By Mark Vester
At the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Amir Khan (24-1, 17KOs) retained his WBA junior welterweight title with a very hard fought twelve round unanimous decision over Marcos Maidana (29-2, 27KOs). The scores were 114-111, 114-111 and 113-112 for Khan.
Khan came out with movement and speed and using his boxing ability to box circles around Maidana. In the final twenty seconds, Khan landed a vicious combination to the body that sent Maidana down and he barely made it up. Maidana was lucky that he was dropped at the bell. In the next couple of rounds, Khan used his boxing ability and quicker hands to pile up points, but Maidaa was able to land a few right hands. In the fifth round, Maidana lost a point for using his elbow.
In the sixth, Maidana seemed to stage a rally by really taking the fight to Khan. He was able to land several shots to send Khan in retreat. Maidana continued to use hard rights and uppercuts to press the fight in the seventh as Khan was retreating and trying to avoid the incoming shots. In the eight, Maidana appeared to tired and Khan started to use his combinations from a distance to land good shots. Khan continued to outbox Maidana in the ninth round.
In the tenth, it was high-level drama as Maidana badly rocked Khan and began punishing him. Maidana appeared to be a few punches away from knocking Khan out. The British champion was able to hold on to the next round. In the eleventh, Khan began to regain his legs and started landing shots as Maidana was tired from the previous round. In the twelfth and final round, Maidana once again was able to rock Khan and tried to put him away for most of the three minutes. Khan landed a few combos in the final twenty seconds when Maidana tired.