Interim WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios came out on top on May 4, when he faced Fabian Andres Maidana at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The pair squared off in the co-feature on the PPV card topped by Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia.
The scheduled for 12 rounds contest went the full distance. The native of San Antonio, Texas secured the win by decision dropping the Argentinian contender with a big right hand in the third round along the way. All three scores were 116-111.
With the victory, former WBC super lightweight champion Mario Barrios improved to 29-2, 18 KOs. The 28-year-old made the first successful defense of his interim strap and earned the third win in a row.
“Maidana fought hard for 12 rounds like I expected,” said Barrios. “Once my eye started swelling up it was hard to find my range, but we stuck to the fundamentals, tried to find openings and came out with the victory.”
“I want all the smoke at welterweight and I’m ready to fight the best. I’m chasing belts. Viva Mexico!”
Fabian Andres Maidana didn’t succeed in his first attempt to become champion. The 31-year-old dropped to 22-3, 16 KOs and got his four-fight winning streak.
“I felt like this loss happened because of a lack of training time,” said Maidana. “No excuses though. I’m going to come back stronger and bring a world championship back to Argentina.”
Get Canelo vs Munguia full fight card results.