Marcos Maidana vs. Erik Morales PPV: Maidana Edges Morales, Kirkland Upset

From the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, action fighter Marcos Rene Maidana (29-2, 27 KO) will be taking on Mexican legend Erik Morales (51-6, 35 KO) in the main event. The 12-round welterweight bout will be for the interim WBA light welterweight title.

Opening bout: Paulie Malignaggi (29-4, 6 KO) def. Jose Miguel Cotto (32-3-1, 24 KO) by unanimous decision.

Round 1: Cotto lands a solid left hand early that makes the slick counter-puncher from New York snap into action. Lots of movement by Malingaggi, as expected, but he did take some clean shots. He landed good body shots and jabs of his own. Close round. 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 2: Another left hand lands early for Cotto. Malignaggi’s lack of power is becoming a factor. Cotto is stalking him down but missing wild shots. Five-punch combination lands for Malignaggi. Cotto lands a left hook and Malignaggi returns with a 10-punch combination. 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 3: Short break early in the round after Maliginaggi’s shoe falls off. Left hook lands for Cotto as they start back up. Cotto is showing good head movement in this round. Malignaggi throws another combination with half connecting. Cotto lands a body shot to end the round. 10-9 Cotto

Round 4: Malignaggi throws a combination to the body. Fighters trade double and triple jabs a minute into the round. Malignaggi shows off speed and lands another combination with no return from Cotto. Hard jab lands for Cotto. Malignaggi throws three jabs that land. Good round for Malignaggi 10-9

Round 5: Malignaggi opens up with a 10-punch combination. Cotto tries to land a left hook but misses. Cotto lands a hard jab as he goes inside. Accidental headbutt opens up cut on Malignaggi’s left eye. 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 6: 30 seconds in and Cotto hasn’t thrown anything. Malignaggi is doing circles on him and landing stiff jabs constantly. Left hook lands for Malignaggi. A cut opens up on Malignaggi’s right eye now, and Cotto pushes forward. 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 7: Malignaggi is in constant motion and showcasing his speed, movement and jab. Cotto can’t get inside to do anything and is looking for wide shots from the outside. Right hand lands for Cotto. Malignaggi lands a right hand of his own and a left hook. 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 8: Left hook lands for Cotto as he pushes Malignaggi against the ropes. Cotto doing some nice work this round as Malignaggi slows down. Better round for Cotto. 10-9 Cotto

Round 9: Good pressure by Cotto early in the round. Malignaggi still out-landing Cotto with jabs but taking a few power shots. Both fighters trade jabs in the last minute. Left hook lands for Cotto and Malignaggi throws a combination. Malignaggi showboats as Cotto sits against the ropes. 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 10: Final round, and it starts off well for Malignaggi as Cotto pushes forward. Half the round left, and Cotto hasn’t done anything yet. Malignaggi is relentless with the jab as the final minute counts down. 10-9 Malignaggi

TOTAL: 98-92 Malignaggi

Judges score it 99-91, 99-91 and 97-93 for Paulie Malignaggi.

Undercard bout: Nobuhiro Ishida (23-6-2, 8 KO) def. James Kirkland (27-1, 24 KO) by KO in Round 1. Kirkland loses for first time in his career.

Round 1: Ishida looking calm early as Kirkland presses forward. A short left hook drops Kirkland 30 seconds into the round! Kirkland gets up right away and shakes it off. Ishida connects on follow up punches that rocks Kirkland. Kirkland goes down again from a right hand! Ishida is all over Kirkland. Kirkland gets dropped again by a right hand, left hook combination, and he is knocked out! Major upset!

Co-Main Event: Robert Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 KO) def. Michael Katsidis (27-4, 22 KO) via unanimous decision.

Round 1: Katsidis shouts: “What are you looking at?” to Guerrero during staredown. Guerrero comes forward as round begins, and Katsidis is on the move surprisingly. Guerrero lands consecutive uppercuts as Katsidis clinches. Right hand lands for Guerrero. Katsidis throws a quick combination. Uppercut and three left hands land for Guerrero. Right hook rocks Katsidis late in the round. 10-9 Guerrero

Round 2: Guerrero using the jab effectively as Katsidis waits to throw. He finally lets go 45 seconds into the round. Nothing really being thrown by Katsidis. Left hook drops Guerrero, but referee doesn’t count it and both fighters continue to fight. That was a clear knockdown. Both fighters firing away. That one shot should win him the round, but it won’t be a two-point round. 10-9 Katsidis

Round 3: Guerrero using his boxing to keep Katsidis at bay early in the round. Katsidis is waiting to land one punch. Guerrero throws two body shots and Guerrero answers with body shots of his own. Hard left hand snaps Katsidis’ head back. Guerrero lands a combination to end the round. Katsidis didn’t throw more than 10 punches that round. 10-9 Guerrero

Round 4: Guerrero continues to use his jab through the first minute. Short left hands follow them occasionally. Katsidis really needs to open up. He isn’t throwing anything. Left hand lands for Guerrero. Katsidis lands a left hand to the body and head of Guerrero. Left hand lands for Katsidis. 10-9 Guerrero

Round 5: Guerrero out-boxing and out-maneuvering the gritty Australian. Katsidis just can’t get inside, and Guerrero is nonstop with his attack. Katsidis gets rocked with a left hand and is all over Katsidis. Uppercut lands for Guerrero as Katsidis punches back. Five-punch power shot combination lands for Guerrero. Great round for Guerrero. 10-8 Guerrero

Round 6: Guerrero is backing Katsidis up this round. He is building on the momentum he gained in the fifth after a dominant round. Katsidis opens up more but to no effect. Guerrero wins the round with his jab and defense. 10-9 Guerrero

Round 7: Katsidis comes out and throws three combinations. Guerrero avoids the attack and goes back to his jab and left hand. Katsidis doing some better work this round with pressure and right hands, but Guerrero is throwing more and a lot more accurate. Right hand lands for Guerrero. 10-9 Guerrero

Round 8: Katsidis gets a point deducted for a low blow; first one of the bout. Katsidis is throwing body shots and referee calls a halt to the bout again for low blows. Referee deducts another point, which I completely disagree with. Guerrero looked hurt by those body shots. Katsidis’ body shots are doing damage late, and Guerrero sits on ropes and takes them. Uppercut lands for Guerrero that rocks Katsidis. Great back-and-forth action in the round. May have turned out differently if it wasn’t for referee halting the action. 10-7 Guerrero

Round 9: Uppercuts land for Guerrero. Katsidis is getting hit a lot more this round and seems to be fading slightly. Guerrero loses a point now for low blows. This referee is crazy. Guerrero used his jab to control most of the round. 9-9 Guerrero

Round 10: Late surge by Katsidis, but Guerrero has kept the same pace throughout and it’s paying off. Katsidis using a lot of head movement to get Guerrero to open up. Katsidis lands a few shots with a minute left. Katsidis shoves Guerrero to the ropes and referee gives him a warning. Guerrero was more accurate, but Katsidis had some good moments. 10-9 Katsidis

Round 11: Katsidis lands a left hand to open up the round. Guerrero is circling, jabbing and landing accurate this round. Katsidis has his moments, but they are far and few between what Guerrero is doing. Guerrero lands a left hand that snaps Katsidis’ head back once again. Great round for Guerrero. 10-9 Guerrero

Round 12: Guerrero’s left hand and jab is the story of this fight. This is the best he has looked in his career. Katsidis throws wide and misses. Guerrero is opening up and landing consecutive power shots and jabs. He is dominating the action this round. Katsidis keeps pressing forward but not landing. He finally lands a right hand with a minute to go. Thirty seconds to go, and both fighters fight till the bell. 10-9 Guerrero

TOTAL: 117-107 Guerrero

Judges score 117-108, 118-106 and 118-107 all for Robert Guerrero.

Main Event: Marcos Maidana (30-2, 27 KO) def.  Erik Morales (51-7, 35 KO) by Majority Decision.

Round 1: Maidana comes out and throws looping shots early. Morales moving and avoiding the shots nicely. Maidana goes to the body of Morales and lands a right hand. Maidana is throwing a lot, and Morales finally answers. Maidana lands two uppercuts and more body shots. Morales moves back against ropes. Morales right eye is swelling badly. 10-9 Maidana

Round 2: Both fighters engage in the first 30 seconds with Maidana landing the cleaner and effective blows. Morales fires off a combination of his own. Morales doing some good work this round and showing speed. Maidana lands a combination on Morales against the ropes. Brutal shots by Maidana. Morales fires back and backs Maidana up. Back-and-forth action as Maidana gets Morales on the ropes and lands body shots. 10-9 Maidana

Round 3: Morales’ right eye is completely swollen shut. Maidana gets him against ropes and throws power shots. Maidana hasn’t thrown many, if not any, jabs in this fight. Morales trying to use his jab but can’t keep Maidana off him. Morales lands a right hand. Maidana lands four uppercuts to body and head of Morales. 10-9 Maidana

Round 4: Left hand lands for Morales. Morales fights off ropes and covers up to avoid Maidana’s uppercuts. Maidana lands a right hand and clinches against ropes. Maidana rams his head into Morales’ swollen eye and gets a warning for it. Low blow by Maidana. Morales is doing good work, but Maidana’s work rate is steady. 10-9 Morales

Round 5: Maidana is all over Morales early but Morales returns and rocks Maidana! Morales showing that fighting spirit fans love him for. He is firing back whenever he gets hit. Maidana showing heart and firing back as Morales attacks. Maidana gets warning for punching on break. 30 seconds to go, and Morales is relentless. Maidana is hurt, and the round ends. Great round for Morales. 10-9 Morales

Round 6: Both fighters falling into repeated clinches to start round. Morales tries to reestablish his jab as Maidana moves forward. Maidana is doing a lot of inside work this round and having a better round than the last one. Maidana’s pressure is impressive. Both fighters exchange big punches to end the round. 10-9 Maidana

Round 7: Half the round to go, and Morales has been out-boxing Maidana for the beginning part of the round. Maidana is only throwing power shots, and Morales lands a left hook. Morales backs Maidana up and gets hit with a combination. Maidana throws a flurry on Morales against the ropes. Morales returns with his own shots to end the round. 10-9 Morales

Round 8: Brutal left hook lands for Morales and Maidana is on wobbly legs to start the round. Maidana recovers and Morales comes forward and lands an uppercut. Maidana still looks hurt as Morales lands another left hand. Two uppercuts land for Morales. Maidana throws two-punch combinations but gets countered. Maidana lands a few shots in last 10 seconds. 10-9 Morales

Round 9: Maidana is all over Morales early and throws nonstop for 30 seconds. Morales recovers but eats more shots. Morales returns with his own punches and backs Maidana up! Two jabs land for Morales. Right hand lands for Morales.  Combination lands for Morales. Maidana goes against ropes and appears hurt but still throwing back. Maidana misses with right hand. 30 seconds to go and both fighters are punching away. Close round. 10-9 Morales

Round 10: Short left hand lands for Maidana. Morales is blocking the other shots effectively. Right hand lands for Morales. Morales gets Maidana on ropes and lands more power shots. Maidana looks tired and isn’t throwing near as much as he was in the last couple rounds. Morales lands an uppercut and a jab to the body. Hooks to the body by Morales and Maidana takes two deep breaths. Maidana lands a right to end the round. 10-9 Morales

Round 11: Morales is working the jab early. Maidana lands a good body shot and backs Morales up. Left hook lands for Maidana. Maidana takes a deep breath and waves Morales in. Morales takes last half of round off. 10-9 Maidana

Round 12: Maidana is looking for one big shot early in this round. Morales gets hit and falls against ropes as Maidana swings wildly. Morales begins to open up, and Maidana is slowing down. Stiff jabs lands for Morales. Right hand lands for Morales. Maidana is landing solid shots on the inside. One big flurry could win the fight for either fighter in the final minute. Maidana pressures Morales, who has been fighting with a closed eye since the first round. Maidana ends round strong. 10-9 Maidana

TOTAL: 114-114 Draw

Official Decision: Judges score it 114-114, 116-112 and 116-112 for Marcos Maidana

Preliminary results:

Danny Garcia (21-0) def. Nate Campbell (33-7-1) via unanimous decision.

Mikael Zewski (9-0) def. Clint Coronel (4-1-2) via split decision.