By Rocky Esposito: What an amazing ride it has been for Marcos Maidana. There have been many highs in his career, with a few heart wrenching lows/loses in between. Maidana’s very first fight in the U.S. was vs Victor Ortiz back June of 2009. Many fans might not have remembered this, but just four months prior to the fight with Ortiz, Maidana had just suffered the very first loss of his professional career. He lost an extremely close (115-113, 114-115, 113-115) split decision to Andriv Kotelnik in Germany. Many observers of the fight thought the decision should have went Marcos’ way.
Regardless, now he was facing Victor Ortiz and fighting on U.S. soil for the very first time. Maidana knew going into the fight he could not afford another loss. Most Boxing fans remember this fight as a Modern Day Classic. Ortiz put Maidana down in Round 1, but Maidana got up and immediately knocked Victor down to even the score. Ortiz then put Maidana down twice in Round 2, but Maidana got up each time.
Then came the memorable 6th Round. Another fact rarely realized, coming into the 6th round, Maidana was actually behind (identically) on all three official judge’s scorecards (48-45). However, Maidana dominated Victor this round, got the TKO, and claimed the vacant Interm WBA World Light Welterweight Title.
Marcos Maidana would go on to beat William Gonzalez (KO – 3rd RD), Victor Manuel Cavo (KO – 6th RD) and DeMarcus Corley (UD – 12RDS). Then, at the end of 2010 Maidana faced off against Amir Khan. In a fight that won the Boxing Writers Association of America ”Fight of The Year” award, Maidana lost a close, but Unanimous Decision. Khan won the earlier rounds of the fight, but Maidana finally adjusted to Khan’s speed and came rallying back in the later rounds. In the 10th round he really hurt Khan and sent him staggering into the ropes, it looked as if Maidana was going go close the show, but Khan recovered and did just enough to win the fight. Maidana always wanted a rematch, but Khan never granted him one.
After suffering just his second career lost, and doing so honorably in the eyes of most Boxing fans, Maidana would go on to fight and win versus legendary Erik Morales (MD) and Petr Petrov (KO – 4th RD). Then what came next is what I call Maidana’s ”Cross Roads Fight”. He decided to jump up to 147lbs for the first time in his career and take on the highly skilled Devon Alexander. There is no way around it, Devon Alexander totally out classed him. Devon coasted to a Unanimous Decision. Then the questions arose, is 147lbs too much weight for Maidana? Should he have gradually moved up into 147lbs division and not take on the cream of the crop right from the start? After this lose, Maidana did a ton of soul searching. He never lost a fight in his entire pro career so decisively. At this point, he was 31-3 and seriously considering the possibility of retiring. He contacted his manager Sebastian Contursi to let him know the lay of his thoughts. LOL, for all those who enjoy watching Marcos Madaina fight, we owe a HUGE thanks to Sebastian Contursi and Robert Garcia both.
The Home Stretch to the Mayweather Mega Fight… Instead of hanging up the gloves, Maidana agreed with his manager and decided to meet with world renowned Boxing trainer Robert Garcia in Oxnard, California. The two hit it off in no time. Plus, Robert Garcia has a stable of champions which only helped to ignite the competitive fire in Maidana. Their very first fight together was vs Jesus Soto Karass. This was Maidana’s second fight at 147lbs. As any true Boxing fan will tell you, Soto Karass had recently rejuvenated his career. He is no easy out or easy tune up fight for anyone. Throughout this fight, Soto Karass looked good in some rounds. When Maidana came back to the corner at the end of the 7th round, the usually calm and polite Garcia just knew what to do. He snapped on Maidana and told him in essence, “You don’t come to my gym and fight a guy of this caliber the way you are. You’re not going to embarrass me and my gym”. (There is an interview at ESNEWS.com where Robert jokingly talks about this incident now). Nevertheless, the pep talked worked. Maidana got the TKO in the very next round. He then went on to fight and beat Angel Martinez (KO – 3rd RD) and Josesito Lopez (TKO – 6th RD).
How Maidana Broke the Mayweather Mega Fight Finish Line… Maidana’s next opponent was the highly publicized Adrian Broner. Broner was 27-0, a champion in three different weight divisions. He was supposed to be Boxing’s Next Floyd Mayweather according to many reporters and fans. (I actually picked Maidana to win the fight by KO or TKO, so I never bought into all the over hype. Why? Two words, Pauly Malanaggi. He barely beat Pauly and immediately denied him a rematch). Originally, Maidana never thought he would realistically get the Broner fight. However, Maidana signed with Al Haymon in early 2013 and by December 2013, the fight was official. We all know the story, Maidana was a 5 to 1 underdog and was suppose to be out-classed by Broner. (If you watched Showtime’s All Access, you will remember they even made Maidana stay in a crappy motel for good measure). In the end, Maidana won the fight so convincingly, he became a real candidate for Mayweather. Instead of Khan, Maidana will be fighting Floyd in May. Well deserved Maidana, well deserved!
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