ESPN: Inside Marcos Maidana's upset of Victor Ortiz

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.