ESPN: Inside Marcos Maidana's upset of Victor Ortiz

by SC on Jul 3, 2009 12:23 PM EDT in Post-Fight Analysis Comment 4 comments

So much has been made of Victor Ortiz's loss and the way it came about that I do think not enough has been made of the fact that Marcos Maidana beat on him until he gave up. ESPN.com ran a fantastic article a couple days ago from the perspective of Maidana's corner. It's a must-read:

The orders were to hit first, then move in to throw harder punches, with the left paving the way for the other punches, always bobbing and weaving. And Maidana complied, but only occasionally. The fight was still a war, much to our despair.

Toward the end of the fourth round, things began to look up. Maidana connected on a trio of right hands and hooks to the body that hurt Ortiz. We could hear the exclamations from the audience ("uhh!") whenever one of those painful shots hit a soft spot.

In the fifth, the bombs from both fighters continued to land. But it was Maidana who delivered the most punishment, connecting on a tremendous right hand that opened a deep cut over Ortiz's right eye.

Continuous chants of "Or-tiz, Or-tiz" exhorted the local fighter, but Ortiz's legs weren't responding. By the end of the round, we realized he was due to hit the canvas again at any moment.

Can't recommend the article enough. Outstanding stuff.

And I still say if you missed Ortiz-Maidana, check for a replay or see if it's on HBO On Demand right now. It was a thrilling war, unsatisfying ending and all.

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Funny how a writer for whom English is a second language

probably has the best flow in his writing out of anyone on the ESPN boxing page.

Good read.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Jul 3, 2009 2:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It's not that uncommon for

writers from other language cultures to write exceptionally well in a second language. For many, the outside perspective on the language is enabling, rather than debilitating as one might assume. You learn to see and hear things about the language that those born into the language culture take for granted.

Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"

by Matt Miller on Jul 3, 2009 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kinda weird

that a journalist was working the corner for a fighter.

I read the piece two days ago, and agree that it’s enthralling, but dude gets a D- for journalistic objectivity.

Surprised he didn’t get a reprimand from ESPN for that, let alone they published a piece about it.

The blogification of journalism.

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on Jul 3, 2009 2:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs