Going into the fight, Broner was a heavy, odds-on favourite. Bookmakers rarely get their numbers wrong and rated The Problem a shoo-in to take his record to 28-0, most probably by way of decision. The perceived wisdom of fight commentators was that Maidana was cannon-fodder – a tough, durable opponent carefully chosen to allow Broner to showcase his skills and further his credentials as a pay-per-view star come 2014.
Coming into the fight, Broner, a talented boxer that had yet to pass a genuine acid test, was expected by most to win yet he was well beaten by the stronger, more experienced and harder hitting Argentine slugger. Maidana can now enjoy some big paydays as the defending WBA welterweight champion, yet most of the headlines pertaining to last night’s fight have been written about Broner; such is the appeal of the story of the arrogant, some say genuinely nasty fighter having been exposed and humbled.
Maidana did what he said, silencing Broner putting the problem to bed.
He entered the arena with mic in hand,
All guns blazing he had the upper-hand,
Maidana knew what he had to do,
To hurt Broner – show him something new,
The second round and Broner hits the floor,
Invincible reputation slung out of the door,
Despite some losses Maidana’s a beast,
He may be older but he has serious power at least,
Broner looked bemused as the overhand right took effect,
Struggling to find his in ring dominance and trying to connect,
Joey Abell filled in for injured Sherman Williams on a week’s notice and faced undefeated Pulev in Neubrandenburg, Germany on Dec. 14. The IBF intercontinental title and Pulev’s hard-gained number 1 IBF ranking were at stake.
Abell weighed in at 248.5, Pulev at 252.8 and both appeared to be fit full-sized heavyweights. Abell’s southpaw stance was expected to give Pulev some trouble. Pulev is a notorious slow starter and this fight was no exception, his initial passive game allowed the over-matched Abell to score some decent power points in the first round.
The difference in class was obvious and Kubrat Pulev had an overwhelming technical and tactical advantage over his opponent. What he lacked was the speed and power to dispose of this “stay busy” sparring partner in a convincing fashion. Abell ran out of ideas in the first round, he ran out of steam in the second and came out fighting in survival mode in the third.
(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) In a very entertaining scrap, WBA interim Welterweight title holder Keith “One Time” Thurman slugged it out with hard-nosed fight veteran Jesus Soto Karass en route to stopping his fearless challenger in the ninth round of the scheduled twelve round championship contest.
Despite getting the hard earned victory, the heavily favored title holder was rocked and almost floored with a hard right hook from mid-range that caught Thurman flush on the jaw in the opening moments of the fight.
Although the defending champ regained his composure midway through the first stanza, Keith was forced to use lateral movement and show the underrated Mexican volume puncher some angles at a much earlier point in the fight than most had ever anticipated.
In a clear candidate for “upset of the year” and “fight of the year”, Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) lifted the WBA Welterweight title from Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KOs) in a thrilling twelve round unanimous decision victory.
In the opening round, it was all Maidana. The hard punching Argentine made his presence felt right away by dropping right hand bombs to the head of the three division world champion.
In the opening seconds of round two, Maidana floored Broner for the first time in his career with a hard right hand to the head. Although the defending champ beat the count, Marcos quickly swarmed all over Adrien and scrapped him with hard shots to the body and head.
(Photo credit: Hogan Photos) Awesome, amazing, impressive, just plain great. Those were the kind of adjectives flowing out of the mouths of fans at the Alamodome, San Antonio, TX. Showtime announcer Brian Kenny said it best when he expressed his astonishment at the trio of ringside announcers Mauro Ranallo, Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi concerning their score cards. Brian unabashedly scolded the three men for scoring the fight so closely. He, along with the judges, felt Marcus Rene Maidana clearly dominated the fight! Hooray for Brian!
Why? Brian opened the door to what many fans were thinking, and that was Adrien “The Problem” Broner was finally bewildered and made speechless. The usually vocal rogue scurried back to his dressing room.
(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Dec. 15, 2013)—Argentine slugger Marcos “El Chino” Maidana stole the show—and the WBA Welterweight World Championship—on an action-packed night of world championship boxing on SHOWTIME Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The 30-year-old former 140-pound world champion was supposed to be a “test” for rising star Adrien “The Problem” Broner’s budding career. And test him he did, right from the opening bell.
Broner was stunned in the first exchange and Maidana poured it on. He overwhelmed the champion for two straight rounds, scoring a knockdown in the second and forcing Broner back on unsteady legs.
At the world renowned Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Leo Santa Cruz (25-0-1, … continue
(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KO’s) battered and bruised WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision tonight to capture his WBA title at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Maidana put Broner on the canvas twice with scorching left hooks to the head in the 2nd and 8th rounds. The judges scored the fight 115-110, 116-109, 117-109.
Broner took a real bad beating in this fight and he may have suffered a jaw injury. He was quickly ushered out of the ring immediately after the fight.
In the 2nd round, Maidana connected with a hard left to the head that put Broner down on the canvas. Instead of staying down to clear his head, Broner jumped back up to his feet and was staggering slightly. Maidana then worked Broner over with power shots for the remainder of the round as Broner tried to hold to make it out of the round.