INTRODUCTION 🥊

This is my breakdown of the techniques used in this epic 12-round clash between Floyd & Maidana! As you can see Maidana got so frustrated in this fight he tackled Floyd but nonetheless, this was a classic fight. If you find my breakdowns insightful feel free to check out others on the site!

With that said let's get into the fight!

ROUND 1:

Maidana fakes like he's trying to throw a body shot then catches Floyd with a heavy overhand. ;

Floyd throws a nice left hook followed by a right uppercut but Maidana's discipline saves him as he brings back his left hand right before Floyd's right uppercut could land.

1st Round Winner: I give the 1st to Maidana as he landed more punches & was the much more active fighter. 10-9 Maidana

ROUND 2:

;

Floyd is great at giving a deception of distance by leaning forward and you can see him rock back when he believes Maidana is going to punch and that's when he usually counters with a straight shot. It's a tactic he heavily uses in his fights.

;

Floyd lands a perfectly timed left hook as soon as Maidana throws a right body shot. Very high-level boxing is shown here for Floyd to read Maidana’s punch so quick and hit with that left hook.

;

Maidana is attacking Floyd's body relentlessly and then follows with a right hand to the head.

;

Maidana throws a strong body shot with his left hand. Notice how he brings his back foot forward as he's throwing that right body shot for more power. Only thing is, Floyd's "Philly Shell" defense is very effective at blocking body shots which is exactly what happened.

2nd Round Winner: I'm slightly giving the 2nd round to Maidana due to the volume of body punches he landed on Floyd in bunches. 10-9 Maidana

ROUND 3:

;

Floyd is taking advantage of the fact Maidana is slightly leaving his left face exposed and with Floyd's accuracy & timing it's something he'll land throughout the fight until Maidana makes an adjustment.

;

Floyd lands a nice left hook & right uppercut. You can tell Floyd was waiting for Maidana to throw that right hook which left Maidana exposed to Floyd's left hook to the face.

;

Maidana with a real nice combo finishing it with the uppercut which is very effective from a close distance.

;

Floyd is great at leaning back on the rope to make fighters miss. He didn't follow it up with a punch but when he does he usually lands it when on the rope.

;

I'm noticing a trend where Floyd uses a fake jab to the head then follows with a left jab to the body. Ends the combo with a right overhand. Excellent combo.

;

When Floyd leans forward he usually throws a jab to the body which is what Maidana expected. But instead, Floyd threw a straight right to Maidana's head which is what makes Floyd so great. Very unpredictable with many tactics up his sleeve.

3rd Round Winner: With the number of combos Floyd landed this round he easily won this round as Maidana wasn't effective at landing shots. 10-9 Floyd

ROUND 4:

Most boxing coaches will usually tell a fighter to never stand with their feet parallel. Interesting Floyd's been doing this to be elusive & get away from Maidana when he's pressuring him. Wouldn't recommend leaving your hands down like Floyd when doing this but he can get away with it. (3 times he did it in the same round below)

; ; ;

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

;

Very well-placed shot to the body by Floyd.

;

Floyd with a nice uppercut and Maidana lands a good right hook.

4th ROUND WINNER: Floyd ended up getting cut here by a headbutt. Overall Maidana landed more shots and you could tell Floyd was bothered by the cut. 10-9 Maidana

ROUND 5:

;

Floyd with his go-to pull back straight right.

;

Such high boxing IQ from Floyd here. Realizes halfway through his pullback jab that Maidana is ready for it so he stops and steps back. Though nobody landed any punches this is the mastery of defense on full display.

;

Maidana throws a left jab, leans his body down to the left side, and then finishes with an overhand right. Great deception

5th Round Winner: To me, Maidana won that round at the last minute. Floyd's going to have to start fighting more aggressively to win this fight. 10-9 Maidana

ROUND 6:

;

Maidana consistently lands these body shots when it’s close distance. Good at changing the levels of his punches as well.

;

Floyd with the well-timed right uppercut. Maidana seemed to be in slow motion with his overhand due to indecision.

;

Maidana doesn't bring back his left hand immediately after landing his left jab & he pays the price with Floyd countering.

;

Floyd lands a nice left hook then right overhand

6th Round Winner: Floyd won that round in the last 10 secs. 10-9 Floyd

ROUND 7:

;

Floyds pull back once again. Amazing how well-timed he can consistently do this & rarely get hit.

;

Floyd notices Maidana drop his right hand when fainting so the next time Maidana tries to do the same thing seconds later Floyd capitalizes with a left hook.

;

Nice combos by Floyd then slides out of range with his right hand. Great footwork & timing.

;

Very nice slip followed by 3 body shots for Maidana.

7th Round Winner: Floyd easily won this round with the volume of combos and his elusiveness. 10-9

ROUND 8:

;

Maidana has pure heart & grit throwing these power punches after looking like he was slowing down in the fight.

;

Every once in a while when Floyd leans forward instead of throwing that left jab or straight right, he'll throw a left hook and it catches Maidana off guard.

;

A consistent theme in this fight is Floyd being able to catch Maidana with a left hook after Maidana throws his right hand.

8th Round Winner: Maidana had a couple second spurt where he got the best of Floyd but Floyd won that round. 10-9 Floyd

ROUND 9:

;

Real sharp 2 by Floyd.

;

Maidana throws a powerful left hook but Floyd barely gets out of the way.

;

Maidana is a step slow after he slips Floyds left hook as he let his face exposed and Floyd made him pay again.

;

Floyd lands a nice 2 then a right hook to the body.

9th Round Winner: Floyd easily won this round. Maidana is starting to fatigue and isn't being defensively responsible in certain spots. Floyd 10-9

ROUND 10:

;

I had to rewatch this at .25 speed to see how Floyd caught Maidana with a left hook even when he had his hands up. Floyd throws a short fake left jab, followed by moving his right hand wide like he was going to throw a punch & that's what left Maidana open for Floyd to hit him with that left hook. Real high-level boxing here right.

;

It was at this moment you could tell Maidana was frustrated by Floyd hitting a couple of combos then moving away from danger.

;

You've seen this before. Floyd's signature

10th round winner: Floyd clearly won this round. Couldn't do anything wrong. 10-9 Floyd

ROUND 11:

;

Maidana started pressuring Floyd a lot more in the final minute of this round. This was a nice right overhand that caught Floyd which was the first setup from Maidana's left hook to the body.

;

Maidana looks like a pissed-off linebacker here lmao If you can't beat em, tackle em!

;

These last 2 shots by Floyd won him the round in my eyes as it was pretty close.

11th Round Winner: Floyd 10-9

ROUND 12:

;

Floyd sees an opening on the left face of Maidana so he capitalizes off it by going with a left then right hook.

;

Great exchange from both fighters.

;

Maidana's leaving it all on the line with some nice combos.

12th Round Winner: Gotta give the last round to Maidana as he landed a lot more power punches. 10-9 Maidana

MY DECISION (WINNER):

;

I have Floyd winning the match by 2 rounds. Maidana started off real good landing many punches and being the more aggressive fighter but as the rounds went by Floyd showed he had much more technical skill than Maidana. Overall a great fight!

Thanks for reading my full 12-round breakdown of the fight. I hope you found it insightful! Will continue to do these boxing breakdowns as I’m a big fan of the techniques fighters use to compete at an elite level. Appreciate all the support so far!