Marcos Maidana stuns Adrien Broner in unanimous decision

The target of heavy trash talking leading up to the fight, Maidana was dominant in handing the brash Broner his first loss in 28 bouts. After the judges’ scores of 115-110, 116-109 and 117-109 were announced in favor of the Argentine star, Broner ran out of the ring.

“I had to show a lot of heart to win this fight,” Maidana said. “I did what I had to do to win.”

Broner is nicknamed “The Problem,” but Maidana (35-3) had the answer with power that the three-time world champion had never faced before.

With the victory, Maidana set up a possible fight against Keith Thurman. On the undercard, Thurman stopped Jesus Soto Karass in the ninth round.

Maidana left little question of what he wanted to do, landing 231 of 663 power punches while connecting on only 38 jabs. The power stunned the confident Broner, who was unable to use the fluid counter-punching that had resulted in 22 knockouts.

“I’ll tell you one thing, make a rematch,” Broner said. “I don’t need a warm-up fight. I want a rematch,”

Maidana staggered Broner early in the opening round with an overhand right to the back of the head, causing the Cincinnati fighter to stumble trying to regain his footing. Broner attempted to wrap up Maidana as Broner attempted to wrestle free to land more power punches.

Maidana spent the entire opening round charging at Broner, trapping him against the ropes and throwing powerful combinations.

Maidana sent Broner tumbling into the ropes early in the second round with a lunging left hook to the chin. After a standing eight count, Broner charged and wrapped up Maidana’s upper legs in an attempt to recover.

Maidana landed 57 punches in the opening two rounds to only 13 for Broner, according to Showtime. Broner regained his balance after the second round, spending the next five rounds trading punches and clenches before Maidana regained control.

“Broner is a very good puncher,” Maidana said. “He’s a very good boxer, very good puncher. Yes, I felt his blows.”

Maidana floored Broner in the eighth round with a left to the midsection and an overhand right. After a standing eight count, Broner again went to the canvas after taking a head-butt to the jaw. Amid heavy booing, Broner remained on the canvas and in a corner for about 3 minutes before returning to action.

In the ninth round, Maidana again stunned Broner, unleashing combination after combination that Broner was struggling to avoid. Broner again regained his feet in the 10th round, but was only able to exchange blows with Maidana the remainder of the fight.

“I don’t think he was on today,” said Broner’s trainer, Mike Stafford. “I thought it was a little closer than (the judges) had it, but I just don’t think he was on tonight.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *