When Argentinian knockout machine Marcos Maidana was booked to face the notoriously durable and brass-balled Josesito Lopez at The Home Depot Center in Carson City, Calif., on June 8, 2013, many combat sports fans were anticipating a "Fight of the Year" candidate.
And they got what they wanted.
In the main event of Showtime's boxing triple-header last night, the two power-punchers slugged it out like, in the immortal words of Seanbaby, they had just gotten returned having sex with each others' girlfriends. The first three rounds were a razor-close series of muggings, with Lopez shrugging off Maidana's storied power and landing heavy haymakers while the Argentine bruiser connected with savage body blows and his signature right hand over the top.
The momentum lurched rapidly in one direction in the fourth, however, as a series of heavy left hands from Lopez buckled Maidana and forced him back into the ropes. Big body blows forced Maidana to attempt to hold, only to slip. Lopez continued to pour it on for the remainder of the round, shutting down Maidana to such an extent that "El Chino" landed only a single power shot to more than 20 by Lopez.
But, as anyone who has seen his fights with Victor Ortiz and Amir Khan can attest, nothing fires up Maidana like getting hurt.
Lopez continued to have success early in the fifth, but Maidana forcibly yanked the fight back in his favor late, unloading on Lopez with massive body shots and winging hooks against the ropes. Early in the sixth, Lopez left his lead hand a little too low after a jab, opening himself up for a savage cross counter that sent him to a knee. Though he beat the count and fired back, Maidana smelled blood, erupting with enormous right hand shots on Lopez as he covered up in the corner.
The referee soon stepped in to end the punishment, giving Maidana his win No. 34 and knockout No. 30 and potentially setting himself up for a fight with the winner of Paulie Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner later this month.
Both threw as hard as they could, took enormous punishment and wanted nothing more than to knock one each others' block off.
Bravo.
For round-by-round "Maidana vs. Lopez" coverage and quick results of the evening's proceedings, which also included a crazy back-and-forth war between Erislandy Lara and Alfredo Angulo that ended in one of the more gruesome facial injuries in recent memory, click here.