Maidana to train in Las Vegas for Khan bout

By Dan Ambrose: According to Fightnews.com, World Boxing Association light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KO’s) will be training for his next bout against WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will enable the 27-year-old Maidana to be right at the location for where his December 11th fight with Khan will be taking place, so there won’t be any issue of Maidana having to get acclimated to the environment.

Khan, for his part, will be training in Los Angeles, California, with his trainer Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym. This is kind of a make or break fight for both fighters, especially Khan, who has had problems in the past when facing big punchers like Maidana. Without having faced any big punchers since being flattened in the first round two years ago by Breidis Prescott, Khan is being seen by some boxing fans and writers as a future star in boxing. It remains to be seen whether these people are correct in their perceptions or if Khan is just another one of the many glass-jawed media hype jobs that are created but then quickly crumble when they face their first real test.

Khan hasn’t been tested since being knocked out by Prescott, and has been carefully matched against weak punchers and some past their prime fighters. Maidana is a crude fighter without the hand speed or boxing skills of some of the best guys in the division, but he makes up for it with his raw punching power and high pressure offense. He’s the type of fighter that can cut right through the skills of his opponents and turn a fight into a war. Khan clearly has the better boxing skills, but the question is does he have the chin or the heart to beat a warrior like Maidana? Khan was matched against the soft punching former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi in his last fight in May.

Khan got the win by an 11th round knockout, but was badly marked up in that fight. The same was true in his win over the light hitting Andriy Kotelnik last year in winning the WBA light welterweight title. Against Maidana, Khan is really going to be getting hit and unless he’s able to score a quick knockout like he did against Dmitri Salita, Khan is likely going to be taking a massive amount of punishment against Maidana, even if he runs for his life for the full 12 rounds. Running won’t endear him to boxing fans that he’s trying to win over, but that may be Khan’s only chance of surviving this fight without getting knocked out again.

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