(Photo credit: Esther Lin) By Jay McIntyre: The powers that be were wise to arrange Adrien Broner (27-0, 22 KO’s) to fight Marcos Maidana (34-3, 31 KO’s) as his second fight at welterweight because when Marcos Maidana fights, no one is bored.
Adrien Broner fought and earned a hotly contested split decision win last June against Paulie Malignaggi (33-5, 7 KO’s) and is looking to establish some legitimacy to his claim in the shark tank that is the welterweight division. Jumping up two weight classes from lightweight (130 pounds) has left many to ponder whether or not Broner has the size and/or the speed to remain relevant.
Marcos Maidana on the other hand, has been an established welterweight for several years, and before that had been fighting at light welterweight (140 pounds). Will the Argentine slugger stop the flamboyant “mini Floyd”, or will Broner lay to rest any doubt as to his place at the top of the welterweight ranks? Let’s look at what both men bring to the table in this installment of “My Two Cents”.
Marcos Maidana has been able to stay in the top 10 for several years now because of his power, stamina, and “gameness” – he has tremendous heart. These three attributes lend themselves to a relentless, forward pressure fighter that can wound his prey at any given time (just look at round 10 of his loss to Amir Khan in 2010). In looking at Maidana’s loss against Amir Khan (28-3, 20 KO’s) I believe that we have seen one of the better versions of Maidana because he combined all of his best traits and brought them against one of the toughest opponents on his resume thus far.
Maidana came back from an early knock down from a liver punch (beautiful!), to seriously discombobulate Khan in the 10th round, having him on the verge of defeat and literally “saved by the bell”.
If you get a chance to look at the highlights of his fights against Amir Khan then his primary attributes were self-evident. There were also, however, some crippling weaknesses in his overall game. For instance, he had terrible head movement and was caught on the end of Khan’s punches far more often than I’m sure his trainers would have liked. Let’s also draw attention to the fact that he did not veil his intentions when closing the distance. Instead, he had a tendency to over commit to power punches as he waded in. Notice the used of past tense, as Maidana has improved somewhat since this fight now that he has learned from Robert Garcia, his new trainer. Still, I am not convinced that he should try and box someone like Broner who is more than adept on the outside.
In order for Maidana to emerge successfully from his bout on Saturday he will have to do what he does best, and then some. Maidana will want to work his way inside and dig his shots to the body to tire out Broner. Since Broner likes to counter punch from his “Philly shell”, Maidana should feint to draw the jab or straight right from Broner so that he can counter off of these punches. Effectively this will make him counter the counter fighter. Failing to get that response he should walk in behind his jab in order to blind Broner and follow-up with one of his long, devastating overhand rights. If Broner ducks this, as he invariably will try, the left hook is waiting to decapitate him as he restores his position. Since Broner’s defensive style covers up his right side quite nicely, and he ducks to avoid the rights to his head, he has a tendency to leave the left side of his body open. Maidana should enter at a forty-five degree angle to get away from Broner’s line of attack, and unleash some right hooks to Broner’s exposed left side. Since training with Robert Garcia he has made attempts to become a better boxer – particularly using the jab and more head movement – and these will help him close the distance on Saturday night. But he should use them as a means to stay on the outside and box.
In looking at what Broner offers an opponent stylistically we should avoid the comparisons to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Broner is not terribly fleet of foot and has been able to get away with this in his handling of the smaller foes at lightweight but looked uncomfortable with the volume of incoming shots from Paulie Malignaggi. When feeling smothered by Malinaggi, Broner would simply back up. Mayweather on the other hand constantly uses his feet not just to back up, but to maintain his line of attack for counters, while throwing off his opponent’s angles and rhythm. If Broner wants to stay out of trouble on Saturday night then he should modify the most recent version of his game to incorporate lateral movement.
Broner’s main weapon is his defensive platform from which he launches his counters. The “philly shell” can be a bothersome style to fight as it keeps the practitioner relatively safe, while loading his right hand for counters. Also, the jab is held at an oddly low angle to flick upward and catch the opponent unawares (remember, it is the punch you don’t see coming that hurts the most). Broner should be willing to engage in the clinch – a lot. He is an effective body puncher and his hand speed is impressive so I can see him catching Maidana coming in. Tying up Maidana who is not a very refined clinch fighter, will keep him out of serious peril. Once Maidana does get inside Broner will have some problems if he doesn’t tie up or get out of there and punch him as he moves away (circling, not backing straight out). Punching the body in the clinch or firing straight rights on the outside will help tire out Maidana so that he becomes less of a threat as the fight wears on. Maidana keeps his hands up but gets tagged by straights behind his guard when he forgets his head movement (something he must constantly be reminded about in between rounds). One of the main concerns I have about Adrien Broner were observed from his most recent fight against Paulie Malignaggi. While Broner was able to eat Malignaggi’s shots and counter with very crisp shots of his own, I am not sure that he is used to an opponent with the thudding power of Maidana. To stay safe Broner will need to use far more lateral footwork than he has in all of his previous fights combined and use his slick hand speed to pot shot Maidana as he pivots to reset. If he tries to solely use his upper body evasion then he will commit to feints as he did on occasion throughout his bout against Malignaggi and then be a victim to the real punch coming in. Simply moving off line is a lot safer and denies the opponent the initiative.
I’m predicting a decision win for Marcos Maidana, though this is not an easy fight to call. This will be an honest, hard-fought win for the victor, and it will demand every ounce of patience as both men seek to impose their will. The difference I believe will be the aggression of Marcos Maidana – and providing it is a controlled, intelligent aggression, Adrien “the Problem” Broner, may have a few problems of his own. The early rounds will be a learning experience where Broner will realize Maidana’s raw power. Maidana in turn will have to adjust to the awkward defensive style and hand speed of Broner. The stylistic match-up looks to be an exciting one. Broner is a surging force with confidence, while Maidana is a tireless, “no nonsense” worker with concussive shots. I am intrigued to see what these personalities, and styles have to offer one another on Saturday night.
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