Marcos Maidana: Boxing’s Warrior Plans the Next Move
By Donald C. Stewart
When you climb a big tree and get to the top of it what do you do when you get to the top of it?
Well you can look around you and chop the pretenders who are trying to climb the same tree but what happens if you nearly got there. What happens if you were one of the pretenders and you got chopped down?
Ask Marcos Maidana 30-2, 27 KO’s.
In a career that has been littered with news stories and promise Maidana has certainly never been far from entertaining. Unfortunately entertaining wins you more fans than it promises titles. Following a controversial decision that handed victory and the WBA Light Welterweight belt to Andriy Kotelnik in 2009 he had no shortage of sympathy. People could see that, at best, here was an unlucky guy and at worst he was robbed. It was never going to take long to get him back in the limelight.
Maidana set out a path towards another world title shot by going on a four fight unbeaten run. Like many fighters who find themselves beaten whether it was right or wrong the road to being considered again is simple. Win some fights and rack up the caliber of the opponents.
Maidana picked up the interim WBA title the successfully defended it three times. Attention was caught and people started to talk of Maidana in the same sentence again as World Title Fight.
It was the next fight that never happened was what threatened to derail him. The possibility of a fight with Timothy Bradley 27-0, 11 KO’s, was signed, sealed but never delivered.
Having allegedly signed a three fight deal with Golden Boy and alongside his manager at the time Mario Margossian, Maidana was due to climb into the ring with Bradley but a back injury forced the postponement and eventual cancelation of the fight.
Margossian fell out with Maidana and went on the warpath alleging that there was no back injury and that he was just scared of getting beat, concocting such a story to avoid that event. Maidana refuted the allegation and refuses to discuss it any more referring questioners to his lawyers. The idea that any boxers are frightened of anyone does their reputation no good but Margossian’s allegation was fear of failure rather than fear of a fighter.
With a reputation as being a big hitter Maidana was one fighter quite a few would be hopeful of avoiding and Amir Khan’s representatives had already been at the negotiating table with Maidana’s folk when Khan, 25-1 17 KO’s, opted for the Paulie Malignaggi 29-4, 6 KO’s, fight instead.
It wasn’t long though before Maidana was back negotiating with the Khan camp over a fight.
Khan needed to get noticed more in the USA and Maidana seemed a good bet but Khan was also aware there were doubts over whether he had the chin. Maidana would cure that thought as he was bullied by Khan in the opening rounds and right into the fight until, in the 10th Maidana rattled Khan. The round was clearly Maidana’s but his failure to force a knock down cost him in the end and Khan retained his belt.
The amount of goodwill generated by that fight ensured that Maidana, though he lost was considered as a serious challenger. He had to pick his next fight carefully and like Khan who went on to fight Malignaggi, Maidana found an old hand for a dust up. Erik Morales 51-7 35KOs was the perfect opponent but only if Maidana could convincingly defeat Morales.
Maidana won but so many people spoke about Morales and how impressed they had been with this ring rusty guy they almost forgot who he had fought!
Maidana fought 3 times last year and could manage another two fights before the year’s end. Who now may define 2011 and the future for an explosive fighter who probably deserves better than circumstances have delivered to him.
He could put the whole I’m afraid of the big bad wolf scenario to rest and search for an opportunity to fight Bradley.
A Morales rematch has already been ruled out. Khan has already ruled out a rematch too so Devon Alexander, Zab Judah, Kendall Holt, Joan Guzman and Mike Alvarado could be possibilities.
It has to be fighters of this caliber or with belts they are willing to put on the line otherwise obscurity beckons.
That’s not an option for a fighter who wants to sit atop his tree and be noticed by everyone.