Broner no problem of Maidana

When Adrian “The Problem” Broner stepped into the ring on Saturday night to defend his WBA welterweight title against Marcos Maidana, he was – in his own mind and the minds of his fans – the heir-apparent to pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. And Mayweather seems to agree.

When he left the ring, however, Broner was without his title, without his undefeated record, and without any valid basis to compare himself to his idol, Mayweather. Broner found himself on the canvas twice en route to a brutal 12-round decision loss to the Argentine dangerman.

Going into the bout, Maidana was considered a live underdog – a tough test for Broner, but one that “The Problem” should have passed. The big-punching Maidana’s main claim to fame was coming off the floor to make red-hot prospect Victor Ortiz quit four years ago. But Maidana had lost decisions to Devon Alexander, Amir Khan, and Andriy Kotelnik. All three are accomplished boxers, as Broner was hyped to be. So, theoretically, Broner should have done exactly what those three did against Maidana.

But he didn’t get the job done. Whatever it was that prevented Maidana from going over the hump and beating Khan, Kotelnik and Alexander, the Argentine overcame it and handed a thorough beatdown to a fighter who was by far his superior in terms of skill and talent.

Cracks had shown in Broner’s Mayweather-esque façade in his previous bout, an ugly decision over Paulie Malinaggi. As always, Malinaggi screamed “Robbery!” This time, more than a few observers agreed with him.

Maidana turned those cracks into chasms as he floored Broner in the second and eighth stanzas, and withstood a late-round rally to preserve his victory. Broner displayed courage in this bout, but few of the skills that had previously prompted the comparisons with Mayweather.

Actually, Mayweather had his own Maidana moment back in 2002, when he defended the lightweight title he then held against the redoubtable Jose Luis Castillo. Even though the decision was unanimous in favor of Mayweather, to this day there are those who insist that Castillo was robbed, and that Mayweather is undefeated in name only. Mayweather gave Castillo an immediate rematch, which he won by a wide margin.

Unlike Broner, Mayweather passed his toughest – to that point in his career – test. The observers who thought he legitimately beat Castillo the first time were just as vociferous as those who differed. And Mayweather didn’t go down once in that fight, let alone twice.

Victory in a rematch with Maidana would go a long way toward restoring Broner’s lost luster. Unless “The Problem” does that, and adds other impressive wins to his ledger, his status as heir to Mayweather will remain suspect.

As for Maidana, he deserves full credit for his win. Now he’s got a title to go along with his other accomplishments. Also, he has positioned himself well in the Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes. That fight would earn Maidana the biggest payday of his career – and also a one-sided beating, as Mayweather would do to him what Broner was supposed to have done.

Source: http://boxscorenews.com/