Erik Morales vs. Marcos Maidana
Encyclopedia
Erik Morales
vs. Marcos Maidana
, billed as Action Heroes, was a boxing
light welterweight
fight for the Interim WBA
Light Welterweight championship. The bout took place on April 9 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States.
Morales, a Mexican legend and a five time world champion at three different weight classes, made his mark in the Junior Welterweight division by obtaining the WBC Silver light welterweight title in September 2010 and defening it in December of the same year. Following his last bout, he expressed his desire to fight Juan Manuel Marquez
, however Marquez turned this fight down and then the matchup was made with Maidana through Golden Boy Promotions
.
Maidana was coming from a twelve round decision loss against current title-holder Amir Khan
in December 2010, his second shot at a world title. This was his chance to start back on the road to another full title shot.
. Morales' precision and stamina overcame Alfaro; easily defeating him via unanimous decision. In his second fight after returning to the ring Erik Morales fought Willie Limond
. Limond started strong in the first three rounds being very quick, elusive, and staying away from Morales' reach. Morales threw body shots to slow his opponent down and fought very conservative until Limond started getting tired. The fight was stopped as Limond could not carry on and won the WBC Silver
World Light Welterweight title. He then defended his title against tough challenger Francisco Lorenzo
and won by unanimous decision.
, both of them exchanging knockdowns.
He made three successful defenses before challenging reigning champion Amir Khan
, 2 of which were by knockouts. In an anticipated match between two exciting junior-welterweights there was bound to be fireworks. Khan defeated Maidana
by unanimous decision, and the championship fight received a lot of recognition as 2010's Fight of the Year.
From the fourth round onwards and although he was effectively fighting with one eye, Morales gave as good as he got and was landing the cleaner more effective shots, albeit occasionally being swarmed by the sheer number of punches being landed in return by the relentless Maidana. The fight became a see-saw affair and then, in the eighth round, Morales hit Maidana with a huge left hook that almost stopped the Argentinian. The next couple of rounds continued in this fashion, with Maidana using his strength and stamina to bully Morales and the Mexican using his sharper punching and ring intelligence to land effective counters and combinations. The fight was fast turning into a modern classic.
In the "championship rounds" (the eleventh and twelfth), Morales seemed to tire and Maidana took advantage, overwhelming him with his strength and punishing the ageing warrior continually to the head and body. Maidana finished the fight much the stronger of the two and his late surge gave him the win on the scorecards, 116-112 twice with the third judge scoring the fight a draw, 114-114.
With this victory, Maidana put himself firmly back in the title picture, being awarded the interim WBA championship and putting himself back up with the division's elite in Khan and Timothy Bradley
. The true glory on the night however went to Morales, who turned back the clock with an outstanding performance against the odds and against a host of seeming disadvantages, and possibly winning the fight in the eyes of some observers. Morales asked for a rematch in the near future and Maidana also seemed keen in the post-fight interviews, possibly for July 30th if the matchup can be arranged. No-one will be complaining if the rematch were to take place and it was anywhere near as good as their first meeting.
Erik Morales
Érik Isaac Morales Elvira is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the first Mexican born boxer in history to win a world title in four weight classes and is the current WBC Light Welterweight Champion...
vs. Marcos Maidana
Marcos René Maidana
Marcos Maidana is an Argentine professional boxer from José Leon Suarez, Buenos Aires. He is and the current WBA light welterweight champion. His only professional losses have come against Andreas Kotelnik and Amir Khan both by Decision.-Fight with Kotelnik:On February 2, 2009, Andreas Kotelnik...
, billed as Action Heroes, was a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
light welterweight
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...
fight for the Interim WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
Light Welterweight championship. The bout took place on April 9 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, United States.
Morales, a Mexican legend and a five time world champion at three different weight classes, made his mark in the Junior Welterweight division by obtaining the WBC Silver light welterweight title in September 2010 and defening it in December of the same year. Following his last bout, he expressed his desire to fight Juan Manuel Marquez
Juan Manuel Márquez
Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez , is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the fourth Mexican-born boxer to become a three-division world champion, where he won eight world titles in three different boxing weight classes.Currently, Marquez is the WBA Super, WBO and The Ring lightweight champion...
, however Marquez turned this fight down and then the matchup was made with Maidana through Golden Boy Promotions
Golden Boy Promotions
Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...
.
Maidana was coming from a twelve round decision loss against current title-holder Amir Khan
Amir Khan (boxer)
Amir Iqbal Khan , is a British Pakistani professional boxer who is currently the unified WBA & IBF light welterweight champion....
in December 2010, his second shot at a world title. This was his chance to start back on the road to another full title shot.
Erik Morales
Morales officially ended his retirement on March 27, 2010 by returning and defeating Jose AlfaroJosé Alfaro
José Alfaro is a Nicaraguan boxer with a record of 20-3-0-1 who captured the vacant WBA lightweight title against Thai Prawet Singwancha in a split decision on December 29, 2007 in Bielefeld, Germany. He later lost that title on May 19, 2008 to Yusuke Kobori who knocked him out in only 3 rounds...
. Morales' precision and stamina overcame Alfaro; easily defeating him via unanimous decision. In his second fight after returning to the ring Erik Morales fought Willie Limond
Willie Limond
Willie Limond is a Glasgow-born professional boxer. He is the current WBU lightweight champion, former IBO Inter-Continental champion, and the former Commonwealth lightweight Champion.-Early career:...
. Limond started strong in the first three rounds being very quick, elusive, and staying away from Morales' reach. Morales threw body shots to slow his opponent down and fought very conservative until Limond started getting tired. The fight was stopped as Limond could not carry on and won the WBC Silver
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
World Light Welterweight title. He then defended his title against tough challenger Francisco Lorenzo
Francisco Lorenzo
Francisco Lorenzo is a professional Dominican boxer in the Light Welterweight division...
and won by unanimous decision.
Marcos Maidana
In his first shot at a major world title, Maidana lost via points decision to the rugged Andriy Kotelnik somewhat controversially, a result that had a lot of observers questioning the judges. After that he went on to win the WBA Interim belt by stopping prospect Victor OrtizVictor Ortíz
Victor Ortiz is an American professional boxer of Mexican descent and the former WBC welterweight champion.He was previously in the light welterweight division, where he held the USBA & NABO title....
, both of them exchanging knockdowns.
He made three successful defenses before challenging reigning champion Amir Khan
Amir Khan (boxer)
Amir Iqbal Khan , is a British Pakistani professional boxer who is currently the unified WBA & IBF light welterweight champion....
, 2 of which were by knockouts. In an anticipated match between two exciting junior-welterweights there was bound to be fireworks. Khan defeated Maidana
Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana
Light welterweight titlist Amir Khan and interim titlist Marcos Maidana reached an agreement to meet on December 11, 2010. The bout was for Khan's WBA Light Welterweight Title, which Khan successfully defended, winning via unanimous decision...
by unanimous decision, and the championship fight received a lot of recognition as 2010's Fight of the Year.
Televised
- Lightweight bout:
Robert GuerreroRobert GuerreroRobert Joseph Guerrero is a professional American boxer of Mexican descent. He is the former IBF Super Featherweight champion and a former two-time IBF featherweight champion of the world. Nicknamed The Ghost, Guerrero's record is 29 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw, and 2 no contest, with 18 of his wins...
vs.
Michael KatsidisMichael KatsidisMichael Alan Katsidis is an Australian professional boxer of Greek descent. He is a former two-time WBO interim lightweight titleholder whose crowd-pleasing, all-action fighting style has often drawn comparisons with the late Arturo Gatti.-Amateur career:In an amateur career which began at the...
- Guerrero defeated Katsidis via unanimous decision. (117-108, 118-106, 118-107)
- Welterweight bout: Paul MalignaggiPaul MalignaggiPaul "Paulie" Malignaggi is an Italian-American professional boxer. He is the former IBF junior welterweight champion, and former WBO NABO light welterweight champion.-Light Welterweight:...
vs.
Jose Miguel CottoJosé Miguel CottoJosé Miguel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is the brother of the four-time World Champion boxer Miguel Angel Cotto...
- Welterweight bout:
- Malignaggi defeated Cotto via unanimous decision. (99-91, 97-93, 99-91)
- Light Middleweight bout: James KirklandJames Kirkland (boxer)James Derick Kirkland is an American professional boxer.Kirkland fights at light middleweight, and is the WBO NABO light middleweight title holder...
vs.
Nobuhiro IshidaNobuhiro Ishidais a professional boxer from Japan. He resides in Los Angeles.-Amateur career:Ishida was born in Tamana District, Kumamoto and moved to Neyagawa, Osaka soon after. He began boxing at the Osaka Teiken Boxing Gym at the sixth grade of elementary school. When Ishida was a high school freshman, he...
- Light Middleweight bout:
- Ishida defeated Kirkland via technical knockout. The fight was stopped at 1:53 of round one.
Preliminary card
- Light Welterweight bout: Danny GarciaDanny Garcia (boxer)Danny Garcia is an American professional boxer.-Amateur highlights:*2006 U.S. national champion*2005 Tammer Tournament champion*2005 Under-19 national champion-Professional career:...
vs. Nate CampbellNate CampbellNathaniel Campbell , more commonly known as Nate Campbell, is an American retired professional boxer. He is a former unified WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight champion.-Amateur career:...
- Garcia defeated Campbell via unanimous decision. (99-91, 98-92, 100-90)
- Light Middleweight bout:
Mikaël ZewskiMikaël ZewskiMikaël Zewski is an undefeated Canadian professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.-Amateur career:...
vs. Clint Coronel
- Light Middleweight bout:
- Zewski defeated Coronel via split decision. (60-54, 60-54 ,59-55)
- Cruiserweight bout:
Rakhim Chakhkiev vs. Harvey Jolly
- Cruiserweight bout:
- Chakhkiev defeated Jolly via technical knockout in the third round.
The Fight
In the first round, Maidana came out with ferocity as expected and proceeded to batter his older opponent around the ring. He landed multiple power punches, including an uppercut that opened a huge swelling over Morales' left eye which worsened over the course of the fight, and when the Mexican walked back to his corner having taken a large amount of punishment in the opening three minutes most observers felt their predictions were being fulfilled. The one-sided nature of the bout continued for the next couple of rounds, but then at the end of the third round Morales begin to fight back and landed a hard combination to the head of Maidana and the tide began to turn.From the fourth round onwards and although he was effectively fighting with one eye, Morales gave as good as he got and was landing the cleaner more effective shots, albeit occasionally being swarmed by the sheer number of punches being landed in return by the relentless Maidana. The fight became a see-saw affair and then, in the eighth round, Morales hit Maidana with a huge left hook that almost stopped the Argentinian. The next couple of rounds continued in this fashion, with Maidana using his strength and stamina to bully Morales and the Mexican using his sharper punching and ring intelligence to land effective counters and combinations. The fight was fast turning into a modern classic.
In the "championship rounds" (the eleventh and twelfth), Morales seemed to tire and Maidana took advantage, overwhelming him with his strength and punishing the ageing warrior continually to the head and body. Maidana finished the fight much the stronger of the two and his late surge gave him the win on the scorecards, 116-112 twice with the third judge scoring the fight a draw, 114-114.
With this victory, Maidana put himself firmly back in the title picture, being awarded the interim WBA championship and putting himself back up with the division's elite in Khan and Timothy Bradley
Timothy Bradley
Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American boxer, fighting out of Palm Springs, California. He is the current WBO World Light Welterweight Champion. He is rated #2 in the Light Welterweight division behind Amir Khan.-Light Welterweight:...
. The true glory on the night however went to Morales, who turned back the clock with an outstanding performance against the odds and against a host of seeming disadvantages, and possibly winning the fight in the eyes of some observers. Morales asked for a rematch in the near future and Maidana also seemed keen in the post-fight interviews, possibly for July 30th if the matchup can be arranged. No-one will be complaining if the rematch were to take place and it was anywhere near as good as their first meeting.