Maidana praises ‘intelligent’ Khan

Marcos Maidana has praised Amir Khan for his decision not to face the dangerous Argentinean on his American debut. Instead of defending his WBA light-welterweight crown against mandatory challenger and interim title holder Maidana, Khan will make his second defence against feather-fisted New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden on 15 May.

In an interview with the WBA’s official website, Maidana commented, “You know, Khan wouldn’t like to face me at the moment. This shows his intelligence. I would have liked to make a unification fight right now, but my Manager Mario Margossian advised me that it would be better to make two fights in the US before the unification, which will be a very important fight.”

Maidana’s willingness to heed his manager’s ‘advice’ has probably been aided by a sweetener by Khan’s new promoters, Golden Boy Promotions, who are hoping to build the Bolton quicksilver into a major stateside attraction.

“I have watched various tapes of Khan’s fights and thus know him quite well. He will not be able to resist my attacks. I am sure that I am going to win by KO,” added Maidana, a view which could be shared by members of Khan’s own team given their preference for accommodating Malignaggi first.

Ironically, Maidana’s solitary career loss came on points to Andriy Kotelnik, the man who Khan decisioned in a mature display to capture the WBA title last July. The Argentinean banger will defend his WBA interim light-welterweight crown against #2 ranked contender Victor Cayo in Las Vegas this Saturday (27 March).

To read the interview in full with Maidana, click the following link. http://www.wbaonline.com/