Huge Junior Welterweight Title Clash Between Timothy Bradley & Marcos Maidana
First the product of a promotional re-shuffle and then postponed, Timothy Bradley vs. Marcos Maidana is still on for July 17th. In this bout, two of Proboxing-fans.com’s Top 5 140 lbs. fighters will face off over the WBO Junior Welterweight Title. Maidana was originally slated to fight Amir Khan and Bradley to duke it out with Luis Abregu, but this match is infinitely superior. By the end, all the lingering questions about both Maidana and Bradley will stand answered.
Timothy Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs)
5’6″, 69″ reach, 26 years old
WBO Junior Welterweight Champion
American
Bradley would be the WBC-WBO champ, were it not for the political static so typical of the alphabet soups. Bradley is a boxer-puncher with a sterling amateur pedigree. As a pro, he edged Junior Witter in Witter’s backyard, out-boxed Kendall Holt and beat unbeaten Lamont Pearson. He also looked good against “Galaxy Warrior” Nate Campbell, for as long as that abortive fight lasted. However, Bradley has his flaws. As his knockout stats indicate, he has a strictly average punch. There are also questions about his chin. Kendall Holt, hardly a huge banger, was able to floor him twice.
Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs)
5’9″, 26 years old
Argentine
Marcos Maidana comes from that rugged school of beef-eating boxers from Argentina. He is a knockout artist, and his career is best summarized by saying he has managed to out-punch and flatten everyone he has ever fought except Andriy Kotelnik, a tough Ukrainian who out-boxed him to a close Split Decision. Since then, Maidana has bounced back by slugging down top-ranked swarmer Victor Ortiz and crushing undefeated Victor Cayo.
Bradley vs. Maidana Preview & Analysis
Bradley is thought of as the division’s best, and for good reason, but there are still unanswered questions about the guy’s chin. He has fought four legitimate top ten fighters and emerged triumphant, but of those only Nate Campbell had real pop in his punches, and the Campbell fight was stopped early because of a accidental cut. No one knows how Bradley will fare when faced with real world-class artillery.
For his part, Maidana is one of those guys who seems to knock out everybody, which is always less fearsome than it looks. The axiom is a guy who knocks out everybody never wins if he can’t knock the other guy out. True to that form, Maidana was out-boxed by Andriy Kotelnik, and Kotelnik is no world-beater. With fighters like Devon Alexander and Amir Khan out there, if Maidana doesn’t show he can deal with slicksters, his time at the top will be short.
Bradley vs. Maidana Prediction
That said, I think Maidana is going to kayo Bradley. Bradley is a slickster who fights like a boxer-puncher. He likes to mix it up and get into exchanges, which is contrary to his interests when you consider Bradley has merely average punching power and a suspect jaw. Maidana is not a plodder. If Bradley does not base his game plan firmly on movement, Maidana will walk him down. If Bradley stops moving, either to trade or because the ring was cut off on him, he is going to catch hell for leather.
Common sense dictate Bradley pull a Floyd Mayweather and get on his bicycle for this fight, but I can’t see him doing that for 12 solid rounds. The “Desert Storm” is young, undefeated, confident and wants to show he is the best in the world. That attitude will lead him to make the signal error of staying close enough to where Maidana’s power can be unloaded. Still, a guy with Bradley’s skills is not going to be easy to get at. Maidana will need to work hard at it, but as the Kotelnik fight showed, the Argentine can fight a full 12 Rounds.
Prediction: Maidana KO9
