Former welterweight champion Marcos Maidana is taking a much deserved break after fighting 3 times in a 10-month span against two of boxing's biggest names in three-division former world champion Adrien Broner and undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather. The hard-hitting Argentinian is currently enjoying time with his family, but he is expected to return in 2015, and when he does, there will be plenty of options available to him. FightHype.com recently spoke to his manager, Sebastian Contursi, and asked him if Maidana would be interested in rematches with the likes of Adrien Broner, who recently said he wants to face Maidana next, or Amir Khan, who is hoping to land a fight against Mayweather next year should he defeat Devon Alexander on December 13.
"We are open to every big possibility and they both are big names. Yet, to be honest, I've never ever heard or read Khan saying that he wants a rematch with Maidana. In fact, he deliberately avoided Marcos since his fight in December 2010 to the extent that his lawyers made a petition to the WBA to over-rule its decision of ordering a rematch in mid-2011. Personally, after such a great bout they had the first time, I think that's unfinished business between them. But I can totally understand that Khan is more interested in systematically chasing Mayweather," Contursi explained. "Also, I would add Danny Garcia to this equation since he is one of the most attractive names out there, and on top of that, he beat Marcos' friend and fellow countrymen Lucas Matthysse."
It's hard not to get excited about potential matchups for Maidana in the welterweight division, but we were also curious to know if Maidana had any plans to move up in weight to test the waters in the 154-pound division. "Marcos is comfortable fighting at welterweight. However, if a name like Miguel Cotto, for instance, comes around at 154 pounds, we would probably consider to move up one weight class," Contursi added.
Despite losing twice to Mayweather, Maidana showed vast improvement under the tutelage of world-class trainer Robert Garcia. He tested Mayweather in their first fight, garnering a very rare second opportunity to face Floyd again. Just as Maidana is looking for the biggest fights available, a lot of other fighters will want to fight him as well. We'll find out next year what direction he goes in.
[ Follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007 ]