Khan vs. Maidana: Will Amir try and slug with Marcos?

By Boxing News - 11/23/2010 - Comments

By William Mackay: In an number if interviews that WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) has given recently, he’s talked about having good power and being able to punch with Maidana in their December 11th fight at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Khan seems to think he can trouble Maidana with not only his speed but also with his power. However, for a fighter like Khan to be able to slug with Maidana, he’s going to have to stop moving and sit on his punches in order to hurt Maidana.

Victor Ortiz, who I see as a much bigger puncher than Khan, went after Maidana in their fight last year and was able to knock him down multiple times with hard shots. However, Ortiz wasn’t punching on the run like Khan usually does nowadays and he was looking to trade with Maidana. Somehow, I don’t see Khan being willing to risk his neck against a big puncher like Maidana, and I don’t think Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach will go along with Khan slugging with Maidana just to prove a point. Khan has a weak chin, and he’s been exposed in the past in his one and only fight against a hard puncher Breidis Prescott.

Now after having been spoon fed nothing but weak punchers to keep Khan from getting knocked out again, he’s at a point where he has to prove himself finally against another puncher in Maidana. Khan could have bypassed this fight and chose to give up his WBA title rather than defend it and face getting knocked out. But it looks like Khan is willing to take the risk that he’ll somehow be able to keep from getting knocked out. Khan wants to become a future pound-for-pound #1 fighter, but he’s going to have to prove that he can beat fighters like Maidana to get that title.

I suspect Khan is going to get knocked cold in this fight, and beaten even worse than he was in his loss to Prescott. Maidana’s job will be made easier if Khan chooses to slug with him to try and show that he’s not afraid. I’m sure Roach has been preaching to Khan about staying away from Maidana at all costs, but I can see Khan ignoring Roach and trying to punch with Maidana anyway. This was what happened with Khan in his fight with Andriy Kotelnik last year.

Khan was easily winning and was totally unmarked for most of the fight, but in the later rounds he got overconfident and tried to slug with Kotelnik and ended up getting hit with some hard shots and ending up bruised. If Khan does this with Maidana, he’ll be knocked out quickly. Heck, even if he doesn’t try to slug with him, Khan is still probably going to get knocked out. His chin is too weak, Maidana is too strong, and there’s simply too many rounds for Khan to hide in.



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