By Terence Dooley

After accusations of fiscal lowballing (don't type that one into Google), ducking and claim and counter claim the fight between WBA light-welterweight title-holder Amir Khan and Interim WBA incumbent Marcos Rene Madiana is looming into view.  The two men meet at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas on December 11th in a contest that has already settled a number of questions. 

Had Khan tried to wriggle away from the fight due to his fear of Maidana?  Obviously not, that one can be scotched.  Did Maidana have unrealistic financial expectations going into negotiations?  Well, he and Khan made this fight by agreeing financial terms so Rene obviously got what he wanted, or least a good chunk of what he wanted – Khan is said to be on $1.5 million and Maidana $550,000 plus a bonus should he prevail along with the promise of a unification against the winner of Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander's January showdown.  The answer to these out-of-the-ring quibbles came when the contest was announced  in late-September.

So ended months of politics, mud-slinging and online gnashing of teeth, both teams went to work and a large part of the criticism of Amir Khan, that he was afraid to take on a bona fide puncher such as Maidana, disappeared, or at least appeared in a new form, 'He's only fighting him because he had to'.  The only real questions remaining relate to the most important aspect of this saga, the fight itself, and Khan has long-believed that Maidana is the perfect foil for his developing talent.

“I think he is a big challenge”, admitted Khan when speaking to me over the phone this morning, “and his record says it all.  But there's a lot of mistakes he makes with his style.  I will capitalise and make him pay.  It is a fight that not only I wanted but one the boxing fans wanted and it will take me to the next level.

“I am only 23 and taking on the big fights now.  Most fighters only take on the big names at the end of their career but I'm going for it early.  As I said before, the reason we took on [Paulie] Malignaggi instead of Maidana in May was because Maidana was unknown in America outside the hard-core fans but he's become more known and a bigger name – it makes more sense to fight now than it did before.”

Maidana played his part well during negotiations, taking his concerns public when he felt he was being offered a paltry return before coming back to the table, with the talks taking place against the backdrop of an obvious truth – Maidana is the mandatory challenger so could not be denied.  It is a fight that was always going to happen, the huge swell of talk by both sets of fans an exercise in futility, you all could have gone for an extended sleep and woken to news that this fight was on. 

Khan believes that Marcos's insistence that he was swerving the showdown have been shown to be false and will be proven to be laughable on the night.  “It does help when someone talks and says they want to fight and I'm backing away from it because I want to prove them wrong and that is what I've done,” blasted Khan. 

“We've made the fight and he's getting the biggest payday he's had in his career.  I'm putting my title on the line and he's getting well-paid so he can't complain about the way the fight was made.”

Indeed, Khan thinks that Maidana's entire focus rests on taking the title away from Khan with a huge single shot; the 27-year-old Argentine recently admitted that he has only one goal, to wipe Khan out with, 'Just one punch'.  Khan hopes this is not just a ruse, he plans to use Rene's own punch power against the challenger.

“I think they have, yeah,” said Amir when asked if he thinks that Team Maidana have worked exclusively on exploiting his chin, “he is not a bad fighter, he knows what he is doing but is a big puncher and relies on that too much – a good boxer will take him apart.  I think [Victor] Ortiz used the wrong tactics and lost the fight because of it.  I'm learning from Ortiz's mistake and won't make the mistakes he made.”

“I think Marcos wanted the fight all along, like me, but he was over-pricing himself because he wants to make the most of it regardless of whether he wins or loses,” said Khan, returning to the question of Maidana's insistence on near-parity earlier in the negotiations. 

“If he now thinks he he's getting paid what he deserves then that shows how much I wanted the fight because I told him that we'll give him what he wants to make the fight happen.  He's got more than he got in his last three fights put together, this is the type of money he's making against me and it shows how badly I wanted to fight him to prove to people that I wasn't ducking him.”

Khan's chin has been called into question during his career; although it has held up well at 140lb, the boxer's beard was ruffled by Willie Limond, Michael Gomez and Breidis Prescott when fighting at 135lb.  Khan was often the architect of his own weals and woe, electing to stand and fight when caught earlier in his career rather than using his nous.  Amir feels that his increased ring intelligence is now one of his chief assets.

“That is right, those days are gone,” he said when reminded of the Limond and Prescott fights, “it was all down to inexperience and the fact that when you are young and you get hit you fight to fight back with all your heart. 

“If that Prescott fight hadn't have happened then I wouldn't be in this position.  So much has changed since then.  I'm working hard with Freddie and training with Manny [Pacquiao] and that made a big difference.  That fight gave me a wake up call.  I was killing myself making 135, that last 5lbs used to kill me, but I'd make the weight no matter what it was because I'm a fighter and you have to make sure that you get down in weight.  Killing myself to make weight was tough but it is a lot easier now and I'm going into fights a lot happier, with a lot more muscle and without draining myself.

“Technically, I'm coming on now and know that when you get hit you have to compose yourself before you come on again.  You can't lose your rag and go all crazy, that is something I've learned over time by training with Freddie [Roach] and sparring with people like Manny – it keeps you level-headed and gives you the experience you need.

“The rounds that me and Manny do in sparring are tough rounds.  We don't go in their and hold back.  People who watch us spar say that you could sell tickets for the spars because Manny's a great fighter and I push him as hard as I can in sparring.  I treat it seriously because it is a honour to share the ring with him.  If you can hit Manny cleanly once or twice then you are catching the best fighter in the world and it makes the likes of Maidana look easier to hit.

“We spar with twelve and fourteen ounce gloves and the head-guards but the shots are heavy and it is good preparation for fights like this one because it will be mostly hit-and-move against Maidana, he hasn't the skills or speed to catch me.

“I think he'll get carried away and start losing his rag, making mistakes and making the fight easier for me as it goes on.  We work on one plan normally and do have a few more game plans.  But with Freddie you don't normally need the other plans because he comes up with the perfect one and it always works the way it should.  That is how good Freddie is and how smart he is in the corner, he knows exactly what the opponent is going to do and that's worked perfect for us and I think it will work against Maidana.”

Should the plan work, Khan faces the prospect of a fight against either Bradley or Alexander, with the WBA boss convinced that Bradley will emerge from that battle holding the WBC and WBO titles.  Khan points to Alexander's recent struggle with Andriy Kotelnik, claiming that the contest showed people how well he performed when winning the WBA title from the Ukrainian and, conversely, that Alexander, who was justifiably praised to the rafters after stopping Juan Urango in March, is beatable.

“Kotelnik is a good fighter,” insisted Khan.  “Kotelnik didn't get the respect he should have got before we fought.  I beat him easily and people said he was past it but he's come back and gave Alexander a tough fight and really pushed Devon, he's a really good fighter, he's also beaten Maidana and is a good operator, that win took me to the next level, showed me where I am and gave me the confidence that comes with a world title.

“I hope to get through this one and fight the winner of Bradley and Alexander, which will be Bradley.  So I want Tim Bradley next.  That is the guy I want after this fight.  I think it will be a similar fight to Maidana so this is a good warm-up fight for getting my timing right and me and Bradley can fight to unify the division after Bradley's got past Alexander.”

Long-term plans focus on maintaining a title-winning run, albeit up in weight; Khan is convinced that he can unify the 140lb division before chancing his arm at 147lb, with the possibility of a showdown against Floyd Mayweather a realisable dream should Khan attain and maintain across the divisions.

“I will unify then step up a weight division to 147,” revealed Khan.  “Floyd Mayweather is a fight that has been mentioned for the future and I think HBO would like that fight so fighting up in weight will help make that fight.  Floyd's up there with Manny as the best and if you want to fight the best you have to prove you belong with them – I can do that by winning titles up welterweight.

“A lot of people make the mistake of putting pressure on Mayweather but I think that a guy who can box with him and make him pay will win the fight.  You have to beat Floyd at his own game, speed, and my speed will be more than a match for his.  As I'm getting older, I'm getting more mature and stronger so I  think you will see another difference in me in the next few years.”

Khan's 2004 Olympic Silver medal win helped him pave his way into the pro ranks.  Frank Warren brought over Cuban legend Mario Kindelan, Khan's conqueror in the Olympic final, over to the UK for a high-profile amateur bout at the Bolton Arena in May 2005.  Khan won that one on points and turned over shortly afterwards, things have moved apace for the prospect.

“It has happened so quickly,” mused Khan.  “Since the 2004 Olympics it has just all kicked-off for me and hopefully it is going to continue to be exciting and I can get more big fights in the future.  I'd love to bring the big fights to the UK.  A fight with me and someone like Mayweather would be massive in the UK.  Things have come on really well.

“I need to build my name up here in America so the big names know who I am and then they will come to England and I can bring the big fights home.  I wanted this Maidana fight to be in England but he didn't want it over there so I said that I'll go whether he wants to fight, that shows the type of fighter I am.”

Inevitably, Khan will receive a bit of criticism should he win the fight and win it well; Maidana, 29-1 (27), will be written off as a 1-D swinger, the focus will move onto Bradley; the title-holder, 23-1 (17), understands the nature of the sport and can only strive to continue racking up the Ws needed to quell the swell of online criticism.

“They kept saying I wouldn't fight Maidana but I'm fighting him now and when I beat him a few of the people who criticise me will carry on regardless,” sighed Khan, who is in good company, Floyd and Manny, both outstanding fighters, also attract a fair amount of stick.

“Yeah,”  marvelled Khan.  “No matter what you do those critics will always be there so you just have to accept that that type of talk is part of boxing.  You will always get people who are happy for you and people who are not so happy for you.  You just have to keep taking big fights, keep winning and keep doing well.”

As for the fight itself, the Lancastrian feels that both men will serve up something to remember under the Las Vegas lights, with Khan especially eager to bring his A-game to 'The City of Sin'.  “It is brilliant,” enthused Khan when asked if he is looking forward to the Vegas experience. 

“Having your name lit up in Vegas is a dream come true.  Every fighter dreams of fighting in Vegas.  I fought in the MEN and they were big, memorable fights but this is a dream for me and for my future.  It is going to be massive. 

“Not many guys defend titles abroad at so young an age, especially in Vegas, so it is a big thing for me.  People normally turn pro at 22, look at James DeGale and people like that, so I was winning a world title around the age most people turn pro so it shows how quickly I came on.  Now I'm 23 and having my Vegas début, topping the bill – I've done things quicker than most fighters.”

“I think that is something I'll have to do,” added Khan when asked if he will try to put it on his opponent at some point.  “I won't be running like he thinks I'll be.  I'll have to pick times when I stand and trade with him and we've brought the best sparring in to get me ready for that.  I'm looking forward to it and I think that Maidana will get a shock on the night.”

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