Ricardo Mayorga to return April 7

Ricardo Mayorga, 44 years old and well past his prime years, will return to the boxing ring on April 7 in Laredo, Texas, facing Rodolfo Gomez Jr.

Mayorga (32-10-1, 26 KO) came pretty much out of nowhere back in 2002, when he upset Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis and earned a shot at top welterweight Vernon Forrest in early 2003, where he stunned Forrest by third round TKO, overwhelming him with Mayorga’s trademark reckless abandon.

A rematch went the distance, with Mayorga again beating Forrest, before losing his titles to Cory Spinks in December 2003. Since then, it’s been up and down for Mayorga for the last 14 years, with stoppage losses to Felix “Tito” Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley (twice), and Miguel Cotto, and wins over lesser opponents between those fights. His biggest win after 2004 probably came against a similarly faded Fernando Vargas in 2007, in what wound up being Vargas’ final fight.

Most recently, Mayorga went to Russia in November, where he was dominated by prospect Andrey Sirotkin. Mayorga also dabbled in mixed martial arts in 2013, going 0-3 with one no-contest.

Gomez (12-4-1, 8 KO) is no serious opponent, but he’s about the level of fighter that Mayorga beats these days, but at this point, none of this — including the fight happening — is any guarantee until the bell actually rings.