Marcos Maidana

Marcos René Maidana (born July 17, 1983) is an Argentine former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2014. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBA (Regular) super lightweight title from 2011 to 2012, and the WBA welterweight title from 2013 to 2014. A versatile pressure fighter in the ring, Maidana was well known for his formidable punching power, and was never stopped in any of his five losses.

Professional career

Light Welterweight

Maidana vs. Kotelnik

On February 2, 2009, the then-WBA Light Welterweight titleholder Andreas Kotelnik beat the then-undefeated Maidana (25-0, 24 knockouts) via controversial split decision, with the judges scoring the fight 115–114, 113–115, 115–113 in Kotelnik's favour.

Maidana vs. Ortiz

Maidana's first fight in the United States was against Mexican-American Victor Ortíz, that took place on June 27, 2009.^[2] Maidana was knocked down three times within the first two rounds, but rallied and came back to beat Ortiz for the interim WBA super lightweight title with a sixth-round TKO victory.^[2]

Maidana vs. Cayo

After his fight with Ortiz, it was rumoured that Maidana would face British boxer, and WBA super lightweight champion, Amir Khan, who won the title after defeating Andreas Kotelnik.^[3] However, Khan opted for Paulie Malignaggi as his next opponent. As a result, Maidana was scheduled to fight on March 27, 2010 against Victor Cayo, whose record, at that time, was 24-0 with 75% of victories coming by way of knockout.^[4] Maidana knocked out the undefeated Cayo in the sixth round to retain his interim WBA super lightweight title and improve his record to 28-1, with 27 knockouts.^[5]

Maidana vs. Corley

After failing to secure a fight with Timothy Bradley, Maidana fought and defeated DeMarcus Corley in August 2010. Despite knocking Corley down in the 7th round, Maidana had to go the distance for only the third time in his career, eventually securing the victory via unanimous decision (117–110, 117–110, 115–112).^[6][7]

Khan vs. Maidana

Before his fight with Corley, Maidana accused Khan and trainer Freddie Roach of "hypocrisy" and called out Khan in an interview:

On September 15, ESPN revealed that both fighters had agreed to fight on December 11 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.^[9]

Khan dominated the fight early and knocked down Maidana in the 1st round with a left hook to the liver, but had to withstand a furious barrage by Maidana in round 10, and continually backed up during rounds 11 and 12. Maidana was unable to finish Khan however, who went on to win the fight by unanimous decision (114-111, 114-111, 113-112).^[10][11] The fight was awarded the Boxing Writers Association of America Award for Fight of the Year.^[12]

Morales vs. Maidana

In the first round against Erik Morales, Maidana came out with ferocity as expected and proceeded to batter his older opponent around the ring. He landed multiple power punches, including an uppercut that opened a huge swelling over Morales' left eye which worsened over the course of the fight, and when the Mexican walked back to his corner having taken a large amount of punishment in the opening three minutes most observers felt their predictions were being fulfilled. The one-sided nature of the bout continued for the next couple of rounds, but then at the end of the third round Morales begin to fight back and landed a hard combination to the head of Maidana and the tide began to turn.

From the fourth round onwards and although he was effectively fighting with one eye, Morales gave as good as he got and was landing the cleaner more effective shots, albeit occasionally being swarmed by the sheer number of punches being landed in return by the relentless Maidana. The fight became a see-saw affair and then, in the eighth round, Morales hit Maidana with a huge left hook that almost stopped the Argentinian. The next couple of rounds continued in this fashion, with Maidana using his strength and stamina to bully Morales and the Mexican using his sharper punching and ring intelligence to land effective counters and combinations. The fight was fast turning into a modern classic.

In the "championship rounds" (the eleventh and twelfth), Morales seemed to tire and Maidana took advantage, overwhelming him with his strength and punishing the ageing warrior continually to the head and body. Maidana finished the fight much the stronger of the two and his late surge gave him the win on the scorecards, 116–112 twice with the third judge scoring the fight a draw, 114–114.

Maidana was scheduled to defend his title Aug. 27 against Robert Guerrero, but Guerrero suffered a shoulder injury less than two weeks before the fight. Maidana's fought Petr Petrov of Russia on Sept. 23 instead, winning by fourth round knockout.^[13]

Welterweight

On February 25, 2012 Maidana moved up to welterweight and fought Devon Alexander who was also moving up in weight. Maidana clearly seemed uncomfortable in his first fight at the new weight as Alexander dominated the fight and went on to win a lopsided unanimous decision. In his first fight following the Alexander loss, Maidana defeated Jesus Soto Karass on September 15, 2012 by eighth round TKO in a back-and-forth slugfest.^[14]

Maidana then fought the largely unknown Angel Martinez on December 12, 2012. Maidana won the fight by KO in the third round.

Maidana vs. Lopez

Maidana scored a TKO over welterweight contender Josesito Lopez in the sixth round of a June 9, 2013 fight. Maidana had injured his hip in the second round and Lopez capitalized tagging his opponent with hard shots. Maidana was able to reverse the tide and hurt Lopez with an overhand right in the sixth round that dropped him to the canvas.^[15] Lopez later said that Maidana is the hardest puncher he ever faced.^[16]

Broner vs. Maidana

On December 14, 2013, Marcos Maidana defeated the heavily favored Adrien Broner after 12 rounds via unanimous decision to win the WBA Welterweight title. Maidana dropped the previously unbeaten Broner in the second and eighth rounds and won by comfortable margins on all three judges scorecards, 115–110, 116–109, 117–109. Maidana was a 3/1 underdog entering this fight.^[17] He had now won four consecutive fights under the tutelage of boxing trainer Robert Garcia.

Mayweather vs. Maidana

Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana, billed as "The Moment", was a boxing welterweight championship superfight. The bout was held on May 3, 2014, in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, on Showtime PPV. Maidana lost by a Majority Decision, with one judge scoring the bout 114-114 (Draw), and the other two 117-111, and 116-112 in favor of Floyd Mayweather.^[18]

Mayweather vs. Maidana II

A rematch with Mayweather was later confirmed, with the bout taking place on September 13, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with Mayweather's WBA (Super), WBC and The Ring welterweight titles at stake, as well as Mayweather's WBC light middleweight title. Mayweather won the fairly one sided affair via unanimous decision, with scores of 115-112, 116-111 and 116-111. Maidana hurt Mayweather greatly at the end of the third round, he drew Floyd in with a jab that he attempted to counter with a straight right hand but in the process moved his head into a return counter by Maidana in the form of an overhand right that sent Floyd back into the ropes, just as the bell rang to end the round. Despite this, Maidana had little success in the bout.^[19][20] Having not fought since the Mayweather rematch, it is unclear whether Maidana will ever return to the ring.

Retirement

On August 9, 2016, Maidana officially announced his retirement from professional boxing at the age of 33. Allegedly moving into an advisory role.^[21] Maidana wrote in a letter addressed to boxing friends on social media: "After a long time out of the ring and after giving it a lot of thought since my last fight I've decided to hang up the gloves for good. Probably my decision would not surprise much as I had given hints of it in the last few months. But at this time I am making it official." Maidana finished with a career record of 35 wins in 40 fights, 31 wins coming by way of knockout and 5 decision losses.^[22]

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
40	Loss	35–5	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	UD	12	Sep 13, 2014	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	For WBA (Super), WBC, The Ring, and lineal welterweight titles; For WBC and lineal light middleweight titles
39	Loss	35–4	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	MD	12	May 3, 2014	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	For WBA (Super), WBC, The Ring, and lineal welterweight titles
38	Win	35–3	Adrien Broner	UD	12	Dec 14, 2013	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.	Won WBA welterweight title
37	Win	34–3	Josesito López	TKO	6 (12), 1:18	Jun 8, 2013	Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.	Retained WBA Inter-Continental welterweight title
36	Win	33–3	Martin Ángel Martínez	KO	3 (12), 1:21	Dec 12, 2012	Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Won vacant WBA Inter-Continental welterweight title
35	Win	32–3	Jesús Soto Karass	TKO	8 (12), 0:43	Sep 15, 2012	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	Won vacant WBA International welterweight title
34	Loss	31–3	Devon Alexander	UD	10	Feb 25, 2012	Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
33	Win	31–2	Petr Petrov	KO	4 (12), 2:44	Sep 23, 2011	Sociedad Alemana, Villa Ballester, Argentina	Retained WBA (Regular) super lightweight title
32	Win	30–2	Érik Morales	MD	12	Apr 9, 2011	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	Won WBA interim super lightweight title
31	Loss	29–2	Amir Khan	UD	12	Dec 11, 2010	Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	For WBA super lightweight title
30	Win	29–1	DeMarcus Corley	UD	12	Aug 28, 2010	Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Retained WBA interim super lightweight title
29	Win	28–1	Victor Cayo	KO	6 (12), 1:38	Mar 27, 2010	Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	Retained WBA interim super lightweight title
28	Win	27–1	William Gonzalez	KO	3 (12), 2:20	Nov 21, 2009	Club Deportivo Libertad, Sunchales, Argentina	Retained WBA interim super lightweight title
27	Win	26–1	Victor Ortiz	TKO	6 (12), 0:46	Jun 27, 2009	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Won WBA interim super lightweight title
26	Loss	25–1	Andreas Kotelnik	SD	12	Feb 7, 2009	StadtHalle, Rostock, Germany	For WBA super lightweight title
25	Win	25–0	Silverio Ortiz	KO	2 (8), 2:04	Nov 1, 2008	König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
24	Win	24–0	Juan Carlos Rodriguez	KO	7 (10), 2:35	Aug 29, 2008	Burg-Wächter Castello, Düsseldorf, Germany
23	Win	23–0	Esmeraldo José Da Silva	TKO	2 (10), 2:34	Jul 11, 2008	Club Deportivo Libertad, Sunchales, Argentina
22	Win	22–0	Arturo Morua	TKO	3 (10), 1:36	Apr 19, 2008	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany
21	Win	21–0	Manuel Garnica	KO	8 (10), 0:48	Dec 7, 2007	Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
20	Win	20–0	Jairo Moura dos Santos	TKO	2 (8), 0:28	Aug 16, 2007	Figali Convention Center, Panama City, Panama
19	Win	19–0	Laszlo Komjathi	TKO	3 (8), 0:37	Jun 30, 2007	Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany
18	Win	18–0	Miguel Callist	TKO	3 (12), 2:59	Dec 22, 2006	Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Won WBA Fedelatin super lightweight title
17	Win	17–0	José Herley Zúñiga Montaño	KO	1 (10), 2:13	Sep 23, 2006	Club Regatas, Santa Fe, Argentina
16	Win	16–0	Ariel Gerardo Aparicio	TKO	1 (10), 2:58	Jul 15, 2006	Unidad Funcional Pueblo Chico, Tortuguitas, Argentina
15	Win	15–0	Luis Gustavo Sosa	KO	1 (10), 2:59	May 20, 2006	Centro Municipal Nº 29, Santa Fe, Argentina
14	Win	14–0	Omar Leon	KO	1 (6), 0:21	Apr 22, 2006	Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina
13	Win	13–0	Sergio Javier Benítez	KO	3 (10), 2:20	Feb 11, 2006	Club Sportivo América, Rosario, Argentina
12	Win	12–0	Rubén Darío Oliva	KO	2 (10), 2:20	Nov 26, 2005	Estadio F.A.B., Buenos Aires, Argentina
11	Win	11–0	Marcelo Martin Miranda	TKO	3 (10), 0:44	Oct 1, 2005	Estadio F.A.B., Buenos Aires, Argentina
10	Win	10–0	Daniel Benito Carriqueo	UD	6	Aug 6, 2005	Estadio Ruca Che, Neuquén, Argentina
9	Win	9–0	Sergio Javier Benítez	TKO	3 (6), 1:45	Jun 18, 2005	Estadio F.A.B., Buenos Aires, Argentina
8	Win	8–0	Omar Leon	TKO	4 (10), 1:50	May 7, 2005	Estadio Virgen de Lujan, Centenario, Argentina
7	Win	7–0	Avelino Virgilio Silveira	KO	1 (6), 1:03	Mar 26, 2005	SAG Los Polvorines, Buenos Aires, Argentina
6	Win	6–0	Adolfo Espinoza	TKO	1 (6), 3:00	Jan 29, 2005	Atlético Club, Quilmes, Argentina
5	Win	5–0	Francisco Humberto Sanabria	RTD	1 (4), 2:13	Dec 18, 2004	Estadio F.A.B., Buenos Aires, Argentina
4	Win	4–0	Ramon Alberto Marquez	TKO	1 (4), 1:02	Oct 23, 2004	Estadio F.A.B., Buenos Aires, Argentina
3	Win	3–0	Cristian Pablo Gastón Ruiz	RTD	2 (6), 1:53	Sep 4, 2004	Estadio F.A.B., Buenos Aires, Argentina
2	Win	2–0	Germán Omar Jesús Sánchez	TKO	1 (4), 1:50	Jul 24, 2004	Club Sportivo América, Rosario, Argentina
1	Win	1–0	Adán Basilio Mironchik	KO	1 (4), 0:50	Jun 12, 2004	Regatas Corrientes, Corrientes, Argentina	Professional debut

Titles in boxing

Pay-per-view bouts

Personal life

Maidana's nickname

A reporter asked Maidana if he was going to change his nickname to something else. Robert Garcia translated Maidana's response to this question as, "I'm always going to be Chino. I like my name."^[23]

If his son became a boxer

An interviewer asked Maidana what he would tell his son if he told him that he wanted to become a boxer. The translator translated Maidana's response to this question as, "Boxing's a hard sport, very uh dangerous sport, you know. If that's what my son wants to do, and that's his destiny, uh, you know, God bless him, you know, but uh. He doesn't, he wouldn't want his son to fight, but uh if that's uh, something that he chooses to, to do, he's gonna support him."^[24]

Ethnicity

An interviewer asked Maidana, "Do they have Indians in uh, Argentina? I'm sure they do. You have Indians in Argentina, Marco?" The translator translated Maidana's response to this question as, "Yeah, absolutely. There's a little bit of everything. Argentina's huge! And he, he comes from uh, Indian descent... like tribes from, from Argentina".^[25]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marcos René Maidana.

• Professional boxing record for Marcos Maidana from BoxRec