It took almost 12 years, but Marlon Starling's batteries are recharged.

For the last three months, the 43-year-old former two-time welterweight champion of the world has been training five or six days a week at the San Juan Center in his hometown of Hartford, Conn., and is considering a return to the ring.

"When I stopped boxing, I didn't retire, I fell out of love with it," said Starling, who last fought in 1990, when he lost his World Boxing Council welterweight title to Maurice Blocker. "I said I was not coming back. Now it's starting to get more and more fun."

Starling was just 31 years old when he lost to Blocker. He had fought almost his entire career at welterweight from the time he turned pro in 1979 and the process of making the 147-pound limit was becoming more and more difficult.

"I was tired of fighting my weight," said Starling, who plans to fight at super middleweight if and when he comes back. "I couldn't do it anymore. I was happy to say I wasn't going to fight again."

In April of 1990, Starling challenged Michael Nunn for the International Boxing Federation middleweight title, losing a 12-round decision.

"Michael Nunn didn't win," said Starling about his second-to-last fight. "Marlon Starling lost it. He didn't hurt me. I just didn't work enough. The way I fought, I was saying ‘show me what you could do."

Though his career (or at least the first part of it) didn't end on a high note, Starling walked away from boxing satisfied with what he accomplished.

"When I turned pro, my goal was to be the best," said Starling, "not to win a title, but to be the best. When I was the champion, I was the best. How do I know that? My peers said I was the best welterweight on the planet.

"People said Mark Breland and Lloyd Honeyghan were the best. I knocked out Breland and I knocked out Honeyghan."

Starling won the WBA title in 1987 from Breland with an 11th-round knockout. In April of 1988, Starling faced Breland in a rematch. The bout was ruled a draw, though many observers felt Starling deserved the decision.

In July of 1988, Starling lost his WBA title when Tomas Molinares landed a punch after the bell to end the sixth round and knocked Starling down. Starling did not beat the count and Molinares was initially awarded a knockout victory and the title. The result was later changed to a no contest.

Starling won the WBC title in February of 1989, dominating Honeyghan before stopping him in nine rounds. He defended the title once in Hartford, out-pointing Yung-Kil Chung before losing his final two fights to Nunn and Blocker. His record after losing to Blocker was 45-6-1 (27 knockouts).

In the past decade, Starling has worked for the Hartford Public Schools and with a law firm. He's done some painting and he's been a salesman. He's also the single father of two sons.

Every now and then, Starling went to the gym to try to stay in shape. He weighed as much as 193 pounds and he's currently working his way down to 168.

Although Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun have hosted several world-class fight cards over the past decade and are less than an hour from Starling's home, he stayed away from the fight scene until recently.

"I didn't like it," said Starling, who expressed a desire to work at one of the casinos as a host. "But if you want to sell a fight, you have to go to a fight."

He discussed his comeback plans with the Boston Herald's George Kimball and the Hartford Courant's Terry Price. His objective is to fight one of his contemporaries: former lightweight and junior middleweight champion Vinny Paz.

"He's from New England and I'm from New England," said Starling. "People would love to see it. Vinny is very tough, but I'm too clever for him."

Paz's promoter, Jimmy Burchfield, does agree that a bout between two boxers from the last generation that fought on major network television could be an attractive one, but he would like Starling to prove he's up to the task first.

"He would have to go through the process of getting licensed by a state commission," said Burchfield. "Before he can fight on TV, he has to show what he has left. We can't waste much time because Vinny is getting up in age, but if he shows he has something left, it could be a big fight for the casinos."

Paz, 39, lost a decision to WBC super middleweight titleholder Eric Lucas in March.

Starling hopes to fight in September. He accepts that he will probably have to fight a six-round bout against a safe opponent.

"I don't like the idea of fighting six-round fights," said Starling. "I'm a former world champion. I fought 15-round fights, but they said I should try a six-rounder first."

Starling was best known for his defensive skills. He does not like to be called a fighter. He'd rather be known as a boxer. Since he didn't suffer much wear and tear in the ring, he feels his comeback can be successful.

"I can do what I'm doing now because I never got beaten up," he said. "I never took a beating and I've had more than 100 amateur fights and more than 50 professional fights. Not once did I take a beating."

While Starling does hope to make some decent money in his comeback, he said he is not motivated by money.

"I never fought for the money," he said. "I love entertaining people and I want to win, whether I'm fighting for a penny or $1 million. When the bell rings, money doesn't mean anything."