Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana sure put on a show this past Saturday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas Neveda. It was speed and technique versus pure grit and strength as Amir Khan survived a 10th round scare were he was potentially close to being out to win the WBA super lightweight title over Maidana.
Khan come out the gate early firing quick combination’s and hitting with out being hit. It paid off for him in the first as a hard body shot dropped Marcos Maidana. Maidana hit the floor and for a split second, you could see him question himself if he wanted to continue the fight. It was a scene that immediately brought back flashes of Maidana’s surprise win over Victor Ortiz when the Oxnard based Ortiz quit after being knocked down. Maidana got up and never stopped coming forward as Khan continued to land a high amount of punches to the head. it was surprising to see Khan not continue with the body attack, but maybe he wanted to prove to fans and critics alike that head could go head hunting with a hard hitter as Maidana. Still being outshot and boxed Maidana continued forward as was deducted a point by referee Joe Cortez for throwing an elbow after a clinch in round five. Then in the seventh round Maidana would back Khan to the ropes and a volley of uppercuts came and went as the Argentinian was landing hard shots.
Maidana’s constant pressure would finally pay off as a overhand right caught Khan square on the chin and instantly wobbled him. A collective “Ooohh” came over the legion of British fans in attendance as Khan scrambled to clinch and then move away from a relenting Maidana who landed a few more huge shots before the ring of the saved Khan. As round 11 began, both fighters appeared to be very tired, but it seemed Maidana may have left everything he had behind in the tenth as Khan recovered and out boxed him for the remainder of the round. In the twelfth Maidana appeared to be running on pure heart as he aggressively chased for any type of significant shot to be landed on his opponent. Khan would weather the storm and win via the scores of 114-111, 114-111 and 113-112.
In under card action Victor Ortiz (28-2-2, 22 KOs) and Lamont Peterson (28-1-1, 14 KOs) battled to a surprising ten round majority draw. The harder hitting Ortiz landed two knockdowns in round three but Peterson would landed hard looping hooks and straights that backed up his opponent at certain points of the fight. Ortiz though was poised and at times would box and slug it out with Peterson. To many in attendance, the two knockdowns scored in round three was enough for a points win by the time the final bell was rung. The late fight rally of Peterson though would win over the judges attention as it was scored 94-94, 94-94 and 95-93 Peterson.
