Just rewatched the fight. A few observations:
-Fight was a bit closer than I remember, but Maidana was the clear winner. The rounds he won, he won BIG. I didn't score it, just enjoyed it, but I could see 4 or 5 rounds for Broner.
-Rounds 5,11, and 12 were FOTY material. Fucking beautiful stuff.
-Laurence Cole was doing everything he could to help Broner. A million warnings but no point taken away?? I don't hate the point he took from Maidana, even though Broner put on an Emmy winning performance, but c'mon. The blatant palms to the face and pushing? The Mayweather elbows?? Hitting Maidana when he was through the ropes in the 11th? That huge punch WAY after the bell at the end of the 11th?? WTF?
-Maidana had a great gameplan for this fight. Him and Garcia mesh very well together. Jabbing to Broner's body to open up the left hook to the face. Beautiful body work. I personally love Maidana's awkward style. Those overhand rights when Broner were using his "shoulder roll" were deadly. They were almost hammer fists.
-The analysts were right in the post fight breakdown. Broner doesn't throw enough punches. When he did turn it on, he was accurate and sharp. I don't know if he just doesn't have the stamina, or if he was scared, or if he just plain old can't fight backing up. but he got outworked.
-I believe Broner has a future at 147, but maybe 2 or 3 years from now. IF he can sweat to 135, he should do it. If not, go to 140 because he can be a dominant force there and continue to develop and mature. I always thought it was a dumb move to skip that weight class.
-Broner is a jerk for running out of the ring after the decision. After all the classless displays he put on in post fight interviews (combing his hair, fake proposals, "Anybody CAN get it", dissing Paulie right after Paulie humbly gave him respect, etc.) he should have stayed there like a man. Although it's kinda messed up the crowd was chucking drinks and food at him, I don't feel bad for the guy. He really created his own mess here with his big ass mouth, and leaving the ring like a fucking diva after losing doesn't help.
Overall, terrific fight. Maidana is the man right now. Couldn't be happier for him. He's been one of my favorite for a while. Hope they set up him and Thurman. That'd be a real treat for boxing fans.
