Sometimes boxers need to absorb a hard fist to the face in order to wake up and start executing their game plan. Such seemed to be the case with Fabian Maidana on Saturday night.
Maidana vs Maysonet highlights: July 23, 2016
Maidana plodded his way through the opening round of his eight-round main-event clash with Puerto Rican slugger Jorge Maysonet at Scottish Rite Auditorium in San Antonio, generally taking the worst of it—including a hard right hand that bloodied his nose.
From that point on, though, the younger brother of former two-division champion Marcos Maidana took control and delivered a vintage double-fisted beatdown of Maysonet, who failed to answer the bell for the seventh round.
“With each fight, I want to show fans that I’m Fabian Maidana, not just [Marcos’] little brother,” Maidana said. “I proved that tonight and will do so with more experience. I'm ready to carry the family name in the ring.
“This was only my 10th pro fight. I’m going to keep improving each time. Next fight, I will look even better, no matter when it is.”
Jorge Maysonet (13-2, 11 KOs) pressured Fabian Maidana (10-0, 7 KOs) from the outset, firing with effectiveness to the head and body in the opening three minutes. As the round was nearing its end, he nailed Maidana with a blood-spattering right hand to the nose that sent the undefeated 24-year-old native of Argentina into the ropes.
Sensing urgency as blood streamed down his chest to start the second round, Maidana stormed back, rocking Maysonet with a right hand-left hook combination near the end of the stanza, during which he outlanded Maysonet 12-4 in power shots.
“I just kept calm, listened to my corner and stuck to the game plan,” Maidana said of his opponent’s first-round attack. “I knew I was the stronger fighter; I just had to remain patient.”
As the third round began, Maidana was on his toes and using versatility to befuddle Maysonet, who was stymied by head movement, stick-and-move tactics and a varied assortment of punches coming at him.
Maidana easily won the second and third rounds, then turned the fight completely in his favor in Round 4 by delivering an evenly distributed, double-fisted assault of his 26-year-old opponent over the final 20 seconds of the frame.
With his older brother sitting ringside, Maidana was even more dominant in the one-sided fifth and sixth, doubling up on his hooks, firing straight rights and landing head-snapping shots. All the abuse took its toll on Maysonet, who offered little in return following his opening-round attack.
Acting on the advice of Maysonet’s corner, referee Rafael Ramos halted the fight before the start of Round 7.
“I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to knock him out, but I sensed that he would eventually quit,” Maidana said. “He stopped throwing punches and didn't want to fight back.”
In earning his 10th victory—and seventh stoppage—in as many pro fights, Maidana also gave his family its second big win in San Antonio. In December 2013 at the Alamodome—just a five-minute drive from the Scottish Rite Auditorium—Marcos Maidana scored a two-knockdown, unanimous decision win that dethroned then 147-pound champion Adrien Broner.
It was arguably the biggest win of the elder Maidana’s career, although he seemed to take just as much pride in witnessing his sibling’s triumph Saturday night.
“I'm so proud of Fabian,” Marcos Maidana said. “One thing he does well that I never really had, he was patient—especially when he got his nose busted. I would've went straight after the guy and probably lost more rounds, but Fabian kept a cool head and then eventually exploded once he had him trapped.”
Said Fabian Maidana: “It means everything to have ‘Chino’ [Marcos Maidana] by my side, supporting my career. It meant a lot to get this win on U.S. TV in the same city where he beat Adrien Broner and became a star.”
In other televised action, 19-year-old Brandon Figueroa (9-0, 7 KOs)—the younger brother of former 135-pound champion Omar Figueroa Jr.—scored a pair of final-round knockdowns on the way to a third-round TKO of 24-year-old Adalberto Zorrilla (7-2, 7 KOs). It was Figueroa’s fifth-straight stoppage victory. Also, Alan Castano (11-0, 7 KOs) dominated 22-year-old Aaron Garcia (15-6-1, 10 KOs) in earning a lopsided unanimous decision (78-74 three times) in a 160-pound showdown.
For full coverage of Maidana vs Maysonet, hit up our fight page.
Fabian Maidana blasts Jorge Mayonet with an uppercut during their fight on Saturday. Maidana earned a seventh-round stoppage win to move to 10-0 (7 KOs) in his career. (Ryan Greene/Premier Boxing Champions)
