TWO years ago, Amir Khan was one of the brightest young prospects in boxing. Having won a silver medal at the Olympics, the media hype for a young and talented British Muslim was on a crescendo.
Unfortunately, he met up with Breidis Prescott, a kindred prospect with thunder in his gloves.
All it took was one timely and well-placed punch in the first round to separate Khan from his senses. Immediately, his future and chin became suspect.
REDEMPTION. Khan bounced back nicely with five consecutive wins, three of them stoppages and all of them against high-caliber fighters which included Paul Malignaggi, Dmitry Salita and a faded but still competent Marco Antonio Barrera.
Standing in his way towards pugilistic redemption today is Marcos Maidana, a feared puncher with 27 KOs in 29 wins for a gaudy 90 percent knockout ratio.
His only blemish was a close split decision loss to Andrey Kotelnik, a German whom Maidana was fighting in Germany. You do the math.
Maidana is one of those very rare pure knockout artists in the sport who likes to grind down opponents with aggression and brutal power.
He?s raw and untested, and hasn?t really been in there with top-tier opponents, but when you have one-punch knockout power and your opponent is a bit chinny, anything can happen.
MY TAKE. A dear friend and compa?ero, Atty. Serge Rocamora, e-mailed me all the way from New Jersey and expertly opined that Maidana will emerge victorious via late stoppage.
While I am inclined to agree that Maidana will probably devour Khan, and truth be told?I?m not really a huge Khan fan?would have to grudgingly tilt the advantage in favor of the latter simply because of the Freddie Roach factor.
Khan has chalked up valuable experience sparring with Manny Pacquiao and training at the Wild Card Gym, and this knowledge has manifested itself in the remarkable poise and composure shown in his last three fights.
In contrast, Maidana looked pedantic in winning a decision over veteran journeyman DeMarcus Corley in his last fight.
As long as Khan can hide that chinny-chin chin of his, he should be able to outbox Maidana and win a decision.
BANTAMWEIGHT TOURNAMENT. We actually have a lot going on in our plates today, as we have two other excellent match-ups with Vic Darchinyan (35-2, 27 KOs) squaring off against rising undefeated Mexican Abner Mares (20-0, 13KOs) and Joseph ?King-Kong? Agbeko (27-2, 22KOs) duking it out with IBF champ Yohny Perez (20-0, 14KOs) of Colombia.
The double header is actually part of a winner-take-all, two-stage, single elimination bantamweight tournament presented on Showtime.
I have my eye on the intriguing Darchinyan-Mares donnybrook and I am pining for an upset win for Mares via decision while Agbeko should school Perez in 12.
ULIMATE FIGHTING. And finally, who can forget UFC 124 today featuring George St. Pierre vs. Josh Koshchek 2?
Undefeated in the last four years, and with quality wins over the likes of BJ Penn, Dan Hardy and Thiago Alves, St. Pierre is arguably at the zenith of his chosen sport.
On the other hand, Koscheck is coming off two impressive wins over Paul Daley and Anthony Johnson to merit this rematch with St. Pierre.
I?m picking St. Pierre to repeat over the brash Koscheck. Unless he has been affected by the relatively long layoff between fights, St. Pierre should dominate and win via unanimous decision.
HE SAID IT. ?I?ve got to put him in a position where he?s uncomfortable and make him quit. Every man has a breaking point and I gotta put him in that position to where he?s questioning himself and questioning that he can win this fight.??Josh Koscheck on how to beat Georges St. Pierre
LAST ROUNDS. Are on my fellow sports scribes Noel Villaflor and Bobby Motus who recently celebrated their birthdays. Cheers!
