By Sean McDaniel: WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KO’s) isn’t impressed with what he sees as an overly hyped Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s), and plans on ending the hype once and for all this Saturday night with a knockout win at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Maidana says he doesn’t trust judges and plans on taking him out to avoid losing a controversial decision like the one he lost to Andriy Kotelnik last year while fighting him in Kotelnik’s adopted country of Germany.

Speaking to the telegraph.co.uk, Maidana said “I’ve seen his [Khan] victories. I know he has a padded record, and so far, he’s overrated and over-hyped. I know he is very fast, that is clear, but I can end this fight with one punch. He doesn’t have that kind of power.”

Khan doesn’t have the kind of power that Maidana has going for him, but he can punch a little when he’s standing flat-footed and putting his weight into the shots. However, when Khan loads up on his shots, he’s very easy to hit and vulnerable to getting knocked out. Maidana says that he hopes Khan will decide to punch with him because it will make his job that much easier. Khan has very little chance if he elects to trade with the hard hitting Maidana. His only real chance of winning is to run from Maidana and use his jab all night long to keep him on the outside. Once Maidana is able to close to distance and land his big power shots, this fight can be over in an instant.

Maidana isn’t the type that looks all that powerful. His slow hand speed makes it appear that he’s not all that powerful, except for when he really puts all his strength in his shots. Maidana doesn’t always throw hard and can look both slow and uncoordinated. However, when he does start to open up with his shots, he’s pretty devastating. This was the case in his fight with Kotelnik. Maidana didn’t really get warmed up until around the 10th round when he really began to connect with a lot of power shots. From the 10th to the 12th, he battered Kotelnik, bloodying his face and swelling up his nose. Kotelnik kept jabbing but Maidana was walking through the jabs and landing monstrous shots. If Khan lasts that long, he’s going to take a tremendous amount of punishment whether he’s jabbing or not. Kotelnik showed a great chin to take all of Maidana’s massive shots in the later rounds. The question is does Khan have as good chin? We’ll find out on Saturday.