A little over one year ago Marcos “El Chino” Maidana struggled to make 140 pounds. He was a one dimensional fighter who knew just how to come forward and throw heavy punches. He lacked technical skill and hardly ever threw a jab in any of his fights. Since joining Robert Garcia in Oxnard, California we are seeing a different Maidana. Yes, in his debut at 147 pounds he lost a lopsided decision to Devon Alexander but that fight was more of a wakeup call for the Argentinean slugger from Margarita, Santa Fe.
In Maidana’s last fight against Josesito Lopez, Maidana showcased those skills when he was able to throw fast punches, something he was not able to do at 140 pounds and actually put them into combinations; Powerful combinations. Even though he did not stick to boxing the entire fight, one could see that the skill level has improved and with time he will only get better.
Robert Garcia at times faces criticism for his fighters being more brawlers than boxers because of Garcia’s training methods. Some are even quick to say that Donaire already had the skill and that Garcia has not added any boxing skill to Donaire’s arsenal. When you look at what Garcia has done with Maidana, all that talk goes out the window because he started with nothing, just hard punches and built that skill proving two things, that he is a good fit for Maidana and that he could teach brawlers how to box and do it effectively. If you don’t believe me then just look at Brandon Rios closely whose boxing skills are overshadowed by his popular brawling style.
