Marcos Maidana Wins a Close One Over Erik Morales
By Marc Anthony (At Ringside)
Mikael Zewski, 9-0-0, 5 KO’s vs. Clint Coronel 4-2-2, 1KO
Zewski won by Split Decision
Judges scorecard:
Tim Cheatham 60-54 Zewski, Herb Santos 54-60 for Coronel, Ricardo Ocasio 59-55 Zewski
Rakhim Chakhkiev, 10-0-0, 8 KO’s vs. Harvey Jolly, 11-17-1, 6 KO’s
1st round was a semi feeling out with Jolly looking to counter while Chakhkiev pressing forward. Occasional jabs were thrown by Chakhkiev and a few hooks by Jolly. Overall the action belonged to Chakhkiev by connecting with a hard hook to the head that made Jolly back pedal.
2nd Round Chakhkiev picked up where he left off but also added more punched catching Jolly with hard shot to the head. Jolly seemed to be out of his rhythm and could not find a moment to set his fight to punch. He tried to counter, but Chakhkiev was never there.
3rd round Chakhkiev used forward aggressive motion with body shots. He also also did a lot of head movement and level changes. Jolly was having success with his cross, but was unable to get his rhythm dropping Jolly two times with the third time being counted out at 2:18 of the round.
Nate ‘The Galaxy Warrior” Campbell, 33-8-1, 25 KO’s vs. Danny “Swift” Garcia 21-0-0, 14 KO’s both coming out with aggressive entrance music and the crowd loves it!! Screams of Nate and Danny were equal in support.
1st round hard shots by Garcia while Nate shakes his head telling him you did no damage, Nate extremely crafty in the latter half of the first round. Using close effective body shots and upper cuts to score damage on Garcia both to the body and head also Nate was using his free hand to tie up Garcia power hand while peppering to the body.
2nd Round is a close round with Garcia being the aggressor and using his left hook to score on Nate. Nate countered with body shots and an occasional overhand.
3rd round Nate came out and pressured Danny. In this round Danny was countering and waiting for Nate to over commit. Nate kept relentless to the body and Danny is showing the damage with reddening of both his ribcage area.
4th round Danny looked to have found his rhythm finding Nate more often. Nate appeared to take this round a bit off and used tie ups whenever Danny appeared to gain momentum. Nate was warned by the ref to stop talking?
5th round was good for both the fighters. And the crowd clapped loudly in appreciation. Danny finding his range on Nate’s head with hard shots, while Nate finding Danny’s body. At the end of the round Nate started taunting Danny and the ref had to break them up. It’s heating up.
6th round is another close round with both men not giving the other any upper hand. Again at the ten second mark Danny finds his range and hits Nate with a hard shot! More taunting by Nate and the ref kind of shoves Nate to his corner after the bell.
7th round seemed to belong to Danny finding Nate’s head more often. The crowd was very vocal yelling for Danny to shut Nate up. Nate was pressuring with forward motion but was unable to find Danny.
8th round both men pressuring and scoring with Danny with the harder shots to the head while Nate scoring a bit more often to the body and head.
9th round the action did not slow down and Danny now using his combos to find Nate’s head and body. Nate is scoring with more head shots and uses ties up to slow Danny down. Nate hit Danny with a late shot after the round but didn’t appear to hurt Danny although it looked like a very solid punch to the jawline.
10th round both men went to war. All action towards the final minute and both scoring hard shots, Nate kept pressure to the body while Danny liked to connect to the head.
Judges scorecard 99-91, 98-92, 100-90 won by unanimous decision in favor of Danny Garcia who remains undefeated
Paulie ‘The Magic Man” Malgignaggi 29-4-0, 6 KO’s vs Jose Miguel Cotto 32-3-1, 24 KO’s
1st round was action packed with no feeling out. They both were aggressive and the crowd loved it! Paulie using is jab and in and out style to score often while Cotto was countering with overhands finding their mark on numerous occasions.
2nd round crowd loved this fight and Cotto at one point found Pauli with a hard hook while Pauli the eternal showmen unleashed a fast combination of hooks and crosses.
3rd round early in the round the action had to be stopped Paulie lost his shoe. But once it was put back on Cotto greeted him with a hard hook to the jawline. Pauli took it well and again unleashed his fast combos.
4th round was a great round. Cotto found more success and was able to corner Pauli while at the same time finding spots in Pauli’s defense. Pauli didn’t just let him gain an edge and once again followed up with quick combos
5th round the action slowed a bit Cotto pressuring but only attacking with single shots. Pauli using movement and blocking shots while peppering with numerous jabs.
6th round once again Pauli using his jab to effectively control the distance while Cotto still comfortable with throwing one or two punches. At one point Cotto hit Pauli with a hard overhand and Pauli didn’t seem worse for the wear.
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7th round Pauli has now found his rhythm and is using his movement and jab to control most of the round. Cotto did find success with his hook but is still content with throwing at most a 2 punch combination.
8th round Cotto came out way more aggressive and was all pressure with Pauli going defensive. Cotto did land hard shots to Paulie’s body while Paulie kept up his effective jabs to score points.
9th round The first half of the round Cotto pressuring but not finding the same success he had in the earlier rounds. Paulie was able to time Cotto’s hook and duck under it. Later in the round Paulie turned it up and was able to back Cotto up against the ropes. Unloading quick combos similar to the earlier rounds but these combos seemed to hurt Cotto.
10th round Cotto was unable to find Pauli. Pauli was very aggressive in this round and on numerous occasions had Cotto on the defense and looked to have hurt Cotto a bit.
Paulie Malignaggi wins by unanimous decision. Nonito Doniare was in hand taking pictures of the fight and Paulie goes over and shakes hands with Nonito pointing at Nonito and telling the crowd that Doniare is number one.
Judges scorecard: 99-91, 97-93, 99-91
James Kirkland, 27-4-0, 24 KO’s vs. Nobuhiro Ishida 22-6-2, 8 KO’s
1st round the crowd in complete shock! Ishida pressuring Kirkland and taking his best shots without being fazed Ishida stopping Kirkland, the MGM grand arena was filled with oohs and ahhs every time Ishida connected. There was a loud appreciation from the crowd. At the end of the announcement, max Kellerman says that HBO was not prepared for Ishida winning so a translator is not in hand immediately and are they are in the process of finding one.
Kirkland” he didn’t hurt me I was still able to fight” / crowd did not like that comment and booed loudly!
Punch stats by CompuBox
Kirkland Ishida
26 total punches thrown 49
12 total punches connected 15
49 PCT. Conn. 31
5 Jabs thrown 11
4 Jabs Conn. 0
80 PCT Conn. 0
21 Power punches thrown 49
8 Power Punches Conn. 15
38 PCT. Conn. 31
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero 29-1-1, 18 KO’s vs. Michael “The Great” Katsidis 27-4-0, 22 KO’s
1st round right before the fight started Katsidis yells at Guerrero ” what are you looking at” both of them exchanged heavy shots! Lots of hooks and jabs found there mark for both men. Crowd is very loud!
2nd round is a great round with Guerrero finding his range. At one point Guerrero unloaded a heavy combo and sending Katsidis back. While Katsidis swinging hard and wide to the body of Guerrero
3rd round Guerrero is all pressure in this round leading with strong jabs and following up with his 2 . Katsidis was in the defensive for the whole round! A couple of kids kept chanting for Katsidis to come alive
4th round both men exchange heavy hooks. The kids who were yelling for Katsidis loved it and cheered their hearts out
5th round with Guerrero landing hooks to the body, heavy upper cuts, heavy body shots. Crowd is off their seats cheering. Katsidis fighting back but is bested by Guerrero.
6th round has Guerrero once again hitting Katsidis with very heavy shots to both the body and the head. Katsidis fires back but was unable to stop Guerrero’s attack.
7th round both men find each other with overhands but Katsidis looks to be cut and this emboldens Guerrero to attack the cut.
8th round right in the opening round Katsidis was deducted a point for low blow. Katsidis is very aggressive and once again hits Guerrero with a low blow, yet another point deducted. Most of the round has Guerrero attacking the head while Katsidis works the body. Both exchanging violently
9th round jabs and crosses finding success for Guerrero while Katsidis puts pressure but not throwing much. In a turn of events Guerrero receives a point deduction!
10 round jab hooks to the head, jab and then hook to the body was the story of the Guerrero strategy! Katsidis going forward was greeted by these attacks; he did manage to sneak in various overhands.
Round 11 Katsidis finding limited success with his overhands but the ones that do land are very hard. Highlighting Guerrero’s solid chin! Guerrero peppering and damaging Katsidis face with jabs and crosses.
12th and final round MGM grand and garden arena is filled with chants of Guerrero! Guerrero! Katsidis still pressuring forward but at this point Guerrero is using his matador skills to control Katsidis aggression. Final 10 seconds crowd off their feet cheering both men for a great show!
Richard Schaefer and Lewkowicz in Katsidis corner talking
Judges have scored it for Robert the Ghost Guerrero! 108-117, 106-118, 107-118
Erik “El Terrible” Morales 51-7-0, 35 KO’s vs. Marcos “El Chino” Madiana 30-2-0, 27 KO’s
1st round starts with the crowd chanting “Si se puede”; yes you can do it to pump Erik up! Madiana wastes no time and starts swinging wide and hard. Erik covers up and blocks most of the punches but several hard shots get through shutting Erik’s eye almost immediately,
2nd Round the crowd off their fight chanting Morales! Morales! This gets Morales going and starts to connect with heavy shots of his own. Marcos is pressuring and swinging wide but very hard.
3rd Round Maidana and Morales both use their jabs now Madiana working the body relentlessly. Morales not to be outdone starts his combo attack and backs Madiana up stopping Maidana in his tracks. The more effective jabs look to go for Morales who is now settling in. The crowd is not sitting down and is actually yelling for Morales to keep doing what he is doing!
4th Round Morales using his jabs to set up strong hooks to the body. Every time Maidana starts to move forward and swinging Morales is countering with hard shots to the head. Maidana is moving forward but not effectively landing on Morales. At points of the fight Maidana is pushing Morales into the ropes with this head. The Argentine fans very vocal and yelling for Maidana to finish Morales!
5th round Maidana comes out and is very aggressive moving forward and swinging with everything he has. Morales able to see all the shots effectively counters with a blistering uppercut sending Maidana to the ropes. It appears Maidana is hurt but is fighting back with wide hooks, occasionally landing but you can hear them when they hit the body of Morales.
6th Round Maidana is now using wide shots to the body but they land. The first half of the round has Morales just covering up. Towards the end of the round both men trade heavy shots to the head and body. Neither giving up an inch of space, I can’t hear myself think the crowd is super loud at this point.
7th Round Maidana swinging wild with everything but landing. Morales looks to be hurt . The crowd chanting “Si se puede” at that point Morales is energized and starts using effective jabs and combos to score. Maidana in this round looked to be the more active fighter.
8th Morales opens the round with a crushing punch that hurts Maidana. Maidana recovers and starts swinging with no care in the world finding limited success while Morales using effective jabs to control the range.
9th Round Maidana open up swinging nonstop hooks causing Morales to cover up and just go on the defense. Finding his composure Morales greets Maidana with a hard hook of his own. This stops the onslaught momentarily and then Madiana is back to throwing hard shot with one of the shots sneaking in and hurting Morales
10th round Maidana looks to be tired and Morales sensing it starts throwing heavy combos. Maidana is content with throwing 1-2’s that don’t seem to stop Morales one bit. The crowd is now very loud. And I don’t think they have been in their seats the whole time.
11th round Maidana connects with a solid right that hurts Morales. Morales on the defense and shells up, Morales rallies and beckons Maidana to bring it! Towards the final seconds Morales lands a hard punch to the head.
12th round the crowd is ear shattering loud. Both men meet each other at the center of the ring. Maidana is busier with hard shots. Morales is more accurate with counters but it appears there is very little left in the tank of Morales. Argentine fans visibly concerned. Everything was left in the ring. The crowd cheers for the entire round.
Judges 114 -114 116-112 majority decisions to Marcos Maidana
Several of the crowd and media felt it should have been a draw.
Overheard Lewkowicz telling the argentine media “I think it was draw but it could have gone either way”
Oscar De La Hoya announced that all the profit for this PPV will go to the relief efforts in Japan!
Semi-Joking Oscar also asked the media and the fans if they would love to see a rematch of all the fights?
Oscar De La Hoya “This is what a PPV should be! Stacked from top to bottom”
At the press Conference once the excitement was settled Maidana was asked if he would give Morales a rematch he said “I would give him a rematch out of respect but I feel I already beat him and I want to fight other fighters” he followed up with “I want to fight them all to become the best you have to fight all of them” seeing how the fight was very close Maidana remarked that he knew that Morales would be a great fighter and it was not going to be easy and that is why he trained hard for this bout he did say “ My corner told me that he can’t see out of his right eye and to move towards that eye but every time I moved in that direction he kept hitting me, it didn’t seem he was blind” He didn’t hurt me but at one point I did feel one big right hand, at that point I as playing possum waiting to lure him in but the opportunity never showed up” in closing Maidana remarked that “ I was surprised how much he can take, you need a hammer to knock him out.”
When asked for a comparison between Amir Khan and Erik Morales
“They are both on the same level, with Khan being faster but always running away, Erik stands his ground and fights. He is very brave.”
Robert Guerrero said he would love to fight Mayweather and that his priorities in life are Jesus Christ, family and the championship belt. “Katsidis didn’t hurt me except maybe for the low blow”
Richard Schaefer remarked that Guerrero is ready for anyone and maybe even Zab Judah, who was in attendance, would be an option for his next fight.
Paulie Malignaggi remarked that he was happy to get a good W under his belt and that he thanked Golden Boy for giving him an opportunity. “People say I don’t hit hard but look at my hands! Every time! “Showing the media and fans his damaged hands. Lots of fans remarked how they liked Paulie and his honest way of speaking. Definitely a crowd favorite.
Notables in attendance
Sergio Martinez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Canelo Alvarez, Zab Judah, Miguel Cotto and Evander Holyfield
RSR Breaking News:
Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz informed me he will be fighting again sometime in June and July and is happy to announce he was accepted to Law School.