[It's Ovah]

In the aftermath of the big fight I thought it might be apposite to talk about what I feel is Maidana's most overlooked and underrated attribute, and a key factor, if not the key factor, in his doing so well against Mayweather: his ring iq.

Now no one's ever going to call Maidana an educated boxer, but he has something that few fighters have nowadays, and that's an instinctive knack for knowing how to land damaging bombs against any style of opponent and in any circumstance. This isn't just a matter of sheer mindless aggression; on the contrary, Maidana picks his shots remarkably well, and what's most impressive, still maintain a high workrate while doing so. He never fights to a set rhythm, and despite telegraphing like mad, still seems to hide his intent until the shot has landed. His ability to cut off the ring, and get fighters to fight his fight is, as now shown in the Mayweather fight, absolutely top class.

A great example of a fighter being far more than he at first appears.

 

[Ivan Drago]

True he seems to just be a very natural fighter, belongs in the ring.

Seems like he's an intelligent guy in training too, he's been a great student under Garcia and learned so much, improving many aspects of his game and been able to apply them in big fights.

 

[It's Ovah]

Exactly. He's an excellent learner, and someone who I've changed my opinion on a number of times. Would really like to see him in against Bradley now. I think that's a very winnable fight for him.

 

[dyna]

I want to see a Khan-Maidana rematch.

 

[Vysotsky]

This breakdown video was posted a couple days before the fight

Same guy made this

 

[PistolPat]

Yeah he does a few things that bothered Mayweather in the fight.

When he has you against the ropes he leaves literally no distance between him and the opponent on keeps throwing body blows with the same hand then uses his other hand and throws it in a way which is hard for the opponent to see whether it's a body shot or body blow.

His chopping downward punch although dirty cannot be ducked else you get hit at the back of the head.

He also didn't even need to throw and managed to back Mayweather up at times with feints.

His jab also suprised me, had Mayweather extremely tentative at times.

 

[MadcapMaxie]

Having no set rhythm and being able to break your opponents is a very underrated thing. Guys like Maidana and Marciano rarely get credit for it. Works especially well against boxer types.

 

[sim_reiss]

The Maidana video is excellent. I noticed the unusual way he threw the left hook against Broner but it's interesting how much he's reading his opponents responses. You'd expect the wide punching style to be very easy to counter but some fighters just seem plain gunshy when he's in the grill.

 

[It's Ovah]

That video was excellent, and a perfect example of what I wanted to say. Maidana's one of those fighters who gives you a greater appreciation for certain types of fighters, and broadens your knowledge of what effective boxing can be.

 

[Bogotazo]

He has very good instincts and is very crafty. Khan said he's clever even though he looks unrefined from the perspective of an outsider.

 

[Boogle McDougal]

Exactly, he has great instinct. No one ever had to teach Chino how to fight, that came natural. Garcias taken the animal and given it a new set of claws and an adamantium skeleton. How in the fuck did he do that?


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[It's Ovah]

Exactly, he has great instinct. No one ever had to teach Chino how to fight, that came natural. Garcias taken the animal and given it a new set of claws and an adamantium skeleton. How in the fuck did he do that?

I think rather than try to force him into the mould of an orthodox boxer (which he will never, ever be), he simply took what Maidana already had and improved on it. Better punch set up, better cutting off the ring, improved jab. Small steps, but Marcos just listened and implemented it.

 

[Boogle McDougal]

I think rather than try to force him into the mould of an orthodox boxer (which he will never, ever be), he simply took what Maidana already had and improved on it. Better punch set up, better cutting off the ring, improved jab. Small steps, but Marcos just listened and implemented it.

Absolutely. It's like night and day comparing the Maidana of today with the one from say the Khan fight. He was still a raw talent then, Garcia refined him.

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[Carpe Diem]

He knows how to close in the gap without squaring himself up to get hit on the way in and once he gets in and has his opponents against the ropes, he carries over with all of his weight and just mauls his opponents on the inside with looping overhand punches all over the top of their head and he's ven\ry rugged and harder to push off and create counter-punching space against because he find a way to put his head on your chest and leans over with his strength to maul his opponents until they can tie him up for the ref to break it up.

 

[genaro g]

Great observation. I love how at times, he fought off the backfoot vs Broner and Floyd, jabbing and exploding forward with a 4,5 punch combo. The right clapping shot to the body is money vs the Floyd shell as well. Floyds jab up top, lead right and lead left hook were also not as effective vs El Chino.

 

[~Cellzki~]

Floyd said he was by surprised how good his jab was.

 

[Doc]

Floyd said he was by surprised how good his jab was.

I was surprised myself he was catching mayweather with a lot of jabs.. To the body and head.

The amount of punches he made mayweather miss was also impressive.

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[Sexy Sergio ( L E O N )]

he has great ring instincts and is one of the few guys that actually got educated under their new coach

 

[Sexy Sergio ( L E O N )]

imo the gains Marcos got under his new coach have been dramatic since he didn't have a 'real coach' prior

 

[It's Ovah]

It's rare and refreshing to see a guy visibly improve so much at this stage of his career, when most people are already stuck in their ways. Maidana, in his own crude, slightly ignorant fashion, is one of the few true students of the sport, and I can't wait to see what he brings to the table next. He has all the goods to be an absolute beast, and I just hope all his ringwars don't catch up to him before he shows us the best he's capable of.