By William Mackay: At today’s press conference, WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) was sounding much bolder than usual as he explained what he’s going to do in his next fight against WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KO’s) in their December 11th bout in Las Vegas, Nevada. While most boxing fans figure the last thing Khan will do is try and mix it up with the hard hitting Maidana, in the press conference Khan seemed to be saying that he’s going to go out and try and slug with Maidana.

Khan said “When people say I have a weak chin, I respond by saying that Pacquiao gave me his best shot and couldn’t wobble me. I’m going do something different in this fight, something nobody’s ever seen me do. I’m changing my style. I’m going to come in and be the big puncher. This fight, is going to be explosive.”

I think Khan is trying to throw Maidana and his trainers off, because I highly doubt that Khan, with his fragile chin, will come out swinging for the fences against a guy like Maidana who is made for that kind of fighting. That is how Maidana fights and he does a very good job of fighting all out in a brawling style. If Khan changes his style like he says he’s going to do, he could end up getting hurt earlier than expected.

I mean I think it’s a good style to kind of throw Maidana off, because the last thing he’ll be expecting is for Khan to go right at him and meet him power punch for power punch. However, the shock will likely wear off almost immediately as Maidana will almost definitely thrive if Khan slugs with him. It may end up being a repeat of Maidana’s 6th round knockout win over Victor Ortiz from last year, only this time it may end a lot quicker after Maidana knocks Khan down for the first time in the 1st or 2nd round.

Khan most likely is being coached to say what he’s saying by his trainer Freddie Roach to try and throw Maidana off and give him a false impression of what Khan will be doing in the fight. It is interesting to see Khan mentioning his sparring session with Pacquiao as evidence that his chin is strong. The last time I checked, the sparring that Khan did with Pacquiao was with 16 ounce gloves on and with head protection worn. That’s a far cry from sparing with 10 ounce gloves and without head protection with Pacquiao.