By Rick Reeno
Marcos Maidana (31-3, 28KOs) admits he was having flashbacks on Saturday night, as he watched Josesito Lopez come from behind to stop heavy favorite Victor Ortiz in nine rounds at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Maidana was sitting ringside with his new trainer Robert Garcia.
Back in 2009, at the same venue, Maidana went to war with Ortiz and after five combined knockdowns between the two of them, Ortiz was not willing to continue after being hurt in the sixth round.
Lopez, moving up from 140 to face the bigger and stronger man, broke Ortiz's jaw in the ninth. Ortiz complained that he wasn't able to fully close his mouth and made a decision to call it a day before the tenth.
"Of course it brought back memories. I saw the same Victor that was beat mentally [in 2009] and it did bring me memories," said a smiling Maidana to BoxingScene.com. "I think once he starts getting hit, his mind changes. It seems like he doesn't like to be hit."
Maidana is currently training for an HBO televised co-featured battle on July 21st against unbeaten welterweight Keith Thurman (17-0, 16KOs).
Like his fighter, Garcia says Ortiz is not mentally strong, but he still expected him to beat Lopez.
"Like my homey next to me said 'in this sport you need balls.' I was surprised because I thought Victor was going to win, definitely," Garcia said. "He's the bigger guy, the stronger guy. When he starts running away [from Lopez] that already shows weakness. And from really close sources, and I don't really know if the TV showed it, he said [in his corner] 'I can't go on, stop the fight, my jaw is broken,' - that's what I was told. "
