In 1956 a friend showed him an article about a new depth record of 41 meters set by spearfishing champions Ennio Falco and Alberto Novelli.

He explained in an interview why he abandoned spearfishing: On 22 September 1974, in the Bay of Ieranto (or 'Jeranto') at the western end of the Gulf of Salerno, Maiorca attempted to establish a new world record for freediving, aiming for 90 metres.

Less than 20 metres into his dive, Maiorca bumped into Enzo Bottesini, an expert scuba instructor, and upon resurfacing he let out a string of strong expletives, many of which were clearly audible to the television audience.

[10] Maiorca's main rivals were the Brazilian Amerigo Santarelli (who retired from the sport in 1963), Teteke Williams, Robert Croft, and Jacques Mayol.

The character Enzo Molinari, portrayed by Jean Reno, in the 1988 Luc Besson film The Big Blue is based on Maiorca.