Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KO’s) was hoping to cash in with a big money fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. following his upset victory over Adrien Broner earlier this month on December 14th in San Antonio, Texas. But the chances of Maidana getting a fight against Mayweather are slim at best, and he might not even get a rematch against Broner. It’s doubtful that Golden Boy Promotions will let Broner fight Maidana again unless he forces the issue against their advice for him to move on.
With neither the Broner or Mayweather fight likely to happen, Maidana may have to be satisfied fighting a lesser star. We’ve heard recently that WBO light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov wants to fight Maidana, but that’s hardly the big fight that Maidana was looking for after his big win over Broner. Fighting Provodnikov would be a huge step down for Maidana, and probably not even worth the trouble.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is keen on matching Maidana against fellow Argentinian fighter Lucas Matthysse, but Maidana hasn’t been all thrilled with that fight. Matthysse is his countryman, and Maidana feels that there are other fights out there than simply being matched against someone from his own country just because they both come from the same place. With all the fighters that Golden Boy has, Maidana is hoping for something bigger than just Matthysse. That fight would be similar to Maidana vs. Provodnikov. Both are good fights, but not comparable to a rematch against Broner or a big money fight against Mayweather. If this is all Golden Boy Promotions can get for Maidana then that’s kind of disappointing.
A unification bout between Maidana and IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter would be a good fight. Porter just won the IBF title in a win over Devon Alexander. It would be interesting to see how Porter’s mugging fighting style would do against a puncher like Maidana. Porter might not do nearly as well against Maidana as he did against Alexander. But that’s still not a big fight for Maidana. We’re talking again about another step down from Mayweather or Broner.
Maidana will need to fight Keith Thurman at some point in the time. That’s a good fight, but not the big fight that Maidana wants. If he beats Thurman, it won’t be a big deal because Thurman doesn’t have a huge fan base.