Boxing

Delay in Maidana-Broner rematch

January 22, 2014

Marco Maidana scored two knockdowns and outpointed Broner to hand him his first defeat © Getty Images

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Welterweight titlist Marco Maidana and Adrien Broner are still headed towards a rematch, but it isn't going to be in April, as Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer and Showtime had planned.

Maidana scored two knockdowns and outpointed Broner to hand him his first defeat and win a 147-pound title in a dramatic fight on December 14 in San Antonio. Earlier this month, Broner exercised his contractual right to a rematch and Schaefer said it would take place on either April 19 or April 26.

But that was news to Maidana.

Although Maidana and manager Sebastian Contursi acknowledge Broner's right to a rematch, Contursi said Maidana won't be available to fight in April.

"After [Schaefer's] announcement [about April] had been made, [Maidana adviser] Al Haymon called me on the phone and we had this chat in which I explained to him that April was to soon for Maidana," Contursi told ESPN. "We did not get into any specifics of the potential rematch at all, but I've explained to him that Maidana is having a long-deserved vacation and, on top of that, his girlfriend Mariana is due to have their daughter in mid-March, and Maidana wants to be around for the birth.

"We've thought Maidana's impressive win was going to earn him a unification fight against Mayweather in May. But one thing is Mayweather, and a totally different thing is Broner, needless to say. Mayweather is the best and he obviously calls the shots, but Broner is coming off a beating at the hands of Maidana, so if Al and [Golden Boy] think that a rematch is the best option, we need to understand Maidana [wants] to rest a bit before engaging himself in yet another fight with the guy he's just beaten. I think Al understood it and he said we'll talk again in the next few days."

All of this means that a rematch between Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) and Broner (27-1, 22 KOs) probably will be pushed into at least the early summer.

This article originally appeared on ESPN.com