It’s arguably the finest, most meaningful and impressive win of Amir Khan’s entire pro career. It’s a close points loss that still bugs the loser all these years later. It’s Amir Khan Vs. Marcos Maidana, The Fight Of The Year for 2010. And there could be a belated sequel. Over the recent WBA convention, Khan and Maidana both featured in online video conferences.
Maidana, who has dropped a ton of weight and looks fit and healthy ahead of his planned comeback (to face a kick-boxer soon), called for a return meeting with Khan, who said he is very much interested in the idea himself. Khan, who has said he has perhaps a couple of fights left before he retires, is still super fast and he has retained his zest and enthusiasm for the sport. We don’t know how much Maidana has left at age 37, but he has clearly put the work in in training.
Could Khan, who survived a torid 10th round in the Maidana war, take Maidana’s bombs again? Would Maidana, who was dropped by a vicious body shot in the opening round of the Vegas battle, be able to go 12 hard and fast rounds once again? If Maidana gets his comeback underway and shows us he has something left, maybe the rematch, some ten years on, could indeed happen. Half the battle of making a fight, maybe more, is of course the two fighters genuinely wanting the fight. We seem to have that here.
“Let’s do it,” Khan said, adding he wants Alex Ariza to train him for the fight.
“It would be a good fight,” Maidana said of a return clash.
Khan, 34-5(21) is a little bit younger than Maidana at age 33 and he last saw action a year ago, when he stopped billy Dib in Saudi Arabia. Maidana, 35-5(31) has not fought since dropping that decision to Floyd Mayweather in their 2014 rematch.
If an agreeable weight the fight should be fought at can be worked out, why not Khan Vs. Maidana II? Plenty of fans would certainly be interested in seeing it. Could Khan repeat his win, or would “El Chino” get his revenge?