LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Marcos Maidana stopped Victor Ortiz early in the sixth round of an action-packed fight Saturday night, using a punishing right hand to upset one of boxing's top prospects.
Maidana (26-1, 25 KOs), a 140-pound Argentine who fights mostly in Germany, was knocked down three times in the opening two rounds of his first fight in this country. Yet Maidana also flattened Ortiz in the first round, and he steadily landed punches until Ortiz finally was forced to stop, his face badly cut and terribly swollen.
"I went down, but I got up because I have a big heart," Maidana said. "I saw that Victor felt my punches, and I said, 'I know I can win this."
Victor Ortiz's mother abandoned him at the age of 7. Five years later, his father left, too. So, it's surprising to hear the 22-year-old light welterweight boxing star say that his life is still "hell."
"When you're champion, everyone wants to take it from you," Ortiz told FanHouse recently." So, you have to put yourself physically and mentally through hell to keep what you have already."
Wladimir Klitschko and Ruslan Chagaev have agreed to fight on June 20 in Germany, and I suppose that's the best possible outcome after David Haye dropped out of the fight. But HBO has decided to pass on televising Klitschko vs. Chagaev, and that means that with just 12 days to go, we have no idea which American TV channel -- if any -- will be showing the fight.
The June 20 heavyweight title fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye has been canceled, with Haye saying he won't be able to box because of an injury. Klitschko, however, says he still intends to show up and fight someone on June 20 at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where around 50,000 tickets have already been sold.
Manny Pacquiao, the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, said Wednesday that he's prepared to accept a challenge from Shane Mosley to be his next opponent -- provided the two can work out details of a contract.
On HBO's Boxing After Dark, James Kirkland showed exactly why he's considered one of the most exciting young fighters today. In an anticipated San Jose showdown with 24-year-old Joel Julio, the middleweight brought the hammer down right from the start, and opened up a cut over Julio's right eye that would ultimately be one of the deciding factors.
Following the fifth round, referee Raul Caiz Jr. approached Julio and appeared to ask him if he wanted to continue on. But Julio, who had been battered by Kirkland's hooks and relentless pressure, didn't have much fight left in him. It went down as a sixth-round TKO for Kirkland, his fifth straight knockout victory.
Kirkland stayed unbeaten with a record of 25-0 (22 KO), while Julio fell to 34-3.
What's next for the rising star? Kirkland wouldn't offer much, saying "Let my team decide who I want next ... I just want to stay in shape and get prepared and basically fight anyone in this weight class."
In other action, Victor Ortiz stopped Mike Arnaoutis midway through the second round of their 140-pound bout. Hometown favorite Robert Guerrero's fight with Daud Yordan was declared a no-decision when an accidental headbutt opened a serious cut over Guerrero's right eye.
Boxing has a hard time attracting new fans for many reasons. Two of the biggest are that no one can keep the weight classes straight and no one can keep the champions straight. Below is my attempt to fix that, listing the legitimate champions in each of the eight traditional weight classes.
If there is a lesson to learn from the life of Juan Diaz, the former unified lightweight champion of the world, current college senior and boxer with a motor so powerful NASCAR would stick a restrictor plate on it, it is simply this.
In an amount of time smaller than any second could be split, and faster than even he can bob, weave and hurl a counterpunch, Juan Manuel Marquez leaps to an answer with enough enthusiasm you'd be forgiven for thinking someone had just asked a kid to the prom.
Vic Darchinyan showed again that he's the best 115-pound boxer in the world Saturday night, pounding Jorge Arce for 11 rounds before the doctor mercifully brought the fight to a close prior to the 12th.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Marcos Maidana stopped Victor Ortiz early in the sixth round of an action-packed fight Saturday night, using a punishing right hand to upset one of boxing's top prospects.
On HBO's Boxing After Dark, 
If there is a lesson to learn from the life of 
In an amount of time smaller than any second could be split, and faster than even he can bob, weave and hurl a counterpunch, 
Vic Darchinyan
