combination punching.
With only allowing a limited area to hit, the first shot becomes primary. It's
Shane Mosley cracking Mayweather from a distance with his right hand or Judah
scoring with a single left.
Even with
all of Maidana's success, I counted only a few instances where he was
successful at throwing even a three-punch combination. Thus, as Garcia knew and
instructed to Maidana, the first shot had to hurt. The left hook was delivered
in such a way that it stunned Broner and gave Maidana the opportunity to
land follow-on shots. A traditional jab-your-way-in approach to the shell
doesn't work and Garcia didn't even try that. He instructed Maidana to deliver
single jabs to the head or body to set up shots for later, not to initiate
prolonged offensive exchanges. Again, this was an acute understanding of an
opponent by a trainer and a wonderful example of a fighter incorporating the
teachings of his coach.
For
Broner, it may make sense for him to drop down to 140, a division he passed
over earlier this year. It's clear that his power won't be enough to take out
the top players in the division and his sparse punch volume coupled with
defensive holes make it tough for him to beat the best welterweights.
It will
be fascinating to see what he does next. Will he insist on a rematch? Does he
want another top guy at 147? Will he take on one of the bad boys at 140,
like Danny Garcia or Lucas Matthysse?
I'm sure
that Broner will want to remain in the limelight but will he put in the time at
the gym to get better? Will he be a Marcos Maidana and learn from his defeats,
or will he be an Andre Berto and never really recover from his first loss?
His frame of mind and dedication will now determine his
future in the sport. He has more than enough skills to beat top guys. But he needs to understand that to be the best there has to
be constant improvements and adjustments. He has to be willing to put in the
work.
For
Maidana, he literally has 10 guys who would be viable opponents. Everyone from
Mayweather to Guerrero to Thurman to Matthysse to Garcia to Porter, and
the list goes on and on. A lot will depend on the Mayweather dominoes. If
Mayweather selects Khan to fight next, he'll need a big name and an action
fighter to support him on the undercard. You can bet that Maidana would
get prime consideration for that coveted slot in May. Even if Mayweather goes
in another direction, Maidana's name is virtually synonymous with must-see TV
(we'll forget that the Devon Alexander fight happened). Whomever Maidana
winds up fighting next, he will have successfully filled up his financial
coffers in 2014 from his performance on Saturday. It was a night that can never
be taken away from him, or from the multitude of boxing fans for which he provided so
much joy.
*****************************************************
Undefeated
welterweight Keith Thurman made an impressive showing on the undercard as he
stopped the rugged Jesus Soto Karass in the ninth round. As the fight started,
Soto Karass made an immediate impact by buckling Thurman's knees with a vicious
uppercut. Similar to his last outing against Diego Chaves, Thurman felt
his opponent's power and decided to fight in boxer-puncher mode instead of an all-out
slugger.
After the
first couple of rocky rounds, Thurman took control of the fight. Boxing
sprightly on his feet, he used his legs and his large offensive arsenal to
alternately negate and thump Soto Karass. In the past, we had been conditioned
to see Thurman as the seek-and-destroy young gun, but on Saturday, he was
ducking under punches, turning Soto Karass, picking spots in the ring to
initiate action and controlling much of the fight with his jab and movement.
But this
being Thurman, he didn't try to stink out the fight. No, when he let his hands
go, he unloaded vicious bombs, including his right hand, left uppercut to
the body and a left uppercut/hook hybrid punch that led to his first knockdown
in the fifth round and initiated the final sequence in the ninth. Soto Karass
spent much of the fight eating punches or blindly following Thurman around the ring. Thurman used the entire squared-circle to his
advantage and expertly navigated along the ropes to thwart Soto Karass'
oncoming aggression.
It was
less than 18 months ago when many big-time boxing writers derided Thurman as
nothing more than an Al Haymon creation. They mocked HBO for featuring him on
its airwaves. To my eyes, that was unwarranted then, and Thurman's continued
advancement in the ring has made those particular fight scribes look foolish; he's one of the most exciting young fighters in boxing.
Almost
under-the-radar, Thurman has been moved expertly. From the crafty Carlos
Quintana to the mature and durable Jan Zaveck to the banger Chaves to the
pressure fighter Soto Karass, Thurman has seen an array of different styles as the quality of his opposition has increased. For his next fight, there will be lots of talk about a
Maidana matchup (Maidana actually passed up that fight last year)
and it's a scenario that promises fireworks. I think that Thurman might be
ready for it, but if his team is still interested in further refining him, I would
suggest that he try and track down a mover like Paulie Malignaggi. That would
be an interesting battle which would force Thurman into a cerebral fight. It
would also prepare him for some of the more well-rounded and tactical talents at 147.
Through Thurman's
development process, we have learned a lot about him. We know that his chin is
pretty damn good. He certainly is much more than just a one-punch knockout
artist. He has very good foot speed and at least above-average hand speed. He
can jab and go to the body. Perhaps most impressively, he has three
knockout weapons with his right hand, left hook and left uppercut.
Another
attribute I particularly like about Thurman is his coachability. Although he
possessed raw power 16 months ago, his shots were very wide and telegraphed. He
has done an excellent job of working with trainer Dan Birmingham to shorten his punches and use his considerable athletic gifts to
separate himself from his opponents. Sure, there are still things to learn. I
think he wastes a little too much energy bouncing up and down in the ring; better controlling his aggression might make him that much more
lethal. In addition, he could add some feints to his repertoire. Feinting his
right would open up so many possibilities for his left hook and uppercut. His
weapons are real; now it's just a case of delivering them with maximum impact.
On a
final note, Thurman spent almost three hours after the fight talking with fans,
taking pictures and signing autographs. Holding court at a table near the
center of the hotel bar, Thurman had a small group from his team with him, but
there was no posse or barrier restricting access. Actually, he jumped up
whenever someone came to talk with him. He went back and forth with media
members. He gracefully accepted well-wishers.
Thurman
seems to be a fighter who is incredibly comfortable in his own skin. He has a
combination of intelligence, confidence and sincerity that really connects with
fans. Still only 25, he has some big fights ahead of him and there are no
guarantees that his record will remain unblemished in the next 18 months.
Nevertheless, I think that there's a very good chance that Thurman becomes a
significant star in the sport. If he stays in the gym and
keeps working his tail off, he may become one of the true drivers in
boxing, with the chance to expand the reach of the sport further into the
mainstream. He's standing on the precipice of great things and maybe only his
will and determination will govern how far he can go. Keep your eyes
here.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
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Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
@snboxing on twitter
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Expert analysis but you failed to mention alex areza feeding something into marcos maidanas mouth somewhere mid late fight ?
ReplyDeleteBroner vs Kahn, would be good, Maidana is a good fighter there to fight his opponent, Broner hits after the bell often, first round with Paulie, kneed him in a later round, always with the elbows, pushing over and over, he should have been DQ for it or the 11th round hitting after the bell, DQ, and he wasn't even going to touch gloves for the 12th round, Maidana had to reach for his glove. But Garcia has to flush that rat Ariza from his neck ! he should be banned from boxing.
ReplyDeleteAlex Ariza didn't put anything in Maidanas mouth or nostrils. You're grasping at straws trying to make Maidana look like he was being administered inhalants. He was not. Ammonia caps turn purple when they're are cracked and that was a clear clean and white napkin. Alex Ariza was just a dumbass getting in the way of the cutman and trainer trying to get airtime, he didn't need to be there, but he certainly did not administer anything.
ReplyDelete