Las Vegas, Nevada-- Erik Morales turned back the clock, in the MGM Grand arena, going the distance, in a competitive twelve round affair against the hard punching Marcos Maidana. Despite the loosing effort, Morales shocked Maidana and the ten thousand in attendance, who believed he was going to be brutally knocked out. Morales were able to land a series of combinations and right hand leads, wobbling the argentine slugger. Madaina managed to shut the right eye of Morales, in the first round, and stun Morales throughout the fight, but just could not seem to get the veteran in the kind of trouble he had the younger, stronger Amir Khan.
Morales demanded a rematch and Maidana agreed, but for this boxing writer, one time is enough. Morales gave a great effort and looked sharp, but this was a case of Maidana fighting down to the level of his competition. As in his fight with Demarcus, Corley Maidana looked flat, in some rounds, and very aggressive, in others.
When fighting Amir Khan, Maidana put the pressure on Khan for twelve rounds, never taking a step back, even after being knocked down. If Maidana felt the fight would have put him in position to move higher in the welterweight division, there would have been a different attitude in Maidana that night.
A rematch could happen. It would be a good payday for Morales and Maidana, but for the young contender, this will only delay his chance to get back in the ring with the top fighters, in his division. With fighters like Marquez and the newly crowned IBF Champion, Zab Judah, looking for opponents to dance with, Maidana has some options, before he jumps to an immediate rematch with Morales.
In the end, Morales was a great champion and thrilled us with many memorable fights. In all honesty, a farewell fight, in his native Tijuana, will be his best option to go out with a victory. To try to beat one of the top fighters, in his division, does not appear to be a real goal, but we all know, in boxing, fighters usually do not live in reality.
-The Boxing King -
Boxing Shorts
Former Junior Welterweight Champion and, now, Welterweight Contender, Paulie Malignaggi, scored his second victory at Welterweight, beating Jose Cotto (brother of Miguel Cotto) over twelve easy rounds. In one of Malignaggi’s more aggressive performances, Paulie used a stiff jab and combination punching, dominating the limited Cotto.
In a shocking and still unbelievable upset, unknown Japanese fighter, Nobuhiro Ishida, knocked out, former top prospect, James Kirkland, in the first round. Kirkland came out with his trademark pressure style and walked right into Ishida’s left hand, dropping him. Kirkland got back to his feet and was dropped, again, by another Ishida left. Finally, the fight was called to a halt, when Kirkland went down a third time on a straight right.
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