By: José A. Maldonado, MFA
In a highly anticipated matchup, junior welterweights Marcos Maidana, 28, and Devon Alexander, 25, were meeting at 147 to try to make a splash in one of boxing’s most loaded divisions. The winner would no doubt move on to a become a major player in the division while the loser would have to go back to the drawing board. . .or at least 140. After a unanimous decision that most saw as a complete shutout, Devon Alexander proved that he is no longer a pretender and will now look to get some much bigger fights. For Marcos Maidana, on the other hand, the future is less clear.
Prior to Saturday, many were concerned that Alexander’s home advantage would make it difficult for Maidana (31-3-28 KOs) to win by decision. After Alexander’s controversial decisions over Andriy Kotelnyk and Lucas Matthyse, it seemed Maidana’s only chance to win was by KO. Maidana, though, did not feel the same way. He said he was going to do what it takes to win, but that a KO wasn’t necessary to pull out the victory. It turned out that, in this division at least, a KO was far from his reach.
Throughout the fight Alexander (23-1-13 KOs) imposed his will on Maidana, peppering him with shots and clinching before the Argentinean could respond. Maidana was unable to keep up with Alexander’s footwork, looking a step slow at his new weight. His punches also did not resonate the way they usually do. Against Victor Ortíz at 140, for instance, Maidana’s punches were thudding impacts that could be heard in press row; yet he was unable to rattle his opponent with his firepower despite catching Alexander with some (though few) solid right hands. As early as the sixth round it was clear that there was no zip to Maidana’s punches, and by the seventh he was merely chasing Alexander around the ring to no avail. In the end he landed a paltry 93 of 419 punches.
During his post fight interview the former welterweight champ expressed interest in returning to 140, using the extra weight as an explanation for his poor outing. The truth, nonetheless, is that he is 2-2 in his last four fights, one victory coming against the untested Petr Petrov in Maidana’s hometown of Buenos Aires, the other coming in a life-and-death battle against the then 34 year old Erik Morales, a fight that could have gone either way. Against Alexander, furthermore, Maidana was unable to adjust to anything the St. Louis native was doing. Rather than attempting to cut off the ring to decrease Alexander’s mobility, or perhaps turning the tables and looking to counter him off the ropes, Maidana’s approach remained the same: unsuccessfully trying to make the fight into a brawl and not setting up his punches.
To say that Maidana’s best days are behind him would be a premature statement. Welterweight is clearly not his division, he has more than held his own against elite fighters, and perhaps he is still familiarizing himself with his new trainer, Rudy Pérez. There are many good fights to be made at 140, including Mike Alvarado, countryman Lucas Matthyse, or even a rematch with Morales, but his next few fights are going to be crucial. He is allowed a soft fight at home to lick his wounds, but in his next fight against a serious contender, Maidana is going to have to demonstrate that he deserves to be in the ring with the big names, otherwise he will find himself in the position of gatekeeper a lot sooner than anyone anticipated.
José A. Maldonado, MFA is senior staff writer at punchrate.com and contributor to realcombatmedia.com
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