With Marcos Maidana’s aggressive fight style, it is understandable that he has gained a heavy Mexican following, including some of the best fighters ever from south of the border.
For the majority of the first part of his first fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Maidana gave Mayweather all he could handle, but gassed out toward the end of the bout.
As the big Sept. 13 rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas nears, various Mexican stars gave their opinions of “Chino.”
One of the best fighters to ever step in the squared-circle, former three-division champion and hall of famer, Julio Cesar Chavez credits Maidana as being the toughest fighter Mayweather has seen.
“I must confess I was amazed to see how courageous Maidana was; he squared up in front of Mayweather and just went at it with everything he had,” Chavez said.
Fighting with little regard to his and his opponent’s health, Chavez said Chino reminds him of fighters from his own country.
“Maidana possesses a singular characteristic that we usually see only in Mexican fighters – he is simply fearless,” Chavez said. “He is brave and powerful and from the moment he steps into the ring he fights like there’s no tomorrow.”
Erik Morales, the first ever Mexican-born four-division champion echoed those sentiments, as he loves Maidana’s fearless approach to the sweet science.
“When you think of what makes a great Mexican Champion, you think of determination, aggressiveness, heart and the guts to get the job done,” Morales said. “That’s what it means to be a great Mexican warrior; you leave everything in the ring, your heart and soul are out there.
“There’s no boxing in Las Vegas or anywhere without great Mexican fighters. We all know that. And Maidana has the heart of a Mexican warrior.”
Former super bantamweight titlist Israel Vazquez also applauded Maidana’s action-pushing style, but also credited the Argentine for not having an ego, despite being one of the best boxers in the world.
“Besides being a very good fighter, Marcos has a very nice characteristic, he’s truly humble. That’s a feature you don’t find that often in boxers of his caliber,” Vazquez said.
