ANDREAS KOTELNIK W12 (split) MARCOS MAIDANA

Marcos Maidana gave it a very good try against the more seasoned Andreas Kotelnik but came up just short of pulling off the upset, losing a very tight, split decision in the 140-pound title fight in Germany.

The fight could hardly have been much closer: 115-113 for each man with the deciding score a knife-edge-narrow 115-114 in Kotelnik’s favour.

Kotelnik looked relieved to get the decision; Maidana had a look of disbelief but took the loss with good grace.

The TV coverage in North America (PPV on American cable systems while TSN in Canada carried the show free of charge to its subscribers) started with round two almost over, which was a real disappointment for those of us who like to score a fight round by round. I had Maidana winning five of the 10 rounds shown in their entirety and thought he was well-placed to get at least a draw, especially as the veteran commentator Bob Sheridan (reporting from a TV studio in the States) had the Argentinean narrowly winning the first two rounds that were unseen by North American viewers. It was not to be, but Maidana pushed Kotelnik to the limit.

Maidana did not look quite the puncher that his record suggested but he was very busy, letting the combinations fly, and he rocked Kotelnik in the ninth and had him under heavy pressure in the last round.

Kotelnik showed his greater experience, covering up to block a lot of Maidana’s punches and coming back with sharp, accurate jabs, hooks and right hands.

It all came down to whether the judges liked the greater punch-volume of Maidana — even though many punches were landing on arms and gloves — or the greater accuracy of the Ukrainian defending champion. A close decision either way seemed in order although without having seen rounds one and two I cannot offer a solid opinion.

Kotelnik certainly looked the worse for wear, with his nose bloodied and some swelling under the right eye, but he was resolute in the face of the sort of punching that had stopped 24 of Maidana’s previous 25 opponents.

Maidana tended to drop his hands after unloading his punches, perhaps because this helps him to stay relaxed, but while he could get away with this against a lower level of opponent he couldn't do so against Kotelnik, who made the challenger pay for his careless moments.

Kotelnik’s experience of being in long, hard 12-rounders helped him. He had been there before. Maidana, who had never been past the eighth round, seemed to be trying to pace himself every so often, as if gathering himself for another charge. When Maidana was keeping on top of Kotelnik and pouring punches at him he was doing well, but when the Argentinean stood back he got punished.

I thought that if Maidana had jabbed more he would have won, if only because it would have given Kotelnik something else to think about. Maidana has a stiff jab, but he spent most of the fight throwing combinations, and Kotelnik knew what was coming and was able to tuck up behind his high guard, ride out the storms and come back with his crisp, sharp punches — the sort of punches that impress judges.

Kotelnik has not had the best of luck in the past when fights went to the scorecards. He felt hard done by when having to settle for a draw against Souleymane M'baye and also when he suffered a narrow defeat against Junior Witter. This time, a close fight went Kotelnik's way. Sometimes in boxing as well as life, what goes around, comes around.