Maidana has to lose some weight before ring return

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    Marcos MaidanaArgentine welterweight Marcos ‘El Chino’ Maidana (35-5, 31 KO’s) has been absent from the ring since his second straight loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr in August 2014, but his trainer Robert Garcia told FightHype that he will not be rushing one of his star pupils back to action until he is good and ready.

    “We would like to see him back in the ring this year. His manager told me he already started working out back home just to lose some weight, cuz he’s got some weight to lose, but honestly I don’t blame Chino for taking some time off. Chino, everybody already knows is not the type of fighter that even likes to be in boxing you know.”

    Garcia depicts Maidana as a pragmatic figure, a man who found his talent and strove to make a living from it. A busy end to 2013 and a manic 2014 spent within the Mayweather realm of constant interviews and incessant attention appear to have pushed the gun-loving farmer back into a quieter, more reclusive existence.

    “He does it because he’s good at it and he’s been really good at what he does but he doesn’t really have the passion or the love for the sport so I don’t blame him for taking some time off. Take a year off you know, why not? He had three huge fights back to back within nine months you know; one with [Adrien] Broner and two with Mayweather.”

    “He made really good money; he looked really good in all three fights even though he lost to Mayweather he still looked really good, so I think he earned that time off. I don’t blame him for taking some time off and if he’s ready to come back this year I’m also ready but if not we can always wait for next year.”

    After three big paydays and three career best performances, this self-imposed layoff could be equated to an architect finishing a big project and following it up by savouring the fruits of his labour. The question is whether becoming set for life financially has robbed him of that intense drive that has made him such a good, entertaining fighter.

    Maidana escaped poverty with his fists like so many other notable fighters before and after him and clambered towards the highest peak even though he was stopped just before he made it. He has earned his rest which is why Garcia, as a former fighter, refuses to throw any blame in his direction.

    Even if Maidana decides to make his vacation a permanent one, this two-weight world champion is a living embodiment of how far determination, a solid chin and murderous power can take you in the sport of boxing.