By William Mackay: In what could be the best fighter in the light welterweight division, Marcos Maidana (29-2, 27 KO’s) will be facing former three division world champion Erik Morales (51-6, 35 KO’s) on Saturday night at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two fighters will be battling for the interim WBA light welterweight title. Maidana, 27, lost his last fight against WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan last December, but in losing the fight he appeared to be the better fighter as he dominated the last three rounds and had Khan badly hurt and soaking up punishment during the last nine minutes of action.
Maidana’s problem was that he started too late in the fight, something he acknowledges. Maidana must beat Morales on Saturday to stay up at the top of the division as he hunts for bigger fights and better opponents. Morales was at one time one of the best fighters in boxing. However, he lost his effectiveness in 2006, losing four consecutive fights before retiring in 2007. His last loss came against David Diaz, a fighter that Maidana would likely destroy.
Morales is now bigger, slightly fatter trying to compete at light welterweight. Although Morales has the same confidence he previously had when he was at the top of his game, his physical skills don’t match his confidence anymore. He talks a good game but he’s pretty much over-matched in this fight. Maidana doesn’t think that Morales can fight at the same level he once did in the past, and few would argue with that. However, Morales believes he has enough left of his fading skills to still beat Maidana.
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