By Jim Dower: World Boxing Association interim light welterweight champion Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KO’s) ratcheted up the pressure on WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) on Thursday with a press release that Maidana’s team sent out to FightNews.com, in which Maidana said he’s directed his team to contact the World Boxing Association to have them call his proposed fight with Khan to a purse bid. In doing so, Maidana says that Khan will have no choice but to face him at that point. Maidana also challenged Khan to a “Winner takes all bout.”

However, Maidana believes that the 23-year-old Khan will vacate his WBA title rather than facing him in the ring. Maidana says that Khan is a “liar and a coward” for saying that Maidana has been asking for a lot of money. Maidana seems to be fed up with waiting for a shot against Khan. Maidana has been waiting for more than a year now for Khan to fight him, but has had no luck in getting the British star to fight him.

Just when it seemed that Khan was going to fight him in December, Khan suddenly reversed course and said that Maidana has been asking too much money and that he’s not his mandatory challenger. This has caused Maidana to believe that Khan is looking to wriggle free and continue to avoid fighting him. It’s going to be interesting to see what the WBA does about this. If they do direct that fight go to purse bids, Khan may decide to vacate the title rather than take on a huge puncher like Maidana.

Khan was knocked out in the 1st round the last time he took on a big puncher in Breidis Prescott in 2008. Maidana hits equally hard as Prescott, and is dangerous with every punch he throws. The question is whether Khan wants to face that kind of punishment. He might have to be protecting his jaw all night long to try and prevent from getting hit.

Maidana can change the course of a fight at a moment’s notice with his power, meaning that even if Khan were able to dominate the fight for 10 rounds, Maidana could possibly still knock Khan out in the 11th with a single shot to the head. Khan has a weak chin and it would be a race against time if he were to fight Maidana. He might have to get Maidana before he gets him. Maidana has a shaky chin as well, as we saw in his fight with Victor Ortiz last year.