The tooth is out there: Former foe Marcos Maidana shows off trophy tooth he claims came from fight with Floyd Mayweather (PHOTO)

Hard-hitting former title holder Marcos Maidana has brandished a gold-mounted tooth he purportedly punched out of Floyd Mayweather's mouth during a fight in 2014 in which he was accused of biting the undefeated champion's fingers.

Maidana’s scrap with Mayweather in September 2014, when the Argentine threatened to end the American’s long winning run before losing by unanimous decision, provoked controversy in the aftermath as the champion accused the challenger of biting his hand and dismissed whispers that he had lost a tooth during the fight.

Now the colorful Maidana, who is plotting a return to the ring after six years out, has published a photo of the alleged tooth attached to a gold pendant, claiming that he knocked it out of Mayweather’s mouth and has plans to put it on a chain, as well as asking fans how much the keepsake is worth.

“I have it,” Maidana revealed to his Instagram following of almost 250,000, tagging the retired Mayweather in his post. “How much will the mouse give me?”

Maidana’s teenage son offered him three pesos (less than five cents) for the keepsake, perhaps indicating the questionable veracity of the curious memento.

Mayweather admitted that Maidana had tested him during their meeting at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but disputed the story posited by his opponent. “No, he didn't knock my teeth out,” he told Fight Hype afterwards. “Not at all. He's a strong guy, he's a good puncher, but no, as far as my teeth missing, absolutely not.”

Teeth did play a part in the fight, according to Mayweather. “He bit three of my fingers,” said the man who collected $32 million and three welterweight titles with the win.

“A human bite is extremely hard. It's one of the worst bites you can receive and he bit me in the eighth round. It didn't go through the glove but he was holding me so tight, the skin on the middle finger bust a little bit.

“When I took the glove off, my middle finger was bleeding a little bit. He kept trying to buy time and take a breather. That's what he did when he bit me. He knew what he was doing.

“I take my hat off to him. I respect him for doing whatever he had to do to survive but I think that came out of frustration.”

Maidana came as close as anyone to spoiling Mayweather’s perfect 50-fight record when the pair originally fought at the same venue five months earlier, losing a majority decision in one of his five defeats during an entertaining 40-fight career that included 31 knockouts.

He earned around $3 million from his encounters with Mayweather, the second of which was his last fight before he announced his retirement in 2016, but had been set to return to boxing this month against kickboxer Jorge Cali before the bout was called off as a result of the global pandemic.