Maicelo Hopes Win Leads To 2nd Lightweight Title Shot

By Keith Idec

Jonathan Maicelo might’ve retired had Brandon Bennett beaten him in their August 28 clash.

That would’ve made two consecutive defeats and the third since April 2013 for the 32-year-old lightweight contender from Peru. Beating Bennett (19-2, 8 KOs) in such definitive fashion made Maicelo reconsider his immediate future in boxing, though, one that could include aligning with powerful adviser Al Haymon and another title shot.

Cincinnati’s Bennett is represented by Haymon and was considered the ‘A’ side in their 10-round, 135-pound fight in Washington, D.C., which Maicelo (22-2, 12 KOs) won by unanimous decision (99-91, 97-93, 97-93).

“I really took the fight like life and death,” Maicelo said through his co-trainer/translator, Butch Sanchez. “If I would’ve lost, I really would’ve considered retiring. This gave me new life. With the opportunity I could have with Al Haymon by winning the fight, I wasn’t going to let that opportunity pass. I know Adrien Broner was in [Bennett’s] corner and everybody there was rooting for him. But I told everyone I was going there to win and I delivered on my promise. I’m very motivated and excited about what could happen from here.”

Maicelo, who resides in North Bergen, N.J., hopes his next fight will be televised as part of one of Haymon’s numerous television deals. The Bennett bout, which wasn’t televised, was Maicelo’s first fight since suffering a one-sided, unanimous-decision defeat to Colombia’s Darleys Perez (32-1-1, 20 KOs), the WBA lightweight champion, on Jan. 9 in Santa Ynez, Calif. ESPN2 broadcast that fight from Chumash Casino Resort as part of its defunct “Friday Night Fights” series.

“That wasn’t my best performance,” Maicelo said of the Perez fight. “I took some time to recoup, but I got back into it and I went to camp with Danny Garcia [before Garcia’s win against Paulie Malignaggi]. That let me know I could hang in there with guys like that.”