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ARGENTINE ****er Marcos Maidana will be inspired in his quest to shatter Amir Khan’s dreams by the abject poverty in which he grew up. Maidana, who challenges for Khan’s WBA light-welterweight title on December 11 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, was raised by his poor parents in the village of Margarita, population 5,000, in the district of Santa Fe. His farmer was a farmer and, until boxing came knocking, young Marcos considered following in his footsteps.
“Obviously we were poor and I would have done anything to help my family,” says Maidana admirably. “If it wasn’t for professional boxing, maybe I would have worked at the farm. I would have done anything to rescue my family from poverty.
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“I help my family financially now, that’s why I’m happy because this is my highest payday. I have to win to keep on going. I would really like to buy every member of my family a house, especially my parents. With fights like this, hopefully I will be able to buy them all a house.”
Maidana, one of nine children, has lived in Buenos Aires for the last six-seven years, and currently resides with his mother, sister and youngest brother. He has a six-year-old son, Nahuel, who lives with his mother back in Santa Fe. She and Marcos are separated but Maidana sees the boy regularly.
Maidana caught the boxing bug from an enthusiast in his local neighbourhood. “He started to organise local tournaments,” the South American reveals. “I thought it might be interesting and then I started knocking people out.”
Indeed, Maidana has carried his power all the way to adulthood and into his pro career. The WBA Interim champ stormed to 25 straight wins, 24 inside schedule, before coming up just short, via split decision, to then-WBA king Andriy Kotelnik in February last year. The defeat may have been painful but Khan’s mandatory challenger insists he has learned from it.
“I was overconfident,” Maidana reflected. “I thought Kotelnik would be an easy fight but things got complicated. I learned to never again be so overconfident and to take every opponent seriously. I thought I won the fight but it was not easy at all.”
If WBC/IBF champion Devon Alexander and WBO title-holder Timothy Bradley finally come to an agreement to face off in the new year, that contest and Khan-Maidana could make up two informal semi-finals in an unofficial tournament to decide the world’s premier 10-stoner.
“It’s a pretty competitive division,” Maidana remarks. “Maybe Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley are just one step ahead of myself but the four of us are the best in the division.”
Whoever emerges on top of the heap, Maidana has come a long way from the boy who grew up on a Margarita farm.
“Obviously we were poor and I would have done anything to help my family,” says Maidana admirably. “If it wasn’t for professional boxing, maybe I would have worked at the farm. I would have done anything to rescue my family from poverty.
from boxingnewsonline
“I help my family financially now, that’s why I’m happy because this is my highest payday. I have to win to keep on going. I would really like to buy every member of my family a house, especially my parents. With fights like this, hopefully I will be able to buy them all a house.”
Maidana, one of nine children, has lived in Buenos Aires for the last six-seven years, and currently resides with his mother, sister and youngest brother. He has a six-year-old son, Nahuel, who lives with his mother back in Santa Fe. She and Marcos are separated but Maidana sees the boy regularly.
Maidana caught the boxing bug from an enthusiast in his local neighbourhood. “He started to organise local tournaments,” the South American reveals. “I thought it might be interesting and then I started knocking people out.”
Indeed, Maidana has carried his power all the way to adulthood and into his pro career. The WBA Interim champ stormed to 25 straight wins, 24 inside schedule, before coming up just short, via split decision, to then-WBA king Andriy Kotelnik in February last year. The defeat may have been painful but Khan’s mandatory challenger insists he has learned from it.
“I was overconfident,” Maidana reflected. “I thought Kotelnik would be an easy fight but things got complicated. I learned to never again be so overconfident and to take every opponent seriously. I thought I won the fight but it was not easy at all.”
If WBC/IBF champion Devon Alexander and WBO title-holder Timothy Bradley finally come to an agreement to face off in the new year, that contest and Khan-Maidana could make up two informal semi-finals in an unofficial tournament to decide the world’s premier 10-stoner.
“It’s a pretty competitive division,” Maidana remarks. “Maybe Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley are just one step ahead of myself but the four of us are the best in the division.”
Whoever emerges on top of the heap, Maidana has come a long way from the boy who grew up on a Margarita farm.