By Jake Donovan
Whatever aspirations Marcos Maidana may have of returning to the welterweight mix will for now have to live vicariously through his younger brother.
Rising prospect Fabian Maidana – who just celebrated his 24th birthday as well as second year in the pro ranks – will now enjoy his debut as a U.S. TV headliner. The younger brother to the cult-favorite and former welterweight titlist from Argentina tops the July 23 edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC Sports Network, BoxingScene.com recently learned.
Maidana (9-0, 6KOs) will face Jorge Maysonet in a scheduled eight-round bout, with the PBC on NBCSN series returning to Scottish Rite Theatre in San Antonio, Texas. Maysonet (13-1) accepted the fight on late notice in place of originally targeted Jose DeJesus Macias.
The bout will mark the second of the year for Maidana, whose last ring appearance marked his lone career fight in his native Argentina which took place this past April.
The bulk of his career has taken place in the United States, the majority of which has come in the aftermath of his older brother’s two-fight set with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The Sept. ’14 rematch marked the lone time that Marcos and Fabian appeared on the same card.
Maysonet – a 26-year old prospect from Puerto Rico – has won two straight following an eight-round unanimous decision to Gabriel Tolmayjan in their April ’13 Showtime-televised affair. The upcoming NBCSN appearance marks his first piece of ring action since last May, which each of his last two fights taking place versus nondescript opposition in the Dominican Republic.
The undercard carries a theme of younger boxing siblings appearing in separate bouts:
Fellow unbeaten Argentine prospect Alan Castaño (10-0, 7KOs) fights for the third straight time in the U.S. and second consecutive trip to Texas. The 23-year old middleweight takes on Chicago’s Aaron Garcia (15-5-1, 10KOs), whose last fight – interestingly – was an eight-round loss to Brian Castaño, Alan’s older brother;
Brandon Figueroa, the baby-faced younger brother of former lightweight titlist Omar Figueroa plays the venue for the second time in four weeks – and already his fifth fight of 2016 – as he enters his first eight-round bout, versus a yet-to-be-determined opponent
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2
