With his preferred opponent Juan Manuel Marquez now committed to remain at lightweight, junior welterweight champion Amir Khan is currently without an opponent for his December 11 fight date. But with slugger Marcos Maidana calling him out as a “liar” and “coward,” Khan may have found a suitable replacement that will silence critics.
Although he holds the WBA title, Amir Khan has had to contend with skepticism from fellow fighters, writers and fans regarding if he’s a legit elite fighter, or a protected commodity who’s carefully picked his opponents since being blasted out in one round two years ago against Breidis Prescott.
Khan has fought five times since, securing two decisions and three KO victories. His most recent conquest was a dominant 11th round KO of Paulie Malignaggi. But even that performance and his clear 2009 victory over Andriy Kotelnik, who nearly beat WBC titlist Devon Alexander earlier this month, have not served to validate Khan. Some cite his recent string of opponents as not having the power to truly test if Khan has a glass jaw. One rival thinks the answer is obvious.
“Amir Khan with Malignaggi, they knew what they were doing when they cherry-picked him,” said IBF/WBC champion Devon Alexander to Beats, Boxing and Mayhem earlier this month. “They want to protect Amir Khan’s chin. They knew he would be way too much for Malignaggi. Amir Khan, he has a lot of flaws too. He has a good jab but he’s nothing special; he’s a solid fighter just like the rest of them.”
Enter Marcos Rene Maidana.
The Argentinian slugger is limited technically in many areas, but punching with power is not one of them. His exciting style hit the national radar last year when he went to war with favorite Victor Ortiz and scored a dramatic upset. Ortiz dominated early and even stunned Maidana with two early knockdowns. But as the fight progressed, Ortiz could not handle Maidana’s power and aggression. With a cut right eye and bad swelling under his left following a sixth sound knockdown, the young Ortiz quit and temporarily contemplated whether he had a future in boxing.
In his last HBO appearance in March, Maidana disposed of Victor Manuel Cayo with a vicious body shot.
These attributes creat the perfect test for Amir Khan. Has he truly learned how to handle an aggressive slugger in the two years since the Prescott loss? Or does he freeze against punchers? Khan apparently sees the opportunity as well. On his Twitter today (August 27), he refuted Maidana’s taunts and claims to have already pushed his American promoter Golden Boy to make the fight.
“I read an article saying I aint asked Maidana to fight me,” Khan tweeted. “He’s wrong, you could ask Golden Boy I am pushing for the fight on December 11th. I was told Maidana wants X amount but Maidana quotes he doesn’t know anything about the purse. Someone is lying and it ain’t me!”
Quiet as it’s kept, the junior welterweight division is arguably the most talented weight class in the sport. It boasts three immensely talented, prime and stylistically different titlists in Khan (WBA), Timothy Bradley (WBO), and Devon Alexander (IBF, WBC). Plans are already underway for unification between Bradley and Alexander for January 2010. In the meantime, Khan is in position to make a big statement the preceding month if he can ink the Maidana fight.
Victory gives Khan an edge against either winner of the Bradley-Alexander fight. Khan would have beat two top five 140 pounders back to back in Malignaggi and Maidana. That would be better than Bradley’s last two against a journeyman welterweight in Carlos Abregu, and Devon Alexander. It would also surpass a hypothetical Alexander win over Bradley and a highly controversial win over Andriy Kotelnik (a man Khan beat in a decisive decision).
As long as Maidana takes care of business tomorrow night against DeMarcus Corley, there is absolutely no reason for Amir Khan to fight anyone else. The UK titlist uses the nickname of “King.” By fighting Maidana, he’ll show the naysayers that he’s truly ready to wear that crown at junior welterweight.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 