A difference of opinion about the amazing Amir Khan/Marcos Maidana Fight
Saturday night’s exciting fight between the gentleman from England, Amir Khan, and the so-called ruffian from Argentina, Marcos Maidana, has houses divided. Three of San Diego’s most respected boxing coaches weighed in with their opinion.
On Friday, December 10, 2010, Amir Khan (L) and Marcos Maidana completed their weigh-in obligations for their December 11th bout in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
A recap by the Amir Khan fan:
“Right now, Khan is good enough to beat Mayweather. With Freddie Roach in his corner, he came prepared and certainly dominated the early part of Saturday night’s fight. When Maidana got hit in the midsection everyone thought it was over. Lucky for him the blow came so close to the end of the round. The way Khan peppered his face, it was beautiful to watch. His attack was so brilliant with those lightning fast combinations to claim the fourth and then so dominate the fifth round that Maidana had a point deducted for trying to elbow his opponent.
“Maidana did manage to take the sixth round despite sustaining a cut by his right eye. The seventh was even worse for Khan but even when it appeared he was tiring he found a second wind and rebuilt his lead in the eighth and ninth. Then came that astonishing tenth round, followed by Khan’s miraculous recovery to rock Maidana with uppercuts in the 11th. Even though the Argentine carried the final round, Khan still closed the show with two blistering combinations in the final seconds.
“Even though two judges had Kahn ahead by three points, the final judge scored it right with his 113-112 to give Kahn an unanimous decision.
After a spring bout in England the promoters should follow up with a title unification against the winner of the Timothy Bradley/Devon Alexander fight. Then he’ll be ready for a mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. The world is now Amir Khan’s oyster.
“Former British world champion Naseem Hamed said he believes Khan’s victory confirms him as the best 140-pound boxer in the world.”
As seen through the eyes of a Marcos Maidana fan:
(R-L) Marcos Maidana of Argentina connects with a left to Amir Khan’s chin in the 10th round. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
“It was one fight and out comes all the superlatives. You just knew that scared rabbit (Khan) was going to run out gas or get off his bicycle. Every time he slowed down, Maidana was right there in his grill. Boxing is fun to watch, running in circles is not. When they stood face to face Maidana got through to him with the cleaner, harder punches, and what about all those unanswered uppercuts? Khan tired in the late rounds, and that’s when the true champion shows his mettle. If the fight had gone 15 rounds, I believe Kahn’s corner would have been calling for a stretcher.
“As you know, Roach himself regarded Maidana as an extremely dangerous fighter and contrary to what some people might think, Maidana can be proud of his performance. He fell a few punches short of ending it in the tenth round.
(R-L) Marcos Maidana is shown connecting with a right at Amir Khan who is holding Maidana’s left arm. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
“What really angered the Maidana backers was the performance by referee Joe Cortez. His meddling, his frivolous point deduction, and the fact he never deducted a single solitary point for all the holding done by Khan. It sure looked like Cortez favored Khan throughout the fight.
“Case in point, was when Maidana was clearly on the verge of knocking Amir out and who was right there trying to get in between the fighters? Cortez. Cortez’s interference clearly bothered Maidana.”
Middle of the road boxing fan:
“What a great fight it was; possibly the fight of the year. Neither boxer gave in. After being hurt bad in the second round, Maidana showed real grit by gutting it out. In the 10th round when Kahn was being battered; how he managed to stay on his feet was remarkable. I sure hope they do it again.”
