By James Slater – Today at Planet Hollywood in London, England, rival light-welterweights Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana met face to face at a press conference to officially announce their December 11th WBA title fight. Both men were all smiles for the cameras, Maidana especially beaming. However, the two men had some choice words for one another.
Khan, who says the interim WBA champ has “talked his way” into the fight, the biggest of the Argentine’s career, has vowed to KO Maidana. While the lethal banger from Argentina accused Khan of having ran away from him for the better part of a year, and he said it will be who leaves The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas with the KO victory.
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer was also in attendance today in the nation’s capitol, and he spoke a lot about how Khan taking this dangerous fight proves his worth as a fighter, as well as proving Khan’s critics wrong. One other, more interesting thing, Schaefer said (as picked up by Boxingfancast.com) was with regards to John Murray, the Manchester fighter who goes for the European light-welterweight belt this coming Saturday night and who very much craves a shot at Khan..
According to Schaefer, an idea being looked at is to have Murray fight on the Dec. 11th under-card, possibly against the once-beaten puncher that is “Vicious” Victor Ortiz. Schaefer said he will be speaking to Murray’s promoter Mick Hennessey about such a fight. And a mouth-watering one it is, even though it would be only a starter for the main event.
Khan-Maidana really does promise to be a great action fight. Oscar De la Hoya is certainly excited; predicting an explosive and memorable affair. The hype isn’t really needed for this fight, though – the fans have literally demanded that the two men meet! Also, with a ringside ticket available for a very reasonable $350.00 ( a cheap seat can be yours for just $50.00), fans are certain to make the event a sell out. The T.V audience, too, promises to be big – on both sides of the Atlantic. HBO will show the clash in America and elsewhere, whilst SKY Sports (almost certainly Box Office) will do the business in the U.K.
Who doesn’t want to see this fight?
“Maidana has been doing a lot of talking – unfortunately for him, his mouth isn’t going to help him in the ring,” Khan said.
“Khan’s been running for a long time, but the running stops on December 11. I’ll show him how a champion acts and fights when we get into the ring in Las Vegas,” Maidana countered.
A good tag line for this fight would have been “Who Are You Picking!?” It’s a shame that one has already been used. But will Khan-Maidana prove to be a better fight than the biggest bout we’ve seen so far in 2010?