Khan talks Maidana, Mayweather, Malignaggi, More!
January 6th, 2010
By Scott Gilfoid: In an interview at East Side Boxing’s On The Ropes, World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan said he’s looking to fight his mandatory challenger Marcos Maidana (27-1, 26 KO’s) in March. This is great news for boxing fans, because a lot people have been wondering whether Khan would choose to vacate his title rather than fighting the dangerous Maidana, who may be the hardest hitter in the light welterweight division.
Well, there it is. Khan is saying he wants to fight Maidana, so unless Khan changes his mind and decides to vacate, which I can see Khan easily doing, it looks like Khan is going to take that fight. Maidana hits really hard and it’s going to be interesting to see what Amir can do to try and outbox Maidana. Short of running all night long, I don’t know what Khan can do to stay upright against the big punching Maidana.
Khan is not going to be able to knock Maidana out in the 1st round like he did against his last opponent Dmitriy Salita. Khan will have an opponent that will be looking to take his head off with every punch. Roach is a great trainer, but there’s only so much a trainer can do to help out a fighter with a weak chin like Khan. Roach will probably be telling Khan to run like crazy, and that’s not a half bad idea, because if Khan tries to get brave, I can see Maidana parking his head into the 3rd row.
I wish I could say that I think Khan will win, but I can’t. I think Maidana is going to destroy Khan very early in this bout. As soon as Maidana connects with his first big shots, Khan is going to be wobbling around the ring on rubber legs. Maidana will then finish Khan off with a big right hand.
Khan thinks that he’s improved enough to beat a lot of fighters, and still thinks that his 1st round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott was a good thing. Khan hasn’t fought Prescott to try and avenge his defeat, and it looks like he probably never will at this point because Prescott has lost his last two fights.
Khan seems to have a great outlook about his knockout loss to Prescott, doing a good job of explaining away his defeat. “Any fighter that gets hit with one of those shots [one of the power shots that Prescott dropped Khan with], they would have been knocked out,” Khan says. Khan seems to forget that Prescott’s last two opponents have taken his best shots, including little Kevin Mitchell, and not been knocked out or hurt. “My body was cold. Imagine me fighting Prescott now. I think I’d give him [Prescott] a great boxing lesson and knock him out late in the fight.”
Yeah, I’d like to see that too. I wish Khan would fight Prescott again, but I don’t see it happening.
Khan thinks that WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley is the best fighter in the division, but thinks he’ll be ready to fight him in late 2010. “I think Timothy is a great fighter,” Khan says. “I think that fight [Khan vs. Bradley] can happen in late 2010. I need more experience. I think it would be a great fight for me…I think Timothy has the most dangerous style for me, but by the end of 2010, he’ll be perfect for me.”
I don’t know that Khan will be ready for Bradley by as early as late 2010, like Khan says. I see Timothy as being a couple of levels above Khan in talent. Khan needs to take one step at a time. He hasn’t fought anyone near the level of Bradley of yet. Khan’s last five fights have been against the following fighters: Prescott, Osin Fagan, Marco Antonio Barrera, Andriy Kotelnik and Salita. These are decent fighters, but come on; none of them are even close to being as good as Bradley. Khan needs scale down his ambition a little, and try to focus on just getting through his fight with Maidana without getting sparked out again.
Besides Bradley and Maidana, Khan is also interested in fighting Paulie Malignaggi and Nate Campbell, saying “Paulie Malignaggi is a great fight for me. He’s made for my style. I think I can outbox him and beat him. I’d love to fight Nate Campbell. He’s a fighter I would totally outbox. I’d love to fight him in the near future. Nate has a style that suits me.”
I agree with Khan about him being able to beat Malignaggi, but I’m less certain about Amir being able to beat Campbell. That fight is a toss-up for me. If Khan runs for 12 rounds, then I can see him getting though the fight and possibly winning it by a narrow decision. But if Khan stands in one place or tries to trade with Campbell, I can see Khan being knocked out again. Campbell may be getting up in there in age, but I think he’s still dangerous enough to stop Khan if he can connect with something big.
Looking into the future, Khan says “My dream fight is Mayweather, when I hit my peak, when I turn 24. In the next 18 months, a fight with Mayweather, with the right coaches, I think I can beat him.”
I don’t think so. I think Mayweather will dominate him badly, and I can’t see it being close at all. If Khan were to wait seven or eight years, when Mayweather is 40, then I think Khan would do well against Mayweather under those circumstances.
Full Interview:
Tags: Khan vs. Maidana, Khan-Maidana ,Amir Khan, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Marcos Rene Maidana, Paulie Malignaggi62 Responses to “Khan talks Maidana, Mayweather, Malignaggi, More!”
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Khan is a totally different fighter since Freddie became his trainer. Not a whole lot of fan believe in him for now. I’m confident that eventually he’ll rise to the top. Freddie Roach is genius in boxing. He’s so good in analizing the opponent. That’s whats Floyd Sr was lacking. Floyd Sr doesn’t have the talent to build his fighter’s maximum potential. History will repeat. When Khan rises to the top, Floyd Sr will again accuse him of taking PED. This is how Floyd Sr expresses his jealousy over Freddie Roach. Sooner or later people figure out the reason why Floyd Sr accuses Pacquiao of using PEP. Khan should be aware of this bec when he reaches the top, other boxers will get jealous & will try to ruin him with baseless accusations.
IF KHAN FACES MAIDANA HE DOES HAVE BALLS…..BUT THE MINUTE HE GETS INTO THE RING HE’S BALLS WILL BE KNOCKED OFF ITS COSY LITTLE PERCH
No worries graham lookin forward to it.
peace
del boy,
Fair enough, lets agree to disagree and wait for the fight.
rixta came in his pants prematurely when his boy ortiz was ktfu by khan in the second round hhahahaha
maidana will ko khan fact.
@ GRAHAM
Before i start graham i am no big amir khan fan i just believe in giving credit where credit is due (he will face maidana)as for amir not been a boxer i have to disagree i dont see him as a brawler who goes for broke ie wild shots etc he picks his shots and covers up like we saw in the kotelnic fight.As for khans health of course i dont want to see him hurt badly but cmon all boxers no that at some point in there career there going to get hurt its called boxing not table tennis.The reality is graham he got demolished by prescott but he has bounced back and is now a champion and lets face it if he faced prescott again he would win judging by prescotts recent performances he hasnt evolved like amir thats the diffrence.As for maidana you cant rule him out because he is a power puncher and could land at anytime i just think amir and roach are too smart for him and will come up with a game plan to beat maidana.
even if khan vaccate the belt i think there is nothing bad in that because for every fight and every fighter there is the right time. Pacman didn’t fough Cotto, or Barrerra, Marquez, Erik at the begning he made himself ready for these fights slowly by fighting othe fighters in the division , similarly goes to hatton and others no boxer directly goes into big fights at once, so If Amir take this fight he deserve respect and if he don’t then it deosn’t mean that he will not fight fights with big punchers like maidiana he will but at the right time. and who knows may be that time will be after a couple of fights at the end of this year.
del boy,
Are you not concerned about Khan’s health?
My point is quite simple, and that is Khan is a very limited boxer – HE CAN’T BOX AND HE CAN’T FIGHT. All he has is hand speed and a bit of punching power. So please do not put Khan in that “boxer” category.
Yes i have always thought Khan wouldnt take the fight but i’ve also hoped that he would, so that Maidana can knock him out and bring the hype down to reality. But i wouldn’t like him to get seriously hurt.
maidana will be looking to decapitate amir khan from the first bell and will not stop until khan has lost the fight. maidanas shown he can ajudst well to styles too by settling down and beating ortiz after being knocked down three times.
he also showed he will not lose no matter how bad things get in the fight, he keeps going like a warrior and refuses to give in. a devestating puncher and all round wild animal i think khan may have bitten off a bit more than he can chew.
khan talking crap again its bout time he gets ko’d again and say its a good thing 2 happen 2 him at this stage of his carrer again…
Potentially a good fighter but needs 2 get off pacman bell end, thinking hes gr8 like him idiot…all u khan bell shiners dnt realise mayweather wud dance rings round him and pot shot his glass chin 2 a KO, with regards 2 Maidana as long khan dnt get caught flush he’ill do fine possibly a UD
Not saying Khan definatly cant win, but maidana has the power and khan has the shaky chin so on that basis id be inclined to go for maidana.
Saying that Khan HAS GOT to stop saying stupid things in interviews about fighting the elite P4P, he was saying these things before the presscott fight, it only makes ppl pleased to see him get Ko’d
And this guy ‘Oli’ clearly knows nothing about boxing, musy be Scotts rent boy………..
Khan to beat maidana by stoppage. Regards to Bradley, I think khan has the quality to beat him, but maybe its abit to early. Someone that spars with pacquiao and matches him for most the fight according to roach, can be very confident about other fighter. right!!
Maidana will be looking for the K.O from the start and will get K.Oed himself when leaving himself open. Khan is very very fast, Speed = Power with the addition that khan is a good finisher once seens the opportunity, I think khan to win by K.O before round 7
Khan will win, but if the odds are decent i will put £20 on khan to get knocked out. Cause its a possibility.
But i believe khan will win, easily on points, maybe even knock this guy out.
Khan is a true fighter and u rat ass pussies who cant even punch and dont know boxing.. Listen carefully.. Khan will have a hardctime maybe with Maidana but will finish him wen he gets da oppurtunity,, poss round 4/5. With Mayweather maybe in the nex cupla years King Khan will be too fast too sharp to miss and shall do a O.D.L.Hoya on him. Watch out.. Haters King Khsn is about and here to stay.. Bratt Taa Tat Tat.
C’mon Khan, !!
i dont really like khan but he can win me over by fighting tough fights and tough guys like maidana good luck tho khan i think you need it
Hope khan gets his ass handed to him
this guys chin is a joke ………..
Al Francis yh I know lol it’s typing on an I phone it’s kinda difficult lol
i wouldnt rule out a very early ko for khan. Maidana will come at him relentlesly, wildy, hes a mayorga type who fights carelessly. khan will be given a LOT of opportunities to land flush right from the get go, he just needs to make sure he doesnt get tagged himself. Khan in 3, or Maidana in 1!
King Khan, its ‘intellectual’.
Bruce Grayson
thank you very much exactly what I said to John Murray in a previous Amir Khan article, how can I comment on Brook or Cleverly when the article is about Amir Khan? I don’t think John Murray has the intelligical capacity to understand this… And I support all British fighters doesn’t matter whether they are Asian, black, White, blue, green…
ok oli i have to agree with you with khan thinking he will beat mayweather in 18 months or whatever. But on the other hand who talks more bull than floyd and who cherry picks more than floyd? amir is going to try and big himself up he has no choice hes champ now and he knows he is going to have to get in the ring with better fighters now.
TALKING OF JOHN MURRAY.I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MURRAY V MITCHELL,THEN THE WINNER FIGHTS KHAN.IF KHAN WINS AGAINST MAIDANA,WHICH I THINK HE CAN.MAIDANA AS GOT A GREAT KO RECORD BUT APART FROM ORTIZ THERE ARE NO OTHER NAMES THERE,KHAN IS ABIT CHINNEY,BUT WITH IS SPEED AND BOXING SKILL KHAN CAN BAFFLE MAIDANA TO A UD.
I wonder if John Murray went of on a shrieking racist rant when Hatton fought protected fighters when he was young?
The supremely ironic part about all of this is John Murray is accusing King Khan of being racist! When he is the one repeatedly making an issue of race and religon. Nothing worse than white nob.
John Murray are you autistic? We are in the comments section for an article about Amir Khan, not another fighter, so why would King Khan comment about them? You are a racist idiot who only embarrasses himself.
John Murray is a racist nob. People support athletes from their background all the time, it doesn;t make them biased. But clearly you are a racist for singling King Khan. You obviously also have a baseless hatred for Amir Khan, you’re just a small pathetic man, that is jealous of Amir Khan success.
By the way, this is exactly why i dislike Amir khan…talking of beating mayweather in a years time?
Astoninshing confidence for a man whos not fought outside britain or yet to face anyone at top world level and was KO’d by a journeyman in one round only 3 fights ago, dont you think?
Its another perfect example of why this kid is the most lied to, and most deleuded boy in the whole entire world
@ graham
maidana is a big hitter we all no that but this is boxing and 9 times out of 10 the boxer beats the brawler i dont even care if maidana wins amir will get my respect for taking this fight and should gain yours as you thought amir wouldnt take the fight in the first place its going to happen and amir will win what will your excuse be then or amir is on roids with pac your so predictable.
King Khan- Back again are you, ur an over the top pathetic amir khan groupie thats all you seem to be. Get your facts right, Oli never said khan wouldnt face maidana at all, Oli simply said that khan is overhyped and overated, and will be found out before too long…which he is and he will. He might bore maidana to death like the kotelnik fight but a wins a win.
And king khan you moaning windbag learn to read properly because i also said that IF khan beats maidana then finally i can start to take him seriously, so theres no talk of excuses, maidana IS being overrated also because of the ortiz fight but it was an impressive win against a young fighter ppl in the states had high hopes for…so if khan beats maidana, it WILL make him credible at long last.
Thats what i said bell end
Scott – Will you ever write a positive article? Ever? All you do is bash non-American fighters, dawg try an objective approach.
Khan wins UD. Too skilled compared to Maidana. At this point in the gaem Bradely wins by UD though. Will be a good fight in the future.
And everyone jumping on Khan about his “glass chin” give the man a break! He’s been KO’ed once. He got caught. He’s 23 years old. It happens. The guy is sill learning and has improved. Paqcuiao has ben KO’ed, Wlad has been KO’ed, I think they’ve recovered quite nicely since then. Give it a rest! If it happens again then I stand corrected but until then chill the f*ck out…
I hope by taking this fight khans critics will stop moaning about khan all the time. I think if khan wants to show America that he is the real deal he must beat maidaina then paulie mallagni and juan urango or nate campell. Khan has potenial but lacks experience against world class fighters. Having said that should he beat da fighters i mentioned he can easily beat the likes of bradley and unify the belts. I do not think he has a glass chin but i don’t think its a granite chin
maidana seems to have created some confusion as to weather or not he is taking the fight with khan.
Maidana is the biggest hitter BESIDES Khan…
Think about it. Amir Khan can bang with the best of them and has speed. He is a deadly weapon and I believe he will beat Maidana easy. Sure its his biggest test so far but the kid is more then capable.
One word of advice to Khan, “DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE”.
But i fear this may be too late for him. Khan is doped up on hype to the hilt. Can he not see that there is a very big gap between the people his fought and the boxers he is now talking about?
Let’s be sensible here, boxing can be a very unforgiving sport. Khan is being lied to by Roach and other people around him who are more interested in making money. As much as they would like to pick and choose opponents for Khan, they will end up in situations like this (the Maidana fight) were they are forced to put him in against a more formidable fighter. This could be dangerous for Khan.
We all saw how he was knocked out nearly senseless by Prescott. I can’t image him being hit harder and surviving without permanent damage.
khan will be one of the all time great boxers you just watch.. he’s 23 years old and will achieve anything he puts his mind to in boxing.. what is all the hype about maidana?? hes noit even world class hes just a granite chinned puncher.. khan can school maidana instead of tryin to trade like ortiz did.. also khan as already schooled ortiz in the amateur’s.. LOOK WHAT MANNY PACQUIAO HAS ACHIEVED NOW AND EARLIER IN HIS CAREER HAS BEEN BEAT 3 TIMES AND ALSO HAS BEEN KNOCKED OUT BY A BODY SHOT
Khan will knock him out inside 6 rounds – he punches harder than Ortiz and follows up way way better. He’s quicker has better defence now. You don’t spend weeks sparring with Manny and not gain from it. Good on you boy – make your country proud again.
Pop
KP, Oli and Graham are so called experts of boxing and they said Khan would vacate and cherry pick rather then face Maidana… haha shows that they know f**k all and that’s why there quiet now… There taking their time trying to think of something resonable to say now. There gonna come out with Maidana will KO him and then when Maidana is the one that gets KO’D there gonna say he was over rated and khan needs to fight Bradley to prove himself… There pathetic hating on people they can’t acheive anything in life themselves so they hate..
Khan will win Maidana will not know were Khan’s punches are coming fro
…
Maidana KO to Khan…Khan is overrated and this see it when face him
Well once again Amir’s critics have been proved wrong nearly everyone thought Khan will avoid Maidana and cherry pick his opponents so give the guy a break & at least give him some credit when its due. I am not sure why there is so much hate for Amir the guy seems to keep on wining when everybody expects him to loose I think time is right to give Amir Khan the recognition he deserves.
If it were up to Khan, i’m sure he would fight Prescott again. Its the management that makes the decisions and Khan has to follow them. If Khan did vacate it wouldn’t be because he wanted to. Thing is now, Khan is a world champion and has alot more press, so the management have to be carefull at what steps to take as there the ones that gave him the shot at the title and its resulted in all the press and critics. I dont think Khan has much say in who he fights.
good stuff amir time to shut ur critics up on this site (and they no who they are) this will be a tough fight for amir but i see him winning tko late or a ud he will have to be careful in the early rounds but i believe he has the tools to win.
good luck amir its your time to shine.
nice.glad hes taking this fight so the khan myth is put to bed once and for all.and im british by the way!
yes bludddd khans takin this fight… haters like oli, kp, graham where r u wot excuses u gonna cum up wth now???
IF KHAN FIGHTS MAIDANA HE HAS SOME BALLS!
Khan is an enigma to me. Offensively very good with hand sped second to not many, however, defensively he loses his head when under pressure and doesn’t seem to see punches coming at him in those situations. If he can overcome these frailties I can see him becoming a very good fighter. Although that said he still has question marks over his ability to take a punch. His next fight will tell us a lot because it seems he will finally fight somebody of good pedigree in Madina. I will be very interested to see the outcome of this fight. As for fighting the likes of Bradley and Mayweather, that is somewhere over the rainbow my boy. Follow the yellow brick road.
The predictions of the man who said Salita would Ko Khan in 6. lol
Also predicted Khan would vacate rather than face Maidana. Not very good at this boxing thing are you mate!
I would have mad respect for Khan if he takes this fight and is not just talking.
I agree with previous comments – Maidana is just a slugger..
Dont forget Maidana hasnt got the best of chins (Victor Ortiz showed us that). Also, people dont give khan credit for his power. Ok, maybe not as big a puncher as Madiana, but Khan certainly has speed and power (& his speed is immense)
Take the Prescott v Mitchell fight. Prescott throwing wild power punches & missing nearly every shot. Mitchell used good defensive skills as well as good footwork and head movement to avoid most of Prescotts shots. Khan’s defence & footwork/movement is a lot better than Mitchell.
I think the fight will be very similar in that respect but with Khan stopping Maidana in rounds 7/8.
After reading and speedthroating all these comments, not one seems to have a clue about boxing in terms of gammon standards. Khan shouldn’t be forced to fight Maidana as he’s already wagon circled in terms of boxing tyres. A fight with Malagnaggi would be market clothed a lot better for Khan.
i dont tihnk Kahn really needs to tackle his “critics” just yet..hes 23 and fought 22 fights, there arent many fighters with such small amounts of fights that have fought who he has though and with the boxing maturity that he fights with. Maidana maybe a big hitter but why would anyone try and out slug a puncher, Kahn has amazing hand speed and fast reflexes of course hes going to fight to his strengths, it annoys me that people seem to think hes going to “run away” in fights. Besides i can see Kahn getting at Maidana’s non existant defence with his hand speed, Kahns going to win this in the late rounds.
I heard the same radio interview, and Khan said himself that he would drain himself to make lightweight, feel weak, legs felt weak and so on…as a former boxer i believe him and think it goes a long way to explaining why he was easily knocked down by Willy Lamond yet took Kotelnik’s punches and people, believe me, Kotelnik a good boxer and former world champ is a bettre puncher then willy lamond.
For taht reason i think Khan will survive agianst Maidana and to be honest thats all you need to do to beat a slugger – Khan will KO him in later rounds.
khan will stop maidina in 4 rounds !! hes a banger with awful defensive skills khan will be too powerfull and too fast , maidini will be too easy to hit ….. people need to stop slatin amir khan because your all going to look the idiots !!
I agree with you Dring, he is extremely young and still learning, he’ll be a mouth watering prosepect by the end of the year for the Welterweight Crown. Khan is becoming a devastating fighter and an accomplished boxer. He is no where near perfect but he can take on the likes of Maidana and easy Paulie Malignaggi. Bradley i think he should fight him nearer to when he fights Mayweather which i would say should be next year 2011! Bradley is sort of and kind of a 12 round sluggish, duck weave and slittherly like Mayweather, boring to watch but they get their results. Bradley should be in the radar and I think he should take on Maidana and prove people wrong.. AGAIN, and to Scott, lets be honest Prescott cant take on Khan now and Mitchell learnt from Khan’s fight, all you have to do is duck and weave. Scott, you must be from the East end of boxing you know very little to say the least and need to watch a bit more boxing to get a better idea!
Come on Khan take out Maidana then Alexander then Bradley and then come and give this gilford c… a slap in the face
I think Kahn needs the Maidana figh to improve himself to a lot of critics. It’ll be an interesting fight. I think Kahn has the technique to handle most of this fight and if he has enough power behind his speed he could take Maidana. However, we’re yet to see how Kahn’s chin can hold up these days and Maidana has powerful punches that come out of no where. I think this will be a good match up and find it hard to pick a winner.
Either Kahn by SD or Maidana by mid to late round KO.
OMG people, every time khan faces someone Mr Gilford always say Khan will loose etc, he is extreamly young and what he has accomplished already is fantastic, if you dont like him fair enough but dont have an biased opinion on him as that wouldnt make for a good read just like every single other of your articles.
When Khan beats Maidana there will be the usual excuses from gilford. You say he has a weak chin, which could be true, however Roach himself says that if he can spar with manny and not get knocked out like all the other sparring partners then he actual has an alright chin. If he beats Maidana (which is more than likely) who thinks GIlford should stop writing for this site, people like him and perez shold not be writters or even boxing fans.
i bet Khan beats Maidana and you won’t here from this
w—er Scot ….. then a few weeks or months later he will be busting Khan’s balls about somthing else…… probably still say he needs to fight Prescott never mind that Maidana is much better then prescott.
What a hater
Maidana is easily put down don’t forget.
And his power is over-rated.
Khan by UD/Stoppage
khan said in the interview that kotelnick was his first fight at light welter if he actually thought about what he says it was his second did presscott really hit him that hard hes forgot siily silly man
mayweather is to much class for amire khan