Nothing came easy for Amir Khan last night at the Mandalay Bay.
Fighting in front of an estimated 4,632 rabid spectators, many who flew over from his native England, Khan successfully defended his WBA junior welterweight crown against his rugged counterpart from Argentina with a hard-fought, twelve-round decision victory. Along the way we were witness to Khan flooring Maidana in the opening round with a beautiful liver shot, Maidana turning the tables and working his way back into the fight, and Khan absorbing some huge shots in a very shaky tenth round.
<--- Slideshow: Telling images from the Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana bout
After taking everything in from ringside there was much to soak in afterwards. Here are a few things that stood out to this scribe.
Khan?s resilience
In September of 2008 Khan was the victim of a horrific first round knockout loss to Columbian banger Breidis Prescott. In that fight Khan was dropped 25 seconds into the contest and wasn?t able to beat the count after suffering a second knockdown moments later. The loss had several people claiming that Khan had a dodgy chin and the Maidana fight was sure to answer some questions about his beard.
After twelve back and forth rounds with the stalking Maidana you have to give Khan a lot of credit for absorbing some thunderous shots and finding a way to stay on his feet. He obviously benefited from the move up to 140 pounds in early 2009 and showed some definite resilience against one of the sport?s biggest bangers. The notion that Khan has a glass jaw can be put to rest but he still showed that he can get hurt.
Maidana?s will
In the first round of the fight Maidana was caught cold by a well-placed left to the body from Khan and he crashed to the canvas withering in pain. It appeared that the fight had a real chance of being over at that moment but Maidana rose and found a way to fight on. He not only survived the round but would go on to show some great qualities as a fighter afterwards.
Maidana isn?t the fastest guy you will come across and he definitely is plodding at times but he fights with an undeterred passion and is always out for vengeance. Just when it seemed like he was slowing down he would break through for a huge tenth round in which he battered Khan and had him reeling all across the ring. Khan was fortunate to escape Maidana?s heated attack and will wake up feeling the effects of this punishing battle.
Maidana was visibly dejected after the bout but noted that losing close ones can simply be a part of the sport. He will surely be in line for some big bouts next year and anyone watching tonight?s fight will have taken notice of his heart and will.
Bradley and Alexander at ringside
There were several boxing luminaries who were ringside at the fights but the two names that probably stand out are those of fellow junior welterweight champions Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander, who were in the arena to scout the competition. Bradley and Alexander meet on January 29th in Detroit, Michigan in the first big fight of 2011 and you have to wonder what was going through their heads during the frantic battle between Khan and Maidana.
Alexander and Bradley have let it be known that if they are victorious in their battle that they would love a crack at Khan next. We can only hope that Amir can get some rest and then gear himself up for the winner of that fight, as it would add some much-needed clarity to the 140-pound class while giving boxing another fight that it deserves.
