Amir Khan: “I Need To Beat Maidana, Then The Winner Of Bradley-Alexander.

[lpinoy]

C/P
By James Slater

Amir Khan: “I Need To Beat Maidana, Then The Winner Of Bradley-Alexander. After That I Will Move On To Mayweather And Pacquiao”

Once again WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan has been talking about eventually facing the true elites of the sport; namely Floyd Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao. Khan, still only 23, is convinced he will one day climb into the ring with either “Money” or Pac-Man, maybe both. Not only that, but Khan says he is good enough to go in the ring with them now. Khan says he wants to wait until he is at his very best before agreeing to fight either Mayweather or his spar-mate Pac-Man, and he has revealed to The Manchester Evening News how he plans to be moving onto these masters of the sport soon; after two further wins..

Khan faces mandatory challenger Marcos Maidana in December, and the hope is for a victorious Khan to then fight the winner of the still-in-the-works Tim Bradley-Devon Alexander clash. After that, Khan says he will “move on to” Mayweather and Pacquiao!

Khan is also convinced he can give the UK fans some of the old magic Ricky Hatton gave them. It’s well know how thousands upon thousands of British fans travelled with “The Hitman” whenever he fought in the U.S, and Khan says he can attract the type of following Ricky did during his heyday.

“The fans want a new champion - a new guy to follow,” Khan said. “I will take them to Vegas just like he [Hatton] did. And I will prove myself against the elite. That’s where Ricky failed twice. I’m only 23, I’ve got many years left in my career.

“I can take my time and beat these guys like Mayweather and Pacquiao. I could go in the ring with them now - but I want to fight them when I am at my best. I need to beat Maidana first and then the winner of Bradley and Alexander. After that I will move onto Mayweather and Pacquiao. I want to be rated as number-one.”

This is one helluva bold plan for Khan. The thinking big approach is commendable, but Khan has to know that he could well fall at the first hurdle - in the Maidana fight. It seems the formidable hitter from Argentina will be tearing up a whole slew of grand plans if he catches and takes out the Bolton man, the way Colombia’s Breidis Prescott did in 2008.

Khan, though, is confident it will be he who scores the stoppage win on Dec. 11th, and he has told his fans to get ready to see him being the fighter coming forward, being the aggressor. That would likely shock a good number of fans, but even if Khan did manage to defeat the lethal yet crude Argentine, would that convince the experts that Khan would have a good shot at unifying the belts at 140 and then stepping up and defeating legends like Floyd and Manny?

Khan says he has plenty of time on his side, and on this score he is correct. However, the former Olympian did tell BBC radio only yesterday that he will be retired, with his brains intact, by the time he hits 28. That gives Khan five years to achieve all he thinks he is capable of achieving. But even if Khan does clean up the talent-rich light-welterweight division over the next year or so, will Mayweather and Pacquiao still be around, waiting for him at that time?

[The Cobra]

Sounds like "King Khan" is counting a lot of chickens first---before he meets the "Big Clucker" PBF. Fight Maidana and win before you move on pal.

[aquariusone]

Sounds like "King Khan" is counting a lot of chickens first---before he meets the "Big Clucker" PBF. Fight Maidana and win before you move on pal.

You mean coming the chickens before they are hatched! :)

[The Cobra]

You mean coming the chickens before they are hatched! :)

or "counting" them? LOL

[Fibroso]

Sounds like "King Khan" is counting a lot of chickens first---before he meets the "Big Clucker" PBF. Fight Maidana and win before you move on pal.

Maidana is gone stop his dreaming in the late rounds of his next fight, with a crushing ko. jmo

[aquariusone]

or "counting" them? LOL

LOLOLOL...saw that typo this morning! You are on the ball, senor!

[The Cobra]

LOLOLOL...saw that typo this morning! You are on the ball, senor!

LMAO-----I have my moments, but sadly they disappear as fast as they arrive.

[aquariusone]

Maidana is gone stop his dreaming in the late rounds of his next fight, with a crushing ko. jmo

Healthy disagreements make for excellent animated discussions, Senor Fibroso!

As Cobra and I do often - DISAGREE - I will bet you a plateful of spaghetti with alfredo sauce and calamari that Amir Khan will KO Maidana!

[Fibroso]

Healthy disagreements make for excellent animated discussions, Senor Fibroso!

As Cobra and I do often - DISAGREE - I will bet you a plateful of spaghetti with alfredo sauce and calamari that Amir Khan will KO Maidana!

Mmmm, sounds delicious, the spaghetti and the salsa alfredo with calamari. Amir can run but he can't hide, Maidana can take a punch, now can Amir after running 7 or 8 rounds? :comfort1:

[aquariusone]

Mmmm, sounds delicious, the spaghetti and the salsa alfredo with calamari. Amir can run but he can't hide, Maidana can take a punch, now can Amir after running 7 or 8 rounds? :comfort1:

Ops, now here we are agreeing! AMIR CAN RUN! He will run at Maidana for sure! Hehehehe!

[The Cobra]

Ops, now here we are agreeing! AMIR CAN RUN! He will run at Maidana for sure! Hehehehe!

If he runs "AT" Maidana, he`ll run into a left hook. heheheheheh.....(for sure) LOL

and how come I never got no spaghetti???? don`t need alfredo or calamari---just some gold ol` fashioned meatballs will do.

[aquariusone]

If he runs "AT" Maidana, he`ll run into a left hook. heheheheheh.....(for sure) LOL

and how come I never got no spaghetti???? don`t need alfredo or calamari---just some gold ol` fashioned meatballs will do.

Ah, just for you, I will even throw in half a case of beer, San Miguel, of course, and some nachos.

You will need it as you watch your Argentinian pitt bull gets stung by an English terrier!

[The Cobra]

Ah, just for you, I will even throw in half a case of beer, San Miguel, of course, and some nachos.

You will need it as you watch your Argentinian pitt bull gets stung by an English terrier!

cheese and jalapenos with them nachos and you`re on.

[Fibroso]

Ah, just for you, I will even throw in half a case of beer, San Miguel, of course, and some nachos.

You will need it as you watch your Argentinian pitt bull gets stung by an English terrier!

I thought he was an english indian, like Prince Hassim Ahmed, remember who ko the Prince, a latino, Barreras. It looks like history repeat itself. :tehe:

[aquariusone]

I thought he was an english indian, like Prince Hassim, remember who ko the Prince, a latino, Barreras. It looks like history repeat itself. :tehe:

Indeed, Price Ahmed was ko'ed by a Latino....but....Maidana is not close to being latino......el no comprendes espanol.

[Fibroso]

Indeed, Price Ahmed was ko'ed by a Latino....but....Maidana is not close to being latino......el no comprendes espanol.

Sorry about the name, but Argentina is in South America, latinos live there. El deve hablar español, like Carlos Monzon, who beat the best welterweight fighter of the century, Jose Mantequilla Napoles.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AseSzzTmQ_4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ2B0gXIiRk&feature=related

[Fibroso]

Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana: “Thunder and Lightning” Hit L.A.
http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Media/arrow.gif By Gabriel Montoya, from Maxboxing.com (Oct 6, 2010) Special to Doghouse Boxing (Photo © German Villasenor) http://doghouseboxing.com./Media2/Amir_Khan_S_German.jpg


to take the WBA junior welterweight title and position himself as the big draw in the division.

Maidana, an Argentinean educated slugger with dynamite in his fists, burst onto the scene last year when he blasted through Victor Ortiz’ guard and chin, dropping him and forcing him to quit in six rounds, bringing an element of danger to the allegedly chin-deficient Khan.

As Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said, “This fight is not called ‘Thunder and Lightning’ because one is ‘Thunder’ and the other ‘Lightning’ but rather because both men can strike at any time and both bringing booming punches to the ring with them.”

"We are two fighters that are exciting to watch. Both young. Both hungry. It's the perfect fight for both of us,” said Khan the assembled media at L.A.’s Conga Room. "I'm not scared of anyone. I'll fight anyone you put in front of me.”

That’s not what many fans were claiming when this fight was first talked about by Khan. After defeating Paulie Malignaggi in his big U.S. debut earlier this year, Khan said in the post-fight interview that he’d like to fight Maidana if Alexander and Bradley would fight each other with the winners squaring off. It was the kind of tough talk you want out of a world titleholder but odd timing, given that Maidana was out with a back injury at the time. Later, Maidana revealed it wasn’t his back but rather managerial issues that forced him out of the ring earlier this year. But Khan has shown what he is made of by not only taking this assignment but asking for it.

Khan told us that the fight, originally scheduled as a UK homecoming for Khan, was moved to Vegas at Maidana’s insistence as he did not want to go to England for the showdown. It’s a rare move for a big name draw to acquiesce like that but it shows the kind of champion Khan hopes to be.

"I felt Amir was scared of me because he wasn't giving me the opportunity to fight him,” said Maidana, who holds an interim version of Khan’s belt. “It's been almost a year-and-a-half since I won the interim title. I'm excited that we're going to fight.”

"Maidana is a big name,” said Khan. “If I want to unify the division I have to fight the best. I believe if you want to be known as a great fighter, you have to clean up divisions and that's what I'm going to do.”

That Khan willingly making this fight shows not only how badly he wanted the fight but that he is ready to take over the division starting December 11.

"When I beat Maidana,” said Khan. “I want to let my fists do the talking, not my words.”

Maidana would disagree with this sentiment and add that all the tough talk Khan has done both in person, in the media and on Twitter is going to put self-expectations on Khan that will play into his hands.

"Khan has been talking a lot,” said Maidana. “On December 11, he's going to have all the pressure on him.”

Khan has been evolving under trainer Roach, as he displayed in his battering of Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden in May. No longer a wide-open target, Khan keeps his chin tucked, uses his strong jab more often than not and is employing more efficient movement than his old bouncing-around-aimlessly style. And the best part is that, despite his KO loss in less than a minute to Prescott, the aggressive streak that has always been a Khan hallmark is still intact, if a little more under control. All this, Khan attributes to his loss to Prescott. Had he not lost, Khan figured he’d still be in England working with promoter Frank Warren and, while surely filling arenas, he wouldn’t be progressing as a fighter.

"Losing to Prescott made me realize how serious boxing is,” he explained, “I needed to train harder."

Maidana, after taking apart Ortiz, has toiled a bit in obscurity in the States. He has had just one fight here in the US, an impressive KO win over Victor Cayo in March. Still, he sold 11,000 seats in Argentina in August when he looked vulnerable in beating the aged DeMarcus Corley via decision in 12 grueling rounds. The fight marked the first time Maidana was cut (in the third round) and he claimed that had a bit to do with the rough outing.

His trainer, Miguel Diaz cited a need to improve Maidana’s stamina and overall conditioning for the battle ahead and has hired welterweight legend Felix “Tito” Trinidad’s former conditioning coach, nicknamed “Pensa,” Cruz Garcia Figueroa. After one day, Diaz claimed he showed “he knows exactly what he is talking about. He knows about preparation and conditioning than what I know.

“It’s an add-on to the team,” continued Diaz. “There are a lot of new things that I don’t know. A lot of new techniques. This is a specialist in athletics and he knows things that I don’t know. I think it would be very selfish on my part if I don’t bring a guy like him in for a big fight like this, especially after the fiasco we had in the [Corley] fight.”

Diaz told me Maidana only had 28 days to prepare for Corley after some contract issues. But the main reason he faded down the stretch of that fight was because he had come into the fight camp in the 170s and so the camp was more about losing weight than anything. On this day, Maidana looked in game shape, which is a good sign for the coming fight.

“He was about 156 pounds yesterday,” said Diaz.

Khan, by contrast, told us he weighed about 149 pounds but expected after camp and then the day after weigh-in re-hydration to be around 147 pounds which he feels is optimum.

It’s rare to see two young titleholders fight so early on in their careers. Khan is just 23 to Maidana’s 27. It’s going to be a treat for the fans or as Schaefer called it, “an early Christmas present for fight fans.” Both men promised victory, each in their own way.

"I'm going do something different in this fight, something nobody's ever seen me do,” said Khan. “My style is always changing. I'm going to come in and be the big puncher. This fight is going to be explosive.”

While Maidana, a let-my-fists-do-the-talking-type of fighter said, "You can say he's the favorite and I'm the underdog but I don't feel that way. I feel calm and prepared and know I will win.”

But it was Miguel Diaz who best summed up the situation. “Two fighters in the prime of their fighting careers and two young fighters looking for a position in the boxing world,” he said. “For the winner, it means the super-fights and for the loser it's back to the drawing board."

For a year that hasn’t been the most scintillating all around, the end of 2010 just got a whole lot more exciting.