By Jamie Eskdale: In the wake of Marcos Maidana dominating Adrien Broner we have seen a glut of articles on Adrien Broner and hardly any on Maidana.
We can all understand why. Broner has been hyped beyond comprehension. Given god like status by some despite proving very little. The signs have always been there of how Broner didn’t react well to pressure. Daniel Ponce De Leon perhaps preparing the blueprint. Welsh fighter Gavin Rees tried and had some success but inevitably failed, probably due to his lack of physical presence more than anything else.
Then there was Paulie Malignaggi, everyone seen the fight and opinion seems to be split, just like the judges on who won. I say Broner edged it with Malignaggi’s lack of power costing him. Though had it gone his way I wouldn’t have argued.
Sitting watching this all from afar it seems was Marcos Maidana. Dismissed by some as a crude predictable one dimensional brawler who when faced with a boxer was found out. Amir Khan out boxed him though again some would argue he had Khan on the brink in round 10 and was thwarted by the ref Joe Cortez who felt the need to constantly halt the action.
Devon Alexander was more clinical. Seeming to take every round in one of the most one sided fights you’re likely to see.
After this Maidana was at a real crossroads. Real thoughts of quitting crossed his mind as he pondered his future.
He was soon put in touch with Robert Garcia. He obviously liked what he heard and mada the trek to Oxnard California and the rest as they say is history.
While I wouldn’t go as far to say Garcia has transformed Maidana, he has tweaked his game in the right places just enough so as not to lose his natural abilities that made him so exciting in the first place. The biggest adjustment it seems has been helping him to develop a strong jab which just a couple of years ago was virtually non existent. It was also a joy to behold in the Broner fight how he would make to throw his jab but quickly turn it into a hook and he had Broner walking onto these all night long. He also fought well on the inside despite Broner’s spoiling tactics. Obviously he appeared to lose the head when pushing his head into Broner’s chin, making Broner do the best impersonation of a soccer player I have ever seen. It did seem a bit harsh the referee deducting a point despite never penalising Broner for his excessive holding.
We all heard the whispers in the build up that Maidana would need a ko to win which is probably why it was so nervy awaiting the decision.
Thankfully there was no controversy and as we heard the words ‘and the new’ the scenes were absolutely amazing and one of the reasons why we love the sport.
Everyone loves an underdog. More so when that underdog is so likeable, humble and passionate about his sport and been through adversity and been the victim of bad decisions before.
Marcos ‘El Chino’ Maidana has won himself an army of new fans and propelled himself into the business end of the 147 division. Whether it proves to be short lived or not we should all take great heart and pride in the story he has provided us with and it goes to show with heart, hard work and determination we can all aspire to be what we want to be. Well done Maidana, you deserve it.
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