Argentine warrior Marcos Maidana is serious about his comeback at age 35, and proof of this is the fact that, slowly but surely (but perhaps quicker than some anticipated), “El Chino” is ridding himself of the excess weight he piled on whilst thoroughly enjoying himself in what was thought to have been his permanent retirement from the sport. Reports vary, but Maidana does look to have have dropped a good few pounds, perhaps as much as 25 pounds or more.
And Alex Ariza has revealed the big fight Maidana wants when he’s ready: one with superstar and all-time great Manny Pacquiao. The word is, Maidana will box a tune-up quite soon (Phil Lo Greco’s name has been mentioned in a numerous places), then perhaps fight a contender, and then, providing all goes well and Maidana looks and feels good in there, go for something big. And even now, with the two fighters having a combined age of 75, a Pacquiao versus Maidana fight would prove appealing.
Had these two met in a Dream Fight when both were far closer to their prime, chances are we would have seen an absolute classic. Even now, with Pacquiao showing us he’s still got it and Maidana feeling he will be able to do the same, this match-up would perhaps prove to be an exciting affair. Both fight for PBC, so who knows, if Manny cannot get that massive rematch with Floyd Mayweather and if he is also unable to secure a fight with one of the champions at 147 (Pac Man holds a version of the WBA belt as we know), maybe he will agree to face Maidana after “El Chino” has out a win or two in the bank.
Ariza said, in speaking with Fight Hype, that this fight would indeed be an exciting and big one if it took place:
“I just think that would be a great fight,” Ariza said of Maidana against Pacquiao. “He’s got that style that throws a lot of punches. Manny is getting back into his groove again. I think everyone would like to see that one. You’ve got the Philippines and Argentina. If you want to see a big fight, that’s a big fight. That’s the fight he [Maidana] told me he wants.”
It’s obviously too early to be able to say whether or not this fight, if it actually happened, would be anything approaching great, simply as we have no idea how Maidana will perform after almost five years out of the ring and after having gained all that weight. But if – and it could prove to be a big if – Maidana has, say, half of what he once had, then maybe the styles these two veterans have would indeed conjure up something worth watching; even worth paying for.
Let’s see how former champ Maidana looks in his first fight back before we go any further.