Is Khan tough enough to beat Maidana?
January 20th, 2010
By William Mackay: World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) has a tentative agreement to face WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (27-1, 26 KO’s) on April 17th at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s looking like the 23-year-old Khan will choose to face Maidana rather than vacate his title or try to pay Maidana a step aside fee so that Khan can get another fight in between.
Maidana is quick to cut off the ring on his opposition and often crowds them, not giving them any room to fight on the outside. This could be bad news for Khan, because his new style of fighting taught to him by trainer Freddie Roach is based on movement and jabs. For Khan to protect his sometimes fragile chin, he will have to try and keep Maidana on the outside somehow.
In looking at Maidana’s last six fights, it doesn’t seem likely that Khan will be able to accomplish that no matter how much he tries to move. Maidana is just very good at cutting off the ring and forcing his opponents to fight his style of fighting at close range. Maidana is a lot like Ricky Hatton in the way that he is good at cutting off runners and making them fight.
If Khan isn’t able to keep Maidana safely on the outside, this could be a disaster for Khan. Maidana has short arms and is able to get a lot of power on his shots in close range. Khan will be at a clear disadvantage if Maidana is able to smother Khan and keep the fight in close. Additionally, Maidana’s fights are often grueling affairs with him taking heavy shots and then firing back with even harder shots.
Only one of his opponents, Andriy Kotelnik, was able to beat him, and Kotelnik did it by covering up and jabbing most of the fight. As it was, Kotelnik took a lot of punishment in the fight and looked like he had lost the fight at the end with his bloody and battered face. If Kotelnik, who has a heck of a chin, took this kind of punishment in winning a controversial 12 round decision, is Khan tough enough to take similar punishment and still remain standing at the end? That’s the question.
Khan won’t be able to run enough to keep Maidana off him for long, so he’s going to have to be able to stand up to Maidana at some point in the fight. Very likely, unless Khan can take Maidana’s big shots, he’s going to lose the fight and suffer another knockout like the one he did against Breidis Prescott in September 2008. Maidana can’t be beaten cheaply by moving.
Maidana is too good at cutting off the ring and forcing his opponents to fight. Khan needs to think hard before taking this fight. If he doesn’t think he’s ready to survive a tough war with Maidana, he would be better of vacating and avoiding what could be another embarrassing loss. There’s no shame in vacating a title. It might be the safer thing for Khan to do in this case.
Tags: 56 Responses to “Is Khan tough enough to beat Maidana?”
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Oh and Shakeeb, you know nothing about me so keep the personal comments to yourself and Naheem you’re wrong im afraid son he won’t get in the ring with a puncher so can never unify the titles! Also Shakeeb what are these british and asian falgs you speak of enlighten me!
First of all Shakeeb i do not leave my bathroom light on at all as i pay the bills!! I am of irish heritage and think that John Duddy is useless at world level, see it’s not all about jumping on someones nuts just because they are from the same part of the world as you! I support any one that handles thereself with dignity, honestly who has Khan beat to back up all this talk, the answer is nobody he is definitely ducking his way around and it’s obvious for all to see. How come i don’t hear you praising the likes of Kell Brook or Kevin Mitchell?
oi you 2 Iqbal & mohammed you started the insults now your getting it back.This is a boxing debate keep it at that.Stop squaking and talk boxing.
If Khan keeps on he’s back foot he’s fragile chin will not get hit.
Don@london – I cant get my breath with your comments. A grown man saying things like that? YOur the kind of guy that would leave the bathroom light on for two hours wasting the bulb. Hes a british boxer and were proud that hes got the world title, and may he continue to fly the bristish and Asian flags
Bazooka you racist moron. Get off this site. I will look into your IP address being banned from here for that my friend
Oi muckhammed calling jamesmc a little boy do you class that as a intelligent conversation.This a boxing debate no a night in the mosque
its funny how pppl were saying kev mitchell was going to be halal/kosher meat for prescott… lol, if khan fights a similar fight to kev its very easy as he has much more power and can easily ktfo maidana, however, if he tries to become a hero and go toe to toe…then his chances of getting ktfo increase
I don’t get all this ‘khan’s chin is terrible’ talk. He was caught cold, he was drained from Ramadam and fasting, he hasn’t been knocked down since moving up in weight and Kotelnic hit him with some harder shots than prescott gave him.
Khan will rip Maidana a new one. Maidana is just a pub style brawler. He may as well go in the ring with a pint of Carling. Khan floats likr a butterfly and stings like a bee, Maidana stumbles about the place like a football hooligan.
Khan will win if he can avoid every single shot Maidana gives. Can his chin hold up?
anonymous – who cares about the usherettes? We are talking about boxing here not ‘prove you were there’.
Shakeeb,being ring side your self what were one of the usherettes.
marcos maidana is a lot like edwin valero both huge punchers but both have weak defences, maidana was down against ortiz and valero just swings wide shots most of the time. i see khan beating maidana on points and there will knockdowns and maybe a late stoppage but i see khan being too good also i predict pacquaio to defeat clottey via tko 7th round and if moseley vs mayweather happens then mayweather will win on points. hopkins beats jones jnr all night long
@shakeeb-was also ring siide and could see the cut as being 1 of the worst cuts i had seen in a fight,you must also have seen the same and with your boxing know it all should no that the fight should have got stopped at the time,and being that close u would have clearly seen the doctor stopping the fight and not barrera quiting(i realy dont know where you got that 1 from).
Guys we should be more positive – yes this guys a banger and yes Kahn has a bad chin but plenty of boxers have made it far enough without getting tagged. When was the last time you ever saw Floyd or someone like Hopkins get hit with a big shot? If you are good enough you’ll stay out of reach of the big shots and Maldana is not the fastest and I dont know too many faster than Amir. Besides if Amir goes past round 7 without getting hit with a hayemaker unless he has supreme stamina Maidana’s strength will be neutralised by his tierdness. There’s nothing more tiring than hitting thin air. I’m going with Kahn by KO in rounds 9 to 10 on a tired Maidana. We know that Roach does usually gets his analysis spot on and I’m sure he’ll draft up a plan to get the job done. Other than Marquez or Desert Storm I cant actually think of anyone more dangerous for Kahn to face in the lightweight / light welter division…
This is Maidana’s only chance to shine.After Khan wipes him out and makes him look like the silly and sloppy slugger that he is, does Maidana then get grouped with all the ‘over rated bums and taxi drivers’ that Khan has been fed or will Khan finally start getting some respect?Khan school Maidana en route to a lop sided UD.
if khan could,nt beat an old small barrera,who at best is a superfeather then he would of retired from the ring.barrera was hand picked for khan to beat up.
Being ringside myself and witnessing the match, you could see khan was too much for barrera. If barrera had sparred, wudnt have made much gammon interms of the end product. Khan won, plain and simple.
a mean lightwelter
@shakeeb-ok now ur staring to talk sence by sayng khan hasnt been knockdown since he moved up to welter,but hes faught 2 weak punchers.but your comment about barrera was ludicrouise,u say khan made barrera quit as i said before i was at the fight and barrera didnt quit the ring side doctors stopped the fight after the 5th so khan got the decision,and had the fight been stopped any earlier it would have been a nc.and the fight should have got stopped as soon as the cut happend as barrrera couldnt see with blood runen in his eye,so khan didnt realy beat barrera.plus u always go on about important sparrin is and if you know any thing about boxing you would know that barrera couldnt spar leading up to the fight as he suffered a cut leadind up to the fight,so that would also have hampered his performance.
Prince Naz was a special king of kings. His mistake was being weight drained and experiance. Not age
He hasnt been knocked down since moving up to light welterweight to fight , this so called weak chin has got stronger since the move, he doesnt have to lose as much water to make the weigh in. And as for morales and barrera, Khan made Barrera quit and was boxing his head off till barrera quit.
im not a Kahn fan, but i think he can beat maidana. Kahn has very good movement and hits just as hard as maidana. Also Maidana s chin isnt that great either.
@shakeeb-and my point about age is if khans that good why blame his mistakes in previouse fight on age?i hate it when people point to khans age when so many boxers have achieved alot more than khan by his age even a british boxer has(prince naz).
You have only proved my point to greater achievments James. Khan bare in mind had alot more muscle on him during the Prescott fight than he did on the drilzan fight but weight less than he did on that night? by the prescott fight, he had more muscle heavier bones and weighed less! it shows how much water he had to lose to make the lightweight limit. There decreasing punch resistance.
shakeeb khan chose to come in at 138 there was no catch weight it was a lww contest anh khan got put down,point proved.
138 pounds isnt 140 pounds. For crying out loud in a speaker mr James MC. Remember Khans only 23, and hes already world champion. What does that tell you. And your point about Barrera and Morales clearly shows your boxing knowledge to be zero. some People learn to ride a bike when there 3, others when there 33.
istiaq
show sum respect lad !
James mc is debating with you he isnt calling you a little boy.
And calling hatton a fat pig clearly shows u dont no what respect means this is a boxing forum not a teenage slangin match site !
@istaq-i got it wrong i said welter but as i said i was only tren to prove my point to shakeeb who had said khan was only draind at lw and had never been down at lww when he clearly had.
@istaq and sakeeb-how could he have destroyed me the guy clearly doesnt have a clue about boxing ,i was relyen to the fact trhat he siad khan hasnt got chin problem it was because he was weight drained at light weight and has never been down at light welter,but he faught drilzan at light welter for some wba int title and was put down,i think thats destroying yourself by making silly comments before posting
From what I have read it is not a done deal that Amir will fight Maidana first. They are trying to get a deal were Amir fights someone well known in the States and Maidana fights on the undercard. This is to build the fight between Amir and Maidana up to get more interest and therefore money. Then providing they both win they will fight each other. Boxing is all about money. However if Maidana won’t agree to it I am confident Amir won’t relinquish his belt and they will fight.
the fact of the matter is khan has a very week chin if two blowen up light hitting super feathers limond and gomez can put him down,maidana could put him in a coma,but i still think khan has a chance of winning because i dont think maidana has that great a chin eaither so i thinh for khan to win hes going to have to land something big in the 1st couple of rounds and get maidana out of there because the longer the fight goes maidana will eventualy clip that fragile chin a ko khan.
I feel that Kahn if he boxes the same way he did against Kolentik he will be ok. This should of been Kahns fight after Kolentik. If Salita was number one contender then him and madiana should of had it out. So that the winner would of faced Kahn. WBA you are a laughing stock
khans footwork is appauling, he trips over his own feet and falls over in afew of his fights when opponent is applying pressure. he cannot cope with maidana stalking him round the ring and pressurising him.
look how sucessful micheal gomez was when he applied pressure to khan. khan couldnt find the power to drive him back. maidana will track him down, apply pressure, walk straight through his defence and completely batter him. maidana will brutally ko khan infront of his new american audience and he will join the rest of the victims on maidanas record.
maidana is one of the best at his weight, he is the new up and coming exciting fighter, not amir khan. he has punching power from hell and is very crafty and clever. thats why roach still hasnt agreed to this fight formally, he knows khan isnt ready for this.
@ shakeeb
i agree since khan moved to 140 he deffinately looks better in the chin department.and lets face it every man alive is capable of been kod . Amirs skill and speed will destroy maidana i cant see this going to the judges kahn by ko late rounds.
I am hoping to see an improvement on kahns footwork for this fight also. Looks a little shaky on the back foot its as if sometimes he dosnt no where to go next. What do you think shakeeb on amirs footwork (at times) or am i picking at straws here??
I agree that because of his chin Khan will have to fight very carefully from now on and may become boring to watch. Skill wise Khan should win by wide decision but (weak chin + savage power = very possible ko). And thats what will make this fight interesting.
Everyone keeps going on about Khans weak chin. He doesn’t have a weak chin, he lost his punch resistance at lightweight, he built muscle were it wasn’t needed, and then drained down to 135. Now khan at 140, has built muscle in the right places, can eat and drink properly too. The weak chin is becoming boring and is a myth. He has never been knocked down at lightwelter, what does that tell you? he is a better boxer to top that off, poor Maidana hasn’t a chance. Maidana will be walking down that path leading to the ring without a pot to P*ss in.
khan is wack!! i do like the fact that he stepped up to fight maidana?? instead of vacating the belt maybe some of pacquiao is rubbing off on him?? still think he gets k.tf.o. maidana hits like a ton of bricks..
Luevano and Juan Ma is this weekend and you’re obsessing over KHAN? WTF?
Everyone is going on like Maidana hits harder than tyson or something look hes good puncher but has vaunrabilities himself, Khan now is a pretty big hitter himself and extremely quick this has the potential to be fight of the year lets just sit back and enjoy it.
milosands i think you missed the poin, who fought khan, yo will say barrera, a retired fighter and the bout was stopped by a cut,maidana only fight in america was victor ortiz 25-2 20ko and he showed why people think now maidana is one of the best at 140 and say khan need to avoid that fight!
i think khan feels under pressure from the heavy critisism he gets from fans ect. to take on a heavy puncher and mabey he feels he has something to prove to himself. his ego is getting the better of him. there is no shame in vacating except freddie roach and team khan and khan himself have been enthusing about how he’s the next best thing and he’s going to take everyone on so if he did vacate it would be very hard for him.
i think maidana is a vicious puncher and has won all his fights with a good variety of opponents with different styles, he did beat kotelnik. khan wont survive in the ring with this tough man, he is way too hard for khan.
khan will be doing his best to out box maidana but one to or 3 solid hits off maidana n the glass jaw of khan will shatter.
I cant wait for this fight!! Ill be routing for Khan but its a 50-50 fight in my opinion, Khan is superior in almost every department (except chin and power) but Khan could either get a late stoppage or wide UD.
Madiana by KO or Khan wide UD
Maidana has not really fought anyone decent to be fair and when he did he got beat or he went down. Khan is a fast starter and is much quicker then anyone Maidana has faced before, to be honest I don’t think Maidana will get a look in. Khan hits fast, hard and most importantly he hits clean.
Good match-up though – cannot wait.
as long as khan can hit and run for 12 rounds he will win. Lets not forget he was nearly ko’d by willi limond who is a bum that had moved up from super feather weight
Amir kahn wins this for me.Why he has the best trainer in boxing and is always improving the only way i see amir losing is in the first 2 rounds but i dont see it happening he has learned his lesson of prescott deafeat.Amir is a boxer and understands he cannot go toe to toe with big punchers.Amir speed will be key in this fight maidana cant throw when theres lighting fast hands coming his way then when maidana throws amir will simply back pedal and cover up causing maidana to get frustrated and get caught.
Amir will finish this fight and set the record straight to the haters.
Listen up boxingfans! Khan is definatley gonna try to box this guy and marcos will be trying to brawl. But khan is not only quick on his hands but his feet is well. If marcos does cornor khan he will not be able to pressure khan easily because khan is a big jr welterwight too. Yes khans chin isn’t excellent, but boxing is a sweet science and if you play smart instead of trying to streetfight you can outdo anyone. By the way people ortiz has shown madaina has not exactly got a shane mosley chin!
Khan is an untested fighter, and i think there is just too much hype about him. From the little i have seen, i don’t think Khan has any boxing skills at all, and will definetly get seriously hurt in the fight with Maidana.
Ant Banks – ent it m8, this site dnt stop slagging khan, he gnna be the best fighter on the planet in 5/6 yrs. He just needs more time, he will improve just like the rest of um. manny was nt the fighter he is now was he?? he got beat 3 times b4 roach took over, and now look at him! you will all repond saying i talk sh*t but the fact is you will all be eating your words, khans the future. you yanks claim to love the style he posseses so just shut it and watch him take you all by storm. i mean who the hell of any real talent have tyou got, obv beside mayweather. who u all h8 anyway, us englsh have more respect for mayweather than you fools…. peace!
khan wins nearly every round.
i can see khan out classing maidana,winning most of the rounds.and could even stop him late.but it would be good if maidana lands one or two flush on khans jaw.khan his a natural 140lb fighter now,maidana his strong and powerfull but khans speed is the key for success.then khan will go and end hattons career.
first time he gets caught its over. Freddie Roach see’s khan in sparring every training camp and he didnt fancy this fight, that tells you khans chin hasnt improved with him putting on more weight and moving up to light welter (sometimes works, look at cotto)
Well at least he is taking on someone who isnt a bum. Even if he doesnt win, he still took the fight. He couldnt have turned it down though.it would have looked very suspect
Someboy is obsessed with Khan on this site..who is this person…Khan is hype until proven otherwise.
I think that the plan would be for Kahn to use his legs, and also his fast hands too to make Maidana think twice about trying to bulldoze his way inside. If he can do that successfully, he has got a chance.