Marcos Maidana def. Adrien Broner by unanimous decision 117-109, 115-109, 115-110
What an incredible, entertaining fight this was. Maidana came in ready to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him in Adrien Broner, and he did indeed take full advantage. Maidana was his aggressive, wild self, and it worked wonders for him. Maidana landed heavy shots, heavily outpunching Broner, and dropping him twice en route to a unanimous decision win. Of course, this being Broner, it wasn't without controversy. Broner took a headbutt in the 8th round which he immediately turned into an overblown overreaction in an attempt to get the fight stopped. In the coming days, expect Broner to talk an awful lot about how that headbutt cost him. But don't be fooled - Maidana was the superior boxer from the opening bell, and while Broner had some success in the middle rounds and again in round 12, Broner simply could not deal with Marcos Maidana. It's been a big year for Maidana, and this is the perfect way to cap it off. He has huge, huge things ahead of him now.\
Gifs below of all the fights, courtesy of Zombie Prophet
Keith Thurman def. Jesus Soto Karass by KO round 9 2:21
Great fight here, with Thurman once again showing off his skills. He was the better technical boxer no doubt, but Soto Karass was tough as nails, bringing the fight to Thurman from the very opening seconds. Thurman kept up the volume, moved and countered, and finally put Soto Karas down in the 9th. In the end, it was a superb fight - another must watch fight in a huge year of must watch fights, and another highlight reel showing from Thurman.
Leo Santa Cruz def. Cesar Seda by unanimous decision 115-112, 117-110, 116-111
Good fight here, but then, what else can you expect from Santa Cruz? The rising fighter put on yet another impressive, action-packed performance. Seda was a game opponent, and made it a fight, but never looked to really be close to victory. Another very strong showing from Santa Cruz here.
Beibut Shumenov def. Tamas Kovacs by KO round 3 2:55
The Showtime opener went as expected, with Shumenov having little trouble with the overmatched Kovacs. Kovacs went down a number of times and was finally put down with a nice check jab - right cross combo in the 3rd. Post-fight, things looked to be heading towards Shumenov vs. Bernard Hopkins next.