Maidana nets majority decision, denies Morales signature victory
Erik Morales did all he could to make magic in the ring one more time. But in the end, Marcos Maidana had just a little too much for the 34-year-old Mexican standout.
Maidana eked out a 12-round majority decision Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden in what turned out to be a highly entertaining and competitive fight.
Judges Adalaide Byrd and Jerry Roth had Maidana ahead 116-112, and Dick Houck called it 114-114. The win gave Maidana the vacant WBA interim junior welterweight title and denied Morales a chance to become the first Mexican fighter to win world titles in four weight classes.
“This was my toughest fight,” Maidana said. “But I knew it would be, so I prepared for that. Morales is a strong fighter. He should continue to fight.”
Morales (51-7) said he was disappointed in the result.
“I think it was a close fight, but to give him a clear win is ridiculous,” Morales said. “I think I won the fight. I thought my punches were crisper and better.”
Maidana (30-2), who went off as a 5-1 favorite after being as high as 7-1, appeared headed to an easy victory. He swarmed Morales and was pounding him from every angle in the first couple of rounds.
But Morales managed to hang in there. He started to find flaws in Maidana’s form and started winning rounds.
Despite his right eye being closed from early in the second round on, Morales never backed down. He kept finding ways to get to Maidana, getting the pro-Morales crowd of 7,154 revved up.
He had Maidana in trouble in the sixth round after rocking him with several combinations. He appeared to have Maidana hurt late in the round, but the 27-year-old from Argentina withstood the barrage.
“I thought I was better than him,” Morales said. “I knew I still had the speed and the velocity. But I also kept my dignity and my heart. That’s why I was able to fight, even though my eye was closed.”
It came down to the final two rounds, and Maidana won those on all three scorecards. He was the busier fighter at the end, and the final Punchstats had Maidana with 985 total punches thrown to Morales’ 528.
Maidana also had 700 power punches thrown to Morales’ 310. But Morales landed the higher percentage of overall punches (30 percent to 20 percent) along with power punches (34 percent to 25 percent).
“I knew the fight was close,” Maidana said. “But I came on strong at the end.”
Maidana would like a crack at Juan Manuel Marquez, who is trained by Nacho Beristain. Beristain originally consented to train Maidana for Saturday’s fight, then reneged on the deal. Maidana instead trained with Rudy Perez.
“I want Marquez, with Nacho in his corner,” Maidana said.
Morales, who disproved critics by providing a more competitive fight than expected, wants another crack at Maidana.
“I’m going to do what the people want me to do — a rematch,” he said.