Marcos Maidana stands over Adrien Broner after knocking him down during their fight, which Maidana won by unanimous decision, in 2013. (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)

Marcos Maidana won world titles at junior welterweight and welterweight in the early part of the decade. In his penultimate fight, the Argentine‘s fan-friendly style gave Floyd Mayweather Jr. one of his toughest challenges.

He was born in 1983 and raised on a farm in Margarita, a small town of around 5,000 people, and remembers himself as a poor but happy child. When he was 14 years old a man came to his hometown and organized a boxing tournament. “El Chino” won by knockout and progressed quickly.

“I looked good as I rapidly started to knock all my opponents out,” Maidana told RingTV.com through his manager, Sebastian Contursi. “So they took me to the city of Santa Fe, which is a big city, where it was tougher because I had to be on my own. Then I was called up for the national team, so I had to live in Buenos Aires – definitely a major city.”

He took part in 84 amateur contests, winning in the region of 70. He also won three national titles. During his time in the unpaid ranks he beat Lucas Matthysse in three of their four fights. Unfortunately, they never met as pros.

“Matthysse is a great fighter,” acknowledged Maidana. “We used to compete for a spot on the national team. I beat him three times and we had a draw. Three of those fights were tough and close but I came on stronger in the end.”

Maidana attempted to qualify for the 2004 Olympics but lost – dubiously, he feels – at the qualifying stage. It wasn’t such a bad thing: “Definitely the Olympic style was not for me, so I wanted to become a pro,” he said.

Maidana made his professional bow in the summer of 2004 and won his first 18 fights, with only one lasting the distance. By this time he was getting noticed outside South America and signed with German promoter Universum. He won seven more fights, five in Germany, before unsuccessfully challenging the proficient Andriy Kotelnik for the WBA 140-pound title. Maidana gave the Ukrainian all he could handle but lost a split decision by the slimmest of margins.

Unperturbed, he resurfaced in the summer of ’09, when he took on then-rising star Victor Ortiz. The two engaged in a wild all-action affair. Both were down multiple times before Maidana stopped Ortiz in the sixth round.

Over the next 18 months Maidana stayed active, fighting twice in Argentina and once in America, where he knocked out previously unbeaten Victor Cayo on HBO with a debilitating bodyshot.

In late ’10, Maidana met Amir Khan for the WBA strap – Khan had dethroned Kotelnik – at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. He had to overcome a near-disasterous first round, getting off the canvas from a Khan bodyshot before giving the Brit all he could handle in a barnstorming fight, though again he came up short on the cards.

The following spring he returned to Las Vegas to face modern-day legend Erik Morales. Early on, Morales‘ superior boxing brain gave the rugged Argentine fits. However, as the fight wore on the naturally bigger Maidana was able to heavily mark up Morales‘ eye. To the Mexican’s credit, he fought with grotesque swelling that rendered his left eye nearly blind. In the later rounds, Maidana was able to take a hold of the fight and ultimately won a majority decision.

Maidana, who had held the WBA interim title, was upgraded to full champion and defeated future Boxcino champion Petr Petrov in four rounds before abdicating his throne to move up to 147 pounds.

At his new weight, Maidana dropped a wide decision to Devon Alexander. He put the listless performance down to an intestinal infection.

He put the loss behind him and won three fights – all by stoppage – against Jesus Soto Karass, Angel Martinez and young veteran Josesito Lopez to earn a shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr.‘s protege, Adrien Broner.

Maidana showed the young upstart no respect throughout the promotion and in the fight, dropping the WBA beltholder in the second and eighth rounds en route to a definitive points win. He was awarded THE RING‘s “Upset of the Year” for 2013.

Having beaten the pupil, he was able to parlay that into an even bigger fight with the master. He met Mayweather in May 2014 in a RING/WBA/WBC unification bout. After 12 hard rounds at the MGM Grand, Mayweather emerged victorious by majority decision.

Maidana’s performance was enough to deserve a rematch. The second time, however, Mayweather was able to outfox him to win a wide decision.

Looking back he says his best wins were against Ortiz and Broner: “Unforgettable nights for me. With Ortiz the fans started booing me and then ended applauding me. With Broner it was a great feeling to have 15,000 Mexican fans cheering for me.”

The same two opponents figure prominently in his proudest moments.

“Both when I beat Victor Ortiz to win my first world title and when I beat Broner for my third,” he explained. “Golden Boy Promotions took me like an opponent for ‘the new Golden Boy‘ as they used to call him (Ortiz). We were like 10 Argentine’s at the Staples Center against thousands of Mexican fans and it was a battle for the ages. That day I guess I earned some respect in America and especially among Mexican fans, which I love.

“In the fight with Broner I felt totally motivated, as he is a loudmouth, was unbeaten, considered by some as ‘the new Floyd‘ and was the favorite for most people. But I owned him since the first time we met. It was the first and only time I played mind games and it worked. Yet in the ring he was tougher than I expected and he really earned my respect.”

Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) hasn’t fought in 21 months and refuses to commit to any future plans about returning to the ring, simply saying, “I don’t know yet. I am comfortable for now.”

The 32-year-old lives in Calchaqui, about 20 kilometers south of Margarita, with his wife Mariana. They have a young daughter together and he also has a son from a previous relationship. His younger brother, Fabian, is a pro boxer, fighting at welterweight.

“I am a family person who tries to spend as much time with them as possible,” he said. “Also, I love fishing and hunting since those are the kinds of things that people from the country usually like to do.”

He agreed to speak about the best fighters he has fought in 10 categories.

BEST JAB
Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Although it was not damaging, Floyd’s jab keeps you at distance and gives himself the proper distance to throw the following punches.

BEST DEFENSE
Mayweather: You can barely land more than two consecutive punches on him. You can catch him in relatively solid fashion with the first, but he would adjust his body to soften the second and then he’s either gone or grabs you.

BEST CHIN
Mayweather and Erik Morales: These two guys had solid chins. I caught them with clean punches and they would never blink.

FASTEST HANDS
Amir Khan: He is just too fast with his hands and able to throw 4-5 punches out of the blue.

FASTEST FEET
Mayweather: The way his legs position him to either defend or to attack is just amazing.

SMARTEST
Mayweather: He just simply used (his intelligence) to do everything just right.

STRONGEST
Adrien Broner: I know people think I gave him the beating of his life but trust me, Adrien is really strong. The last round against him he came at me like a true warrior, asking for more and more.

BEST PUNCHER
Victor Ortiz: This is the hardest puncher I’ve faced. He didn’t drop me three times in our fight for nothing. Yet, I knocked him out.

BEST SKILLS
Mayweather and Morales: Although two totally different styles these guys really know how to box and to get away from dangerous situations to come back with their own arsenal.

BEST OVERALL
Mayweather: Simply the best of his time. Undoubtedly the best I’ve ever faced is Floyd Mayweather. Too smart, slick and also has a tough chin. I put a lot of pressure on him, especially in the first fight, and I guess it was such a close bout. In fact, I thought I had won the fight when the final bell rang. He was never able to do anything in that first encounter and I was the aggressor throughout. The rematch was different since he took the bike. And when Floyd does that there‘s not much you can do to catch him.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him at www.twitter.com/AnsonWainwright

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