Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana
 | ||
| Date | December 11, 2010 | |
| Location | Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Paradise, Nevada, United States | |
| Title(s) on the line | WBA World Light Welterweight Championship | |
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 Amir Khan vs.  Marcos Maidana | ||
| King Khan | El Chino | |
| Tale of the tape | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bolton, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | From | Margarita, Santa Fe, Argentina |
| 23–1–0 (17 KO) | Pre-fight record | 29–1–0 (27 KO) |
| 5 ft, 10 in | Height | 5 ft, 9 in |
| WBA World Light Welterweight Champion | Recognition | WBA Light Welterweight Interim Titlist |
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| Result | Khan defeats Maidana via unanimous decision | |
Light welterweight titlist Amir Khan and interim titlist Marcos Maidana reached an agreement to meet on December 11, 2010.[1] The bout was for Khan's WBA Light Welterweight Title, which Khan successfully defended, winning via unanimous decision. The fight was awarded Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America.[2]
Build-up
On 9 March 2010, Golden Boy Promotions confirmed that WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan and former light welterweight world champion Paulie Malignaggi will hold a press conference in London to announce their world title bout set for 15 May at the Madison Square Garden in New York. This was Khan's first bout in the U.S. The fight was for the WBA light welterweight title, which Khan won in the 11th round.[3] Immediately after the fight, Khan stated he wanted to fight Marcos Maidana next and unify the light-welterwight division, suggesting that the way to do this would be for him to fight Maidana, and then go on to face the winner of a Devon Alexander vs. Timothy Bradley match.[4]
Maidana, after failing to challenge undefeated WBO Junior Welterwight champion Timothy Bradley, postponed the fight to June 19 due to a back injury suffered by Maidana.[5]
On May 3, Maidana pulled out of the fight yet again, still citing his back as the problem. The fight had already been rescheduled from June 19 to July 17, and Bradley went onto fight Luis Carlos Abregu on July 17, instead of Maidana.[6]
After failing to secure the fight with Bradley, Maidana's camp announced that he would fight former-WBO junior welterweight champ DeMarcus Corley, on August 28, 2010 at the Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Maidana went on to go and win by unanimous decision.[7]
Khan was looking for a good opponent to next challenge him for his title. One of his possible opponents was Lightweight Champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez decided not to move up in weight and stayed at lightweight.
Maidana then stated his intention to fight Khan: "Stop looking for possible opponents for next Khan December 11 in England. Stop looking for lightweight boxers and face the real 140-pounders. I'll go to Khan's home soil to take the other portion of the WBA title that belongs to me."[8]
The fight
The HBO-televised fight took place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.[9]
Khan successfully defended his title for the third time against WBA Interim Champion and mandatory challenger, Marcos Maidana on 11 December 2010 in Las Vegas.[10] Khan dominated the fight early and knocked down Maidana in the 1st round with multiple body shots. However, Maidana recovered and battered Khan with a furious barrage in the tenth, sending him wobbling toward the ropes. Khan withstood Maidana's late resurgence and the fighters held serve in the final two rounds. Khan escaped with the victory on the strength of his performance in the early rounds and a point deduction against Maidana for throwing an elbow in the fifth. The fight was called one of the 'fights of the decade' by Oscar De La Hoya.
Fight earnings
- Amir Khan: $975,000[11] vs. Marcos Maidana: $550,000
- Victor Ortiz: $150,000 vs. Lamont Peterson: $100,000
Undercard
Televised
- Light Welterweight Championship bout:
Amir Khan(c) vs. Marcos Maidana
- Khan defeats Maidana via unanimous decision.
- Light Welterweight bout:
Victor Ortiz vs. Lamont Peterson
- Fight ended in a draw.
Untelevised
- Welterweight bout:
Joan Guzman vs. Jason Davis
- Guzman defeats Davis via TKO at 0:29 of round 2.
- Heavyweightbout: Seth Mitchell vs. Taurus Sykes
- Mitchell defeats Sykes via KO of round 5.
- Lightweight bout:
Sharif Bogere vs. Christopher Fernandez
- Bogere defeats Fernandez via unanimous decision.
- Light Welterweight bout: Jesse Vargas vs.
Ramón Montaño
- Vargas defeats Montaño via unanimous decision.
- Featherweight bout: Randy Caballero vs. Robert Guillen
- Caballero defeats Guillen via unanimous decision.
- Middleweight bout: Alfonso Blanco vs. Gustavo Medina
- Blanco defeats Medina via TKO at 2:45 of round 3.
- Light Welterweight bout:
Jamie Kavanagh vs. Jacob Thornton
- Kavanagh defeats Thornton via TKO at 0:44 of round 1.
References
- ↑ Rafael, Dan (2010-09-15). "Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana finally fight". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ↑ Amir scoops American honour, Sky Sports
- ↑ "Crowd will love to see Khan suffer, warns Malignaggi". BBC. 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ↑ "Amir Khan aiming to unify light-welterweight division". BBC. 2010-05-16. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ↑ Rafael, Dan (2010-04-13). "Maidana injures back, postpones fight". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ↑ Rafael, Dan (2010-05-03). "Maidana backs out of fight for 2nd time". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ↑ Brignone, John (2010-08-28). "Marcos Maidana Decisions DeMarcus Corley, Tough Fight". BoxingScene. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ↑ Vester, Mark (2010-08-29). "Khan Answers Maidana: Wants To Fight on December 11". BoxingScene. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ↑ Jauregui, Saul (2010-10-05). "Thunder & Lighting: Khan vs Maidana Press Conference Quotes". Leave-It-In-The-Ring. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ↑ "Amir Khan set to defend his WBA light-welterweight title against Marcos Maidana in London or Liverpool". Daily Mail. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ↑ Burton, Ryan (2010-10-08). "Amir Khan Getting 975,000 for Marcos Maidana defense". BoxingScene. Retrieved 2010-12-10.