The Scorecard Treatment: Chopped Down - Was DeMarcus Corley Robbed in Argentina?

Corey Erdman gives the scorecard treatment to this past Saturday's 140lb clash between Marcos Maidana and DeMarcus Corley.

There's nothing more common these days than claims of robbery in bouts that wind up in the judges' hands. One would think that we lived in the newspaper decision era, or in the time of mafia control with the amount of supposedly "suspect" verdicts handed out on a weekly basis.

To provide some clarity, let's go through this past weekend's WBA light welterweight title bout between Marcos Maidana and DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley from Argentina. Many believe that Corley may have been robbed, but was the fight one-sided enough to deserve that label?

Here you will find a round by round breakdown of the bout, as well as video links (at the bottom), so you can decide for yourself.

Round 1

Chop Chop wasn't lying in pre-fight interviews when he said he was going to go right after Maidana. Corley sets the pace early, landing a pair of nice left hands. He keeps Maidana honest by establishing a right hook off his jab as well, knowing lazy jabs result in concussions against the Argentine slugger.

10-9 Corley

Round 2

Maidana landed the biggest shot of the round without question, but wasn't able to follow it up. After tagging Corley with a huge right hand, he was quickly tied up, and then backed up again after the referee broke the clinch, preventing him from jumping on his opponent.

For the remainder of the round however, Chop Chop again controlled the pace and even ventured into the 'danger zone,' outlanding Maidana on the inside.

Maidana can't be given a round based on one punch, but overcoming four referee warnings for continuous blatant fouls (hitting behind the head) is a victory in and of itself.

10-9 Corley

Round 3

Maidana seems to be much more comfortable, and bends down a bit in his stance, putting a bit more pop into his punches. It still doesn't look pretty, but he's the aggressor for the first time in the fight, and outthrows and outlands Corley handily.

Maidana is cut by an accidental headbutt as Corley slips a punch near the end of the round. He then pushes Chop Chop after the bell, and Corley swats the referee's hand away as he walks to his corner, perhaps realizing that one cannot possibly be docked a point by referee Julio Alvarado.

10-9 Maidana

Round 4

Just an ugly round of boxing. Maidana throws a straight left to Corley's head while he's hanging over the ropes with his back turned. Chop Chop responds by putting Maidana in a side headlock and throwing a punch, a la Nolan Ryan on Robin Ventura.

As for legal punching, Corley got the better of Maidana once again, landing three solid right crosses over top of lazy jabs.

10-9 Corley

Round 5

Corley's defensive efforts continue to be a swing factor in close rounds, as he slips underneath the majority of power shots Maidana is attemping. Maidana, on the other hand, is hit with a few straight lefts that were more range-finders than anything, as he could not be bothered to move his head.

10-9 Corley

Round 6

Maidana is taking baby steps, after abandoning his statuesque stance in favor of a little crouch for more leverage, he is now moving his upper body and ducking most of Corley's wild lefts. Moreover, he is seemingly committed to throwing his right hand, which is starting to catch his opponent. The champion puts an exclamation point on the round, landing a left uppercut that caused Corley to hold on for the final 15 seconds.

10-9 Maidana

Round 7

Forget baby steps, Maidana is in full stride now. The champion sprints out of his corner and connects on a pair of good flurries. Midway through the round, Corley is caught against the ropes leaning straight back with his chin up and gets clocked by a right hand. Chop tries to hold on, but stumbles to the canvas. Maidana continues to throw for the remainder of the stanza, but the veteran Corley wisely moves forward and smothers him, not allowing for his opponent to load up on any more punches.

10-8 Maidana

Round 8

Corley is allowing Maidana's left foot outside his right foot, and is getting backed down as a result. Chop Chop isn't jabbing as he's backing up either, and finds himself against the ropes on a pair of occasions. Maidana also shows some versatility with 11 seconds to go, flurrying his way out of the corner and getting back to the center of the ring.

10-9 Maidana

Round 9

After three strong rounds, Maidana takes more than two minutes off in this round before attempting to steal the round with 50 seconds to go. Corley is the aggressor for as long as Maidana will allow him, but he seems hesitant to get off first, particularly with his jab, which he is now throwing in reaction to Maidana's, as opposed to setting the pace. Nonetheless, Maidana does little more than barrel into clinches down the stretch, and can't be awarded the round.

10-9 Corley

Round 10

Maidana is hurt by a left hand early in the round, visibly trying to regain his composure, and Corley doesn't jump on him. Admittedly, the champion's expression when he's hurt is not far off from the irritated look that has been on his face all night, likely because he hasn't been able to blast the hand-picked veteran out yet. Corley continues to find success with his left hand, and is pushing his opponent back for the majority of the round.

10-9 Corley

Round 11

A tough round to score, with both men taking time after low blows, which really killed the momentum. Maidana opened with a good sequence, and Corley closed the round with one as well. The swing factor is that Corley is still moving forward, while Maidana appears exhausted and losing pop on his punches.

10-9 Corley

Round 12

A wild brawl until the finish with both fighters tired and exchanging blows. Neither fighter was visibily hurt by any one blow, and were firing back as soon as they were hit. An even round, through and through.

10-10 even

Final scorecard: 115-113 Corley

To suggest that Corley was robbed might be a bit much, however the scorecards turned in by the ringside judges (117-110, 117-110 and 115-112) were a tad wide in favor of Maidana. In fact, the television scorecard in Argentina had the fight a draw.

It is not inconceivable that one could have viewed this as a Maidana victory—if that weren't the case, cries of robbery are warranted. If the scoring is too wide, one can question a judge's bias, but that still wouldn't make it a robbery unless it's impossible in your mind that the victorious fighter should have been given even the narrowest of victories.

If Corley were fighting at home, would he have been given the decision? How did you score it?

Corey Erdman is a host and producer at SIRIUS 98, and a freelance boxing writer formerly of The Sporting News' The Rumble. Follow him on Twitter: Corey_Erdman@Twitter