Mario Barrios isn’t great but he’s good enough.
The welterweight contender took down and defeated the defensive-minded Fabian Maidana by unanimous decision in a 12-round bout on the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia card on Saturday in Las Vegas.
All three official judges had the same score, 116-111, eight rounds to four.
Both fighters were not particularly active. Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) stalked Maidana (22-3, 16 KOs) for most of the fight but his feet were busier than his hands as he mostly threw single punches.
The winner also fought with a swollen right eye late in the fight, which didn’t help his cause.
Meanwhile, Maidana, Marcos Maidana’s brother, only fights with acceleration. He spent most of his time in survival mode instead of taking the risks necessary to win the biggest fight of his career, which made it difficult for Barrios to look good.
The most dramatic moment came in Round 3, when Barrios landed a weak jab and then a perfect right that sent Maidana to the canvas.
The 31-year-old Argentine player was not seriously injured but quickly got up and continued to fight. However, that experience may have contributed to his reluctance to mix it up.
The result is a boring fight.
Barrios has won three straight since losing back-to-back losses to Keith Thurman (UD) and Gervonta Davis (TKO 8). He had a strong performance in September, easily outpointing former champion Yordenis Ugas.
Barrios is defending his “interim” WBC title.
