By John-Paul Wolfe
Marcos “el chino” Maidana burst into the boxing spotlight with an impressive stoppage victory over Victor Ortiz back in 2009. Since then there have been ups and downs for the aggressive power puncher from Argentina. Losses to Devon Alexander and Amir Khan slowed Maidana’s progression to what I feel could be consideration among the top ten P4P fighters in the world.
Following the Ortiz win, Maidana had proved top level punching power for the 140 lb division and an undeniable will to win that few in the sport can match. However, it was not until his latest win, over full-fledged welter weight, Jesus Soto-Karass that I felt he had the ability to compete and beat the very best in the sport.
AP Photo
The elevation of Maidana’s aptitude came as a result of working with arguably the hottest trainer in the sport today, Robert Garcia. Garcia took the raw talent of Maidana and has started to form him into a well rounded boxer-puncher without detracting from his fighter’s exciting qualities. Before Garcia, Marcos did not have a jab, or a least used it so sparingly that it was rendered practically useless. In the Soto-Karass fight Maidana not only threw the jab, but made it an effective weapon on the way to a knockout victory.
I became fascinated with Maidana because of his heart and ferocious style, but never suspected him to become more than an exciting brawler who made a living beating B level fighters. Having seen the rapid progression in his technique and style since joining forces with Garcia, I now believe that the sky is the limit for the 29 year old Argentine. On Dec. 12 he faces Angel Martinez in a keep busy fight in Buenos Aires. For his trainer Robert Garcia, his next major challenge comes on Jan. 26 in Los Angeles. As his fighter Kelly Pavlik, who is on a four fight win streak, attempts to take the top spot at 168 lbs. against undefeated and P4P top five fighter in the world, Andre Ward.
