Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana
Encyclopedia
Light welterweight
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...

 titlist Amir Khan
Amir Khan (boxer)
Amir Iqbal Khan , is a British Pakistani professional boxer who is currently the unified WBA & IBF light welterweight champion....

and interim titlist Marcos Maidana reached an agreement to meet on December 11, 2010. The bout was for Khan's WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

 Light Welterweight Title, which Khan successfully defended, winning via unanimous decision. The fight was awarded Fight of the Year
Harry Markson Award
The "Ali-Frazier Award" is given annually to the fighters who compete in the Boxing Writers Association of America's Fight of the Year. The award has been conferred annually since the BWAA's awards dinner in 2003...

 by the Boxing Writers Association of America
Boxing Writers Association of America
The Boxing Writers Association of America was originally formed in 1926 as the Boxing Writers Association of Greater New York. The association's purpose is to promote better working conditions for boxing writers, as well as hold its writers to the highest professional and ethical standards...

.

Build-up

On 9 March 2010, Golden Boy Promotions
Golden Boy Promotions
Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...

 confirmed that WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan and former light welterweight world champion Paulie Malignaggi will hold a press conference in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to announce their world title bout set for 15 May at the Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

 in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. 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. Immediately after the fight, Khan stated he wanted to fight Marcos Maidana
Marcos René Maidana
Marcos Maidana is an Argentine professional boxer from José Leon Suarez, Buenos Aires. He is and the current WBA light welterweight champion. His only professional losses have come against Andreas Kotelnik and Amir Khan both by Decision.-Fight with Kotelnik:On February 2, 2009, Andreas Kotelnik...

 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
Timothy Bradley vs. Devon Alexander
Bradley vs. Alexander was a boxing match that featured two undefeated reigning light welterweight champions of the world The winner of the fight was slated to fight against Amir Khan after his unanimous decision win against Marcos Maidana-The fight:...

 match.

Maidana, after failing to challenge undefeated WBO Junior Welterwight
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...

 champion Timothy Bradley
Timothy Bradley
Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American boxer, fighting out of Palm Springs, California. He is the current WBO World Light Welterweight Champion. He is rated #2 in the Light Welterweight division behind Amir Khan.-Light Welterweight:...

, postponed the fight to June 19 due to a back injury suffered by Maidana.

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.

After failing to secure the fight with Bradley, Maidana's camp announced that he would fight former-WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...

 junior welterweight champ DeMarcus Corley
DeMarcus Corley
DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley , is a boxer from Washington D.C., and a former WBO and USBA light welterweight champion. Corley also designs his own boxing attire.-Amateur career:...

, on August 28, 2010 at the Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Maidana went on to go and win by unanimous decision.

Khan was looking for a good opponent to next challenge him for his title. One of his possible opponents was Lightweight
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....

 Champion Juan Manuel Marquez
Juan Manuel Márquez
Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez , is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the fourth Mexican-born boxer to become a three-division world champion, where he won eight world titles in three different boxing weight classes.Currently, Marquez is the WBA Super, WBO and The Ring lightweight champion...

. 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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Stop looking for lightweight boxers and face the real 140-pounders
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...

. I'll go to Khan's home soil to take the other portion of the WBA title that belongs to me.
"

The fight

The HBO-televised fight took place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

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
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

. 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.

Many believe that referee Joe Cortez played a part in the result. He would not allow the fighters to fight on the inside, a move which favoured Khan.

Fight earnings

  • Amir Khan: $975,000 vs. Marcos Maidana: $550,000
  • Victor Ortiz: $150,000 vs. Lamont Peterson: $100,000

Televised

  • Light Welterweight Championship bout: Amir Khan
    Amir Khan (boxer)
    Amir Iqbal Khan , is a British Pakistani professional boxer who is currently the unified WBA & IBF light welterweight champion....

    (c) vs.   Marcos Maidana
    Marcos René Maidana
    Marcos Maidana is an Argentine professional boxer from José Leon Suarez, Buenos Aires. He is and the current WBA light welterweight champion. His only professional losses have come against Andreas Kotelnik and Amir Khan both by Decision.-Fight with Kotelnik:On February 2, 2009, Andreas Kotelnik...

    • Khan defeats Maidana via unanimous decision.
  • Light Welterweight bout:   Victor Ortiz
    Victor Ortíz
    Victor Ortiz is an American professional boxer of Mexican descent and the former WBC welterweight champion.He was previously in the light welterweight division, where he held the USBA & NABO title....

     vs.   Lamont Peterson
    Lamont Peterson
    -Background:Peterson and his brother Anthony Peterson are regularly featured on ESPN boxing telecasts, and their story has been frequently discussed on the show. The Petersons were left without parents at an early age, with their father in prison and their mother suffering personal issues. The...

    • Fight ended in a majority draw.

Untelevised

  • Welterweight bout:   Joan Guzman
    Joan Guzman
    Joan Guzmán is a Dominican professional boxer who was the WBO's super bantamweight and super featherweight champion. His nickname is "The Little Tyson"." Guzmán is now trained by Former World Champion Roberto Garcia. Former unheralded boxer Floyd Mayweather, Sr...

     vs.   Jason Davis
    Jason Davis
    Jason Davis may refer to:*Jason Davis *Jason Davis *Jason Davis *Jason Davis , Bermudian international soccer player*Jason Davis, aka Jabba , Australian radio and television personality...

    • Guzman defeats Davis via TKO at 0:29 of round 2.
  • Heavyweightbout:   Seth Mitchell
    Seth Mitchell
    Seth Mitchell is an undefeated professional boxer in the heavyweight division. Mitchell is signed to Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions...

     vs.   Taurus Sykes
    Taurus Sykes
    Taurus Jabbar Sykes, is a professional boxer. He has been fighting as a heavyweight, and has fought against several contenders, and currently holds a record of 25-5-1.-Overview:...

    • Mitchell defeats Sykes via KO of round 5.
  • Lightweight bout:   Sharif Bogere
    Sharif Bogere
    Sharif Bogere is an undefeated boxer in the Lightweight division. He's currently signed with Oscar De La Hoya's company Golden Boy Promotions.-Amateur Career:...

     vs.   Christopher Fernandez
    • Bogere defeats Fernandez via unanimous decision.
  • Light Welterweight bout:   Jesse Vargas
    Jesse Vargas
    Jessie Vargas is an undefeated Mexican-American boxer in the Light Welterweight division. Vargas is trained by Robert Alcazar and is signed to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s boxing company, Mayweather Promotions....

     vs.   Ramón Montaño
    Ramón Montaño
    Ramón Carlos Montaño Cordova is a Mexican professional boxer in the Light Welterweight division.-Professional career:...

    • Vargas defeats Montaño via unanimous decision.
  • Featherweight bout:   Randy Caballero
    Randy Caballero
    Randy Michaels Caballero is an undefeated Nicaraguan American professional boxer in the Featherweight division. Caballero is the current WBC Youth Intercontinental Super Bantamweight Champion.-Amateur Career:...

     vs.   Robert Guillen
    • Caballero defeats Guillen via unanimous decision.
  • Middleweight bout:   Alfonso Blanco
    Alfonso Blanco (boxer)
    Alfonso Blanco Parra is an undefeated Venezuelan boxer in the Light Middleweight division. He was the 2008 Olympian for Venezuela and he also won the Middleweight silver medal at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships‎.-Amateur career:Blanco won the 2006 South America title against Carlos...

     vs.   Gustavo Medina
    • Blanco defeats Medina via TKO at 2:45 of round 3.
  • Light Welterweight bout: Jamie Kavanagh
    Jamie Kavanagh
    Jamie Kavanagh is an Irish professional boxer. At 11 years old, Kavanagh moved to Malaga, Spain were he would meet one of his current trainers Sedano Ruiz.-Amateur boxing career:...

     vs.   Jacob Thornton
    • Kavanagh defeats Thornton via TKO at 0:44 of round 1.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK