By Aragon Garcia: Talented former world champion Marcos Maidana has reportedly signed a multi-fight deal with Premier Boxing Champions [PBC], according to RingTV, and he’ll be resuming his long dormant career in the summer against a still to be determined opponent. Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) is still young in his mid-30s, and looks ready to get back in the ring to beat the lions at 147.
Maidana’s first fight with PBC is expected to be an easy one against an over-matched foe with limited talent, and no threat to beating him. However, the second one is believed to be former four division world champion Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs), according to RingTV. Maidana beat Broner by a 12 round unanimous decision in December 2013 in an exciting fight. Maidana knocked Broner down twice in the contest in dropping him in round 2 and 8. Broner was beaten up in that fight, and he stormed out of the ring afterwards. There had always been talk of the two facing each other in a rematch, but it never happened in part due to Maidana retiring from boxing a year later after his two losses to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2014.
Now six years later, the fans would love to see Maidana and Broner mix it up in a rematch on Premier Boxing Champions. Broner looked good in his losing effort to Manny Pacquiao last month on January 19. Maidana is going to have to be in excellent shape, and have his game wired for him to beat Broner a second time. That’ll be a tough match for Maidana, but a winnable one to be sure. Broner vs. Maidana 2 would be an excellent fight on PBC in 2019. The winner of that fight can move on to bigger and better things against possibly Pacquiao, IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., WBA Super World champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman or WBC belt holder Shawn Porter. It’s endless the amount of great fights available to Maidana or Broner.
It was thought by many boxing fans that Broner, who was a young star at the time, would beat Maidana, but that wasn’t so. The hard hitting Argentinian knockout artist shocked the boxing world by battering Broner around the ring for 12 rounds to earn the initial fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2014. Maidana lost that fight by a controversial decision, and that paved the way for the rematch between them later that same year in December. A lot of boxing fans felt that Maidana was robbed in his first fight with Mayweather. Maidana was fortunate to get the rematch, which he clearly lost.
The biggest battle for Maidana won’t be his actual fights. That’s the easy part. It’ll be taking off all the weight that he’s packed on through five years of inactivity and soft living. Maidana has lived like a king, and eaten like one as well. He’s got to lose that pot belly that he’s carrying around, and lose the double-chin as well. Once Maidana melts off all the blubber, he’ll be ready to go after the lions at 147.
Maidana is said to be getting seven figures for his comeback to sign with PBC an unknown number of bouts. Maidana could initially be fighting at 154, and then eventually at 147 after he trims down a little more. It’ll depend on how easily the weight comes off. He’s currently heavy, and needs to drop some pounds for him to get back down to his old weight class of 147.
Maidana never had problems taking weight off during his career, so it’s quite possible he could be down to 147 in next to no time. It still might not be a good idea for Maidana to make his first fight back at welterweight, because it’s a lot of weight for him to take off. Maidana has looked as high as 230 lbs during his time out of the ring. Losing all that weight could leave Marcos feeling a little depleted and food deprived. For anyone who has dieted before, it’s a horrible feeling. You feel hungry, weak, and you’re not at your best. That feeling goes away once you’ve been at the lower weight for a period of time, but initially one feels weak when they first get to the new weight. Maidana will need time to take off all that weight to get accustomed to being lighter once again so that he’s not feeling weak.
Maidana has fought at 140 and 147 during his career. 147 would be where the money fights are for for the Argentinian former two division world champion Maidana. Getting back down to welterweight will enable Maidana to challenge WBA World 147 lb champion Manny Pacquiao, WBA Super World champ Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, WBC champion Shawn Porter, former two division champ Danny Garcia or face Air Khan in a rematch. It’s almost unlimited the amount of fights that are there for Maidana. Of course, Maidana won’t get those fights if he comes back and starts losing. He’s got to win to work though some of those names. It’s believed that a fight between Maidana and Pacquiao is a likely match that will be made. Depending on how things go for Maidana in that fight, he could get other exciting matches.
Maidana will be trained by his former trainer Robert Garcia in Oxnard, California. Garcia is the brother of unbeaten WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia, who will be challenging IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. on March 16.
Maidana, 35, is younger than 36-year-old former middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, and he’s been resting up well in the last five years since retiring from boxing after his 12 round unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on September 13, 2013. Maidana doesn’t have a lot of miles on him due to his long rest from competition. So when Maidana does come back, he’s likely going to be fresh, and ready to go after the big names in the welterweight division.
Five years is a long time for a fighter to be out of boxing. It’s unclear whether Maidana will be able to get back to the level that he was at when he retired from the sport in 2014. He still looks youthful at 35, and his punching power is likely going to return once he starts fighting. The last thing a fighter loses is their punching power. Maidana has never been known for his hand speed. It’s his devastating power that he had in both hands that made him so good. If Maidana is able to get back to where he was at when he fought Mayweather in back to back fights in 2014, he’ll be able to make good money fighting these guys: Danny Garcia, Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman. Whether Maidana has blown through all the money he made in his two fights with Mayweather is unknown. Maidana can refill his back account if he can run the table by beating some or all of those fighters. The boxing world is going to be overjoyed to have Maidana back. He was one of the most popular fighters in the welterweight division before stepping away from the game in 2014 at a young 30-years-old. That was far too young for Maidana to quit boxing.
Maidana vs. Pacquiao will be a great fight. Those two warriors will be trading bombs from the opening bell. PBC might want to make that fight first before looking to put Maidana in with Broner for a rematch.