Wayne McCullough was left fuming by the judges who handed former foe Erik Morales his seventh defeat.
Maidana gets the win, but Morales deserves all the credit
When Erik Morales lost to David Diaz in August 2007 in a bid to capture his fourth world title in as many divisions, most people thought that they had seen the last of this living legend.
He was just about to turn 31 but his body had taken a lot during his career. He'd been on a busy fight schedule since turning pro in March 1993, had lost four in a row, one to Diaz, two to Manny Pacquiao and one to Zahir Raheem, so his body needed a rest.
He stepped away from the ring, put on 50 plus pounds and enjoyed his retirement. But he got the itch to return and in March 2010 came back as a welterweight, 12 pounds heavier that when he left and struggled to defeat Jose Alfaro.
He also beat Scot Willie Limond in six rounds but had a hard time in that fight too. His last fight was in December 2010 against Francisco Lorenzo, who had replaced originally scheduled opponent Jorge Barrios. That fight went 12 but it wasn't a convincing win for Morales.
Argentina's Marcos Maidana had been chosen as the next opponent for Morales. They had tried to get Juan Manuel Marquez but negotiations fell through.
Maidana had a good record with only two losses in 31 fights and was coming off his "Fight of the Year" with Amir Khan where he lost a close decision. He is known as a power puncher with 27 of his 29 wins coming by way of KO.
He is reckless, does get hit, but can get back up after a knockdown to win. He is, however, a full blown light welterweight having fought in this division since his pro debut in June 2004.
As always Maidana will be looking for a knockout so Morales, who was a puncher in his own right in the lighter weight classes, needs to be careful. Pressure fighters always gave Morales problems and Maidana was just that.
Back in 1999 when I fought Morales he was known as a knockout puncher having KO'd nime opponents in a row before me. As he moved through the weights his KO percentage declined. If he could use his boxing skills, which are far superior to Maidana's, then he could stay out of trouble and win on points.
He is also a good body puncher, which he showed against Limond, and Maidana was dropped in the first by a Khan body shot, so that could've been the key for a Morales victory.
Closing
Morales was the underdog going into this fight but could he revert to his early days or would Maidana send him back into retirement?
The fight was at the MGM in Las Vegas for the WBA interim light-welterweight belt. At the pre-fight conference, Morales said: "Am I the only one who thinks I can win?" referring to the press who thought the fight was a mismatch. Well, it turned out a lot different than most expected!
Morales started off moving around and tried to block as many of Maidana's swinging hooks. Maidana was wild with his punches and lacked a left jab. Morales got caught with a few uppercuts and body shots but didn't move. He also got a bad swelling over his right eye that continued closing round after round.
I thought the next three rounds belonged to Morales as he started using his old boxing skills and better footwork. He landed nice accurate left jabs and hard straight rights to Maidana's body. Morales was getting into his groove and although his left eye was now cut as well, it didn't stop him from fighting.
Morales had a good fifth round as well with better quality punches than his opponent. He slowed a little going into the sixth and his right eye was almost closed but he was still having success throwing combinations.
In the eighth, Morales landed a big left hook on Maidana's chin buckling his legs. He piled on the pressure but Maidana recovered and came back.
Tired
Going into the last four rounds I thought Morales was up at least by two. Maidana pushed the throttle more in the ninth and pinned Morales on the ropes landing hard right and left hooks on his opponent's head but Morales came back again.
Maidana looked tired in the 10th as Morales landed jabs, rights and body shots at will. With two rounds to go I had Morales up six rounds to four so Maidana needed to push more. He landed a big left hook to the head of Morales that seemed to stun him but Morales waved at him to come back in.
Going into the final round both of Morales' eyes were badly beaten up and he looked exhausted. Maidana landed some more wild swinging hooks to his head along with a good left hook and a hard body shot. He was younger and fresher but Morales fought with him until the final bell.
Maidana was awarded the win by majority decision on scores of 116-112 (twice) and 114-114. I thought Morales deserved the win as he threw and landed better punches than Maidana.
I've been in close fights too but when the scores come out as if I wasn't even in the fight - according to the judges - it's quite upsetting. 116-112 for Maidana was ridiculous.
Maidana moves on a picks up an interim belt but Morales should get all the credit. He is a legend who has lost a lot of speed and skills - but showed how big his heart is and fought a great fight.
