Now Officially Retired, Marcos Maidana Will Be Missed
By: Sean Crose
Adrien Broner had pretty much gotten under everyone’s skin by that point. Okay, perhaps not everyone’s, but at least a great many people’s. Loud, uncouth and thoroughly arrogant, this master of mind games had the fight world eating out of his hand. If his goal was showmanship, then Broner was a certified A lister. Here, it was claimed, was the heir to Mayweather’s throne. For the 27-0 Ohio native had jumped from lightweight to welterweight and was, it seemed, on the verge of very big things. Now Broner was scheduled to fight the hardened Argentine Marcos Maidana smack dab in the middle of Christmas season in the main event of a stacked Showtime card. Needless to say, it was a very big occasion for the guy known as “The Problem.”
Things, however, didn’t go as planned that night in the Alamodome. For the 34-3 Maidana took it to the brash and showy Broner in a way only he could. By implementing a rough and grueling assault, Maidana was able to drop Broner twice and overcome a fierce challenge (fight fans tend to forget that Broner is actually very talented) to emerge victorious via a unanimous decision win. Merry Christmas, Marcos. Now, almost three years later, with Maidana having announced his retirement this week, it’s clear that the Broner win was a crowning achievement in a very colorful career.
Oh, Maidana would move on to face Floyd Mayweather for two fights, and those would be big moneymakers for him, but they weren’t the Broner matchup. While it’s true Maidana came close to besting Floyd the first time around (closer than Manny Pacquiao did, in fact), he ended up losing a decision this author felt could have gone either way before losing more soundly in the rematch. Needless to say, the guy hasn’t fought since then and it’s hard to find a reason to fault Maidana now for retiring.
For here’s an individual whose had quite a career for himself. No, he didn’t have an 0 to protect for a large part of it, but he didn’t have to. He simply brought the heat over and over again. Even when Maidana lost, like he did to Amir Khan in their terrific, back and forth 2010 showdown, he was always in the fight. Want to see a somewhat oldie but goodie? Check out Maidana’s dismantling of Ortiz back in 2009. Madiana may not have ever been as decorated as Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao were, but one thing is certain – he gave fans their time and money’s worth over and over again.
And for that, the man called El Chino should be honored.