Maidana vs. Guerrero finalized for August 27th – Breaking news!

By Boxing News - 06/20/2011 - Comments

Image: Maidana vs. Guerrero finalized for August 27th - Breaking news!By Dan Ambrose: Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, is reporting that the August 27th bout between two time world champion Robert Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 KO’s) and WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (30-2, 27 KO’s) has been finalized. The bout will be shown on HBO and will be taking place at the HP Pavilion, in San Jose, California. This will be the first fight for the 28-year-old Guerrero, who Golden Boy are very high on and hope he can make a mark in this division.

Maidana’s star status has dimmed somewhat after losing to WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan last December by a 12 round decision, and then following that fight up with a narrow 12 round decision over 34-year-old Erik Morales. Although Maidana got the win over Morales, Maidana struggled against a fighter that he should have been able to handily beat if he were the real thing.

Maidana was lucky to have escaped with a narrow in that fight. Guerrero is an even worse match-up for Maidana than Khan and Morales were, because Guerrero has an excellent chin and has few holes in his game. He’s not an aging fighter like Morales, who if he had been five or six years young, likely would have dominated Maidana.

The winner of the Maidana vs. Guerrero fight has a chance to face the winner of the July 23rd bout between Khan and IBF champion Zab Judah. WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley could possibly step in and face the Khan-Judah winner but it’s not likely to happen. This gives Guerero and to a lesser extent Maidana a chance to fight the Khan-Judah winner. If Maidana and Khan both win their next fights, it’s doubtful that Khan will fight Maidana age. In that case, you can look for Khan to vacate his WBA title and move up in weight to the welterweight division if the World Boxing Association insists on him fighting Maidana again.

In an article at the Los Angeles Times, Schaefer said “This is an opportunity for an absolutely sensational fight. You know when you make a fight like this, it can be an all-out slugfest, a candidate to be fight of the year.”

Maidana might have problems with Guerero’s boxing skills and combination punching. Guerrero is a very good inside fighter and lot better than Maidana in that department. Maidana, however, will have the power advantage on his size and he could give Guerrero problems.



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