Former world champion Marcos Maidana has decided against a return to the ring after training over the past few weeks.
The 35 year-old, who has been out of the ring since 2014, was preparing hard and shedding weight for a comeback.
Maidana last fought in a pair of bouts with ex-pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Losing the first in a competitive contest, Maidana earned a lucrative rematch with the ‘Money’ man before riding off into the sunset at the age of 31.
Being pictured enjoying his retirement on many occasions, it was a huge surprise when Maidana confirmed his intentions to fight again.
An offer from Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions was accepted ahead of an initial encounter at 160 pounds.
Gradually, Maidana was expected to settle at 154 pounds. With talk of a second fight with Amir Khan possible in 2020 at the lower limit.
Khan won an entertaining Fight of the Year clash back in 2010. The Briton has few options open to him following a loss to Terence Crawford last week.
Stopped in six rounds, Khan vowed not to hang up his gloves.
Facing ‘Chino’ again was a sure-fire way of Khan having another shot at the big time next year. But only once he gets back to winning ways.
That’s all now fallen by the wayside. Maidana has formally dropped plans despite losing poundage since getting back to work.
PROMOTER
It’s expected Maidana will now settle back into handling duties with his Chino Promotions brand.
Held in high regard for a stellar career, which included world titles in two weight categories, there will certainly be some who believe this is the correct decision.
Others will say Maidana retired too early on in his career and had so much more to give. As things stand those questions will remain unanswered.
Concentration can now turn to younger brother Fabian’s ambitions. Fabian, 26, recently lost for the first time in 17 pro contests.
Marcos promoted the event and will now hope to guide his sibling to success after ending his own ring stint once and for all.
