Mayweather vs Maidana results: J'Leon Love gets off the canvas, dominates Periban over second half

J'Leon Love put in an impressive performance tonight in the opening bout of the Mayweather-Maidana pay-per-view, coming off the canvas to dominate the second half of his fight with Marco Antonio Periban, winning by unanimous decision on scores of 95-93, 96-93, and 97-92. BLH had it 97-92 for Love.

Love (18-0, 10 KO) started well in the first two rounds, picking the plodding Periban (20-2-1, 13 KO) apart with his jab and movement, which would be a recurring theme of the fight. In the third round, Periban did apply some nice pressure, and in the fifth he knocked Love down after a huge barrage, which then moved into always-awful referee Jay Nady shoving Periban to the canvas trying to get him away. On the one hand, Periban was continuing to throw well after Love had gone down to a knee, so Nady had to do something, but, you know, Nady.

Anyway, from there on, it was all J'Leon Love. After he survived the fifth round, he took over the fight and put in a dominant performance, slicing Periban up with his jab, making Periban chase ineffectively, and popping up in the left eye enough that Periban told his corner that blood was inhibiting his vision.

It also appeared as though Periban's fifth round flurries were about all he had, as he shot the proverbial load in that round, couldn't put Love away, and from there on was ripe for the picking.

Our live coverage continues here, with Adrien Broner returning against Carlos Molina next.