Former welterweight champion Marcos Maidana reached the biggest stage in boxing not once, but twice, fighting undefeated welterweight and jr. middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather on two separate occasions in 2014. Though he wasn't victorious, Marcos' stock and exposure rose thanks to the Argentinian native participating in two of the highest profile fights of the year.
The question now remains, where does Maidana go from here? After two lucrative paydays, there were rumblings that Maidana may have been considering retirement from the sport. However, when FightHype recently spoke to Maidana's manager, Sebastian Contursi, he revealed that option has never even been discussed.
"Marcos is a low profile guy, but especially a family guy, and he and his fiancée just had a new baby born last March, so there is a time in your life when that becomes your priority. But to be honest with you, we have never discussed his retirement at all. He is enjoying life with his baby now and we'll weigh our options," Contursi informed FightHype, who made it clear that Maidana's return to the ring is entirely up to him.
The fact that he fought Adrien Broner and then Floyd Mayweather twice in the span of 10 months, in addition to training camp keeping him away from his family for nearly half a year, Maidana is taking a much deserved break to enjoy life. However, when he is ready to return, a possible showdown with Manny Pacquiao is definitely a fight he and his team would be very interested in. Maidana had previously mentioned Pacquiao as a fight he would love to take, and Contursi echoed that statement.
"Every boxer fighting around this weight class dreams to face both Mayweather and Pacquiao since they are the icons of boxing. There is an inner desire to prove yourself against the very best. And of course that comes with big paydays, so who wouldn't like to face Manny," Contursi continued.
When FightHype spoke to promoter Bob Arum last week, he said he would definitely be interested in pitting Pacquiao against the likes of Maidana or Amir Khan, but it would rely heavily on the ability of Golden Boy Promotions founder Oscar De La Hoya being able to deliver them; a notion that Arum seemed uncertain that their advisor, Al Haymon, would be on board with. Contursi, of course, would like that fight to take place, but he also reiterated that it would need to be something worked out between Haymon and Arum.
"We are honored that Bob Arum considers Maidana as a valuable opponent for Pacquiao and we are open to that possibility, but that's something we would have to discuss with Marcos' advisor, Al Haymon, who has been doing a great job. We know it's difficult for Bob and Al to do business together, but never say never in boxing," added Contursi.
Fortunately for Maidana, even without a Pacquiao fight, there are plenty of other options for him when he's ready to come back, and you can bet he'll be aiming high to land the biggest fights possible.
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