In the wake of his one-sided, near-shutout loss to Devon Alexander last Saturday in St. Louis, Marcos Maidana tells Chris Robinson of the Examiner that he's headed back to 140 pounds after his failed welterweight experiment, which should surprise no one.
"I gave it a shot at 147 and didn't work," Maidana said candidly. "I feel better at 140 even though it's not that easy for me to make it."
Maidana (31-3, 28 KO) still holds the WBA regular belt at junior welterweight, which he made sure to clear with them before this fight, noting that he was not vacating. And with Alexander having moved up, Timothy Bradley on his way up to face Manny Pacquiao on June 9, and Amir Khan leaving the division win or lose against Lamont Peterson on May 19, Maidana remains one of the top players at 140.
Maidana also says that at 28, he does not feel that a string of hard fights have damaged him, but I wouldn't count out that possibility. Maidana's style and, frankly, his limitations lead me to believe his will be a short prime.
He should still have a couple of good years left, but when he starts to go, he's going to really go in a hurry. And i don't count out the chance that we've started to see him go with this fight -- he was not himself, and it wasn't just the weight. He had a look in his eyes I haven't seen before. He accepted defeat to some degree, it seemed, which is not the Maidana way. And his body looked like it just wasn't with him. That might have been due to the weight, but Maidana's normal fighting spirit just did not seem present. He also appeared to have almost no power -- he didn't do any damage to Alexander with his shots.
I think it's safe to say most boxing fans will root for Maidana to come back strong. He's a fun fighter to watch, a guy who takes tough fights, and always tries. But it seems pretty clear that once he's unable to make 140, his career as a top fighter is pretty much over.