Marcos "El Chino" Maidana is caught between a rock and a hard place. After upsetting Adrien Broner late in 2013 Maidana was catapulted into a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. He fought admirably and gave the pound-for-pound king some trouble early on, but was eventually out-boxed and dropped a majority decision. He fought Floyd again, and was beaten more decisively.
While Maidana got the biggest paydays of his career and raised his profile, he also was saddled with back-to-back losses. It's unclear where he goes now; he isn't going to be headlining pay-per-views unless he gets back in the win column, but now could be pricing himself out of good fights to restore his standing.
SWN has "El Chino" covered. Here are three fights that would work wonders for the power-punching Argentine.
Amir Khan (30-3-0, 19 KO)
Amir Khan is building big momentum lately, moving up to welterweight and winning his first two fights in dominant fashion. He is pining for a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but that seems unlikely to happen at this stage of the game, as Mayweather is occupied with Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather thinks Khan's name "carries no weight," but apparently Maidana's did. If he goes out and is able to dominate Maidana, that's a big step toward Khan getting his dream fight. On the flip side, if Maidana can beat Khan, he will become one of the most sought-after non-Mayweather opponents in the game.
Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KO)
Porter was one of the fastest-rising fighters in the world until he was stopped in his tracks by IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook. Losing to a difficult opponent should not be a death knell for young fighters' aspirations though, and with both Porter and Maidana coming off losses this bout would carry a ton of intrigue.
Porter is a hyper-aggressive fighter, and while Brook's calm counter-punching was able to thwart Porter's attack, Maidana is likely to just return the favor. Porter-Maidana would be a crowd-pleasing firefight, and has the potential to be a Fight of the Year candidate.
Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KO)
Marquez came back from a tough loss to Timothy Bradley in 2013 by outclassing Mike Alvarado in May 2014 to take the WBO international welterweight title. The strap may not mean much, but Marquez's performance, aside from a ninth-round knockdown, was startling.
Since his 2012 victory over Manny Pacquiao Marquez has sported a bulkier physique that has been accompanied by big power. He knocked out Pacquiao, and floored Alvarado; couple his combination of counter-punching precision and power with Maidana's unbridled aggression and a highly entertaining bout may be born.
There wouldn't be much on the line in terms of belts or forward propulsion through the 147-pound ranks, which likely kills this idea. But it's fun to consider these styles in a fight.
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