Khan admits learning from only pro loss

By Dan Rafael

LAS VEGAS -- Looking back, maybe it really was a blessing in disguise. At least that's how junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan views his stunning first-round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott a little more than two years ago.

That shocking loss is now well behind him, and Khan has elevated his game significantly since. He believes it is in part because the defeat taught him a lesson.

But on that night in September 2008, in front of his hometown crowd in England, Khan, then a lightweight, was crushed by unheralded Prescott. Khan was done in a violent and devastating 54 seconds after being hammered to the canvas twice.

It was a shock of shocks.

Khan had been a silver medalist in the 2004 Olympics at age 17, had moved quickly up the ranks as a professional and had been named 2007 ESPN.com prospect of the year. A loss at that stage of his career was practically inconceivable, but suddenly that career was in tatters.

Khan, however, picked himself up, dusted himself off and has come back as strong as possible.

He hooked up with renowned trainer Freddie Roach two fights later, has won five fights in a row since the loss -- all in dominant fashion (including three by knockout) -- and won a 140-pound world title.

"I've come along a lot," said Khan, who turned 24 on Wednesday. "I think that defeat was probably what helped me to get so far in my career. Maybe I wouldn't be fighting here if I didn't lose that fight. The defeat gave me a wake-up call because my training was different and the focus wasn't there, whereas now, I'm totally isolated when I go to training camp. I'm 100 percent focused.

"I listen to instructions and listen to my trainer. I train a lot harder. That [loss] was a blessing in disguise. If that didn't happen, like I said, I don't think I'd be in this position now."

The position Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) is in now is that of a world titleholder, one of the most significant fighters in boxing and just days from a serious confrontation with Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs), the hard-punching interim titleholder from Argentina. They meet in a much-anticipated fight at Mandalay Bay in the final "World Championship Boxing" card of the year Saturday (HBO, 9:30 p.m. ET).

Opening the telecast in another meaningful junior welterweight fight are contenders Lamont Peterson (28-1, 14 KOs) and Victor Ortiz (28-2-1, 22 KOs), who meet in a scheduled 10-rounder with a possible shot at the winner of the main event at stake.

Besides physical maturity, the realization that he was better suited to fight at junior welterweight than lightweight and the change of trainers, Khan's rebound from such a surprising knockout loss can be attributed to his mental outlook.

"Mentally, you look back at your previous fights and the mistakes you made in those fights. You don't want to make those mistakes again," Khan said. "That's what drives me. That's what keeps me focused and keeps me on the edge because we know in boxing things can go wrong and one punch can change a fight. We don't want that to happen again, so we're 100 percent focused and more professional."

Part of that professionalism was going to work with Roach. Not only did Khan seek him out but he showed the maturity to leave England behind and relocate to Southern California so he could train at Roach's Wild Card gym in Hollywood, when preparing for fights.

Khan also has had no issue traveling wherever he had to go to train with Roach, whose schedule can be hectic.

That's because Roach, of course, also trains pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao. So when Pacquiao was preparing to fight Antonio Margarito in November, the two training camps overlapped.

What did Khan do? The young fighter packed his bags for Pacquiao's camp in the Philippines to join Roach.

When Pacquiao returned to Wild Card, Khan was with him. And when the crew left for Dallas for the fight, Khan spent the week there working with Roach before returning to California to finish training for Maidana.

It has been a whirlwind couple of months of travel for Khan. Most fighters simply hunker down in one spot for the duration of training. Instead, Khan found himself flying from England to Los Angeles, then to the Philippines, back to Los Angeles, on to Dallas, back to Los Angeles and then to Las Vegas.

Khan, with his youthful exuberance, said it was no big deal.

"Yes, I've done a lot of traveling, but I think it's been a good thing because I've kind of enjoyed it because you don't get bored in one place," he said. "You see the same faces, normally you get in the same ring every time and same sparring partners. This time it's been different because when I was in Dallas, we had new sparring partners down there. It was a different gym. New faces to see. Then, when I was in Baguio [in the Philippines], that was totally different. Training in high altitude, that was different and also training alongside Manny Pacquiao. It doesn't seem like I've been traveling, and I don't feel tired from it."

Said Roach, "The travel was a little bit hectic at times, and we get a little tired at times and so forth, but Amir is a traveler. He's young. He never complained once. I take my hat off to him. He did a great job.

"Everything's really gone smoothly. We're ready for the fight. We know Maidana's a good right-hand puncher. He has knockout power. We do respect that, but we're ready for what he has."

Roach can be a harsh critic, but with Khan, he has liked what he has seen since their first fight together, a dominant five-round technical decision against faded all-time great Marco Antonio Barrera in March 2009.

"He knows how to set things up now," Roach said. "He just doesn't go in there and look for a one-punch knockout. He knows how to break a person down, and he knows how to work behind his jab. He's just become a completely different fighter. We haven't lost a round since we've been together. I mean, we haven't lost one round."

Roach looks to Khan's fight with Andriy Kotelnik, from whom he won his belt in July 2009. Khan won virtually every round in the blowout decision. Maidana's only loss was a tight split decision to Kotelnik in a title fight.

"The Kotelnik fight, I feel that was a great fight for us because we beat this guy for every round," Roach said. "So I think there are some very good comparisons in the way Maidana fought him to when we fought him. We dominated him every round. I feel that we'll do that in this fight, too. I don't see us losing a round here, either."

One of the reasons for Khan's supreme confidence is because he trained alongside Pacquiao. This is the second camp they've worked together. They've gotten to know each other and sparred.

While Pacquiao was training for Margarito and Khan was getting ready for Maidana, they sparred about 20 rounds against each other. There's nothing like learning from the best.

"It was just good to spar with him, to share the same ring as him," Khan said. "For confidence, I think it's brilliant because we all know that Manny's the best fighter in the world pound for pound. I think if you can do really well against him, then I'm sure you'll do well against anybody. If you can catch Manny, then I'm sure that someone like Maidana is going to be a lot easier to catch. Manny's got great footwork and great speed. We had some great rounds."

Roach said Khan handled himself well against Pacquiao. There were some rounds in which Roach said Khan even got the better of the pound-for-pound king.

"It's explosive," he said of watching them spar. "It's like a cockfight. One day, they both step it up. The thing is, I believe in good work. It's just when you're sharp, you're sharp. He helped Manny get sharp for his fight and brought his speed back up to the level I wanted it at, and Manny helped Amir with just being a sharp, all-around fighter. It was great work for him. Getting in there against the best and doing very well with him is always a great confidence builder, also."

Khan has grown to look up to Pacquiao after spending so much time with him the past two years. He hopes his own career plays out like Pacquiao's.

"We all fight for the purses and I want to walk out of this game financially comfortable, but when people ask me a question -- 'Do you want to walk out of this game filthy rich or walk out of this game having a legacy?' -- I want the legacy and to be known as a champion like Manny Pacquiao. Manny's a great role model to look up to, and to train with him makes me more hungry. Manny is on top of the world. He makes the biggest purses in the world, but still he's very humble and he still loves boxing, and keeps on fighting and fighting. And I want to follow his footsteps."

Beating Maidana, 27, who owns a TKO win against Ortiz in his coming-out fight 18 months ago, would be good start.

There was a time when some accused Khan of trying to avoid Maidana, perhaps because he is a big puncher and Khan did not fare well against heavy-handed Prescott.

Khan said he never tried to avoid Maidana. Rather, he was being a good businessman. Instead of facing Maidana in May, as so many hoped, he instead made his American debut against former titleholder Paulie Malignaggi.

Khan looked sensational stopping Malignaggi in the 11th round. The performance made the inevitable showdown with Maidana a bigger fight.

In other words, just as Khan had planned.

"Sometimes, you have to look at the options," Khan said. "When the Malignaggi option came, I knew six months down the line, or maybe nine months down the line, the fight with Maidana would be a bigger fight, so why fight him early and beat him and you miss that bigger purse in the future?"

Khan's Nevada contract calls for $975,000, but he will make considerably more once the British pay-per-view is taken into account. Maidana will make a career-high $550,000.

"This is a fight we both wanted. A lot of people think I was avoiding him. But financially, the fight was not making sense," Khan said. "It was nowhere near what we're getting paid now. I said to Golden Boy, 'I think the fight's worth more.' I got a bigger purse fighting Malignaggi, so I took that. Boxing is a business at the end of the day, and I knew down the line the fight against Maidana was going to get bigger. And look: Six months down the line, it's a bigger fight."

And with a victory, Khan can push his star even higher and put that night against Prescott further into the rearview mirror.

"Since I was a young kid, I wanted to be the best in the world, and I've been following that path. These are the fights that are going to make me an even better fighter," he said. "I'm in a division where you have the likes of Victor Ortiz, [Devon] Alexander, [Timothy] Bradley, myself, Maidana, and it's a division everyone is focusing on. And I think, in the next 12 months, I will be on top of the division."

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter @danrafaelespn.

Source: espn.com

Amir Khan vs Marcos Maidana: Keys to Victory, Four to Explore, & Official Prediction!

By Vivek Wallace: Saturday night, the world of boxing will shine the spotlight on two of its most coveted prizes in the sport as jr. welterweight Amir Khan (23-1, 17KO's) takes on Argentinean KO artist, Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27KO's). The jr. welterweight division remains the deepest in the sport, and by the end of the night, the expectation is that fight fans may have a very firm understanding for who exactly leads the pack amongst this group of young stallions. In Amir Khan, you have a man whom most consider to be the most naturally gifted, presenting an infusion of speed, power, smarts, length, and pop.

A stunning one round KO back in 2008 shook those around the sport who adamantly support his perceived greatness, raising questions about his ability to compete at the highest level. The intrigue Saturday night will no doubt encompass the million dollar question which beckons whether or not his evolution under famed boxing trainer, Freddie Roach, has allowed him to develop enough to avoid this very same fate in a showdown where the stakes are much higher? In an effort to look at the chances of both men, we take a look at a few "Keys to Victory", "Four to Explore", and in the end, an "Official Prediction":

AMIR KHAN: (KEYS TO VICTORY)

For Amir Khan, the fight plan can be best simplified with two words. Speed, and footwork. A month ago, stablemate Manny Pacquiao displayed the effectiveness of understanding the principles behind entry angles and exit angles. Khan will need to adopt a similar philosophy if he is to stay out of harms way. The greatest issue will result from the fact that unlike Pacquiao, the man Khan will have in front of him will present much better speed and skill to go along with his very durable chin. Based on this reality, Khan's most prized possession could be his fluid jab. He will need to effectively shoot the jab, yet also watch the trend of Maidana, and potentially go to a counter-punching mode if the rugged Argentinean finds a way to nullify it.

Critics of Khan have often raised the fact that his hand speed is quite a contrast from his foot speed, which could be a dangerous element to contend with. Khan's footwork looked much better in his last outing against the slick and unorthodox Paulie Malignaggi, but Malignaggi didn't have the pop to hurt him. Maidana does! Khan will need to mix up his assault, blending a smooth and firm jab with periodical aggression to keep his opponent thinking. If Khan can execute this type of game-plan and keep Maidana from squaring up and landing powershots, the "easy victory" most critics don't see him earning could be there for the taking.

MARCOS MAIDANA: (KEYS TO VICTORY)

For Marcos Maidana, the first few rounds will be most critical. Khan's mental fortitude has greatly improved since his knockout lost two years ago, but anyone who doubts that he shares the same questions about his chin that most of us do could not be more false. Anytime a fighter, particularly a young fighter, has his world rocked on the grand stage, the question will resurface when faced with this type of power. Khan has avoided that same fate by improving his overall boxing skills and he has to be commended for taking such a "grab-the-bull-by-the-horns" approach. That being said, Maidana will have to remind him very quickly how uncomfortable it can be when you have a fighter with this type of speed, power, and aggression in a deadly pursuit for a 12 round fight.

Maidana will need to not only bring pressure from the first bell, but he will also need to mix his assault by not only head-hunting but going for what I think will be the ultimate key of the night.....which is the body of Amir Khan. Everyone talks about the questions surrounding his chin, but we have yet to see the linky champion take powershots to the body from a true banger! Maidana's best luck will be to target the rib section, weakening the legs and reminding Khan that there's more than one way to skin a cat! If Maidana can bring the pressure intelligently and continue to press forward, the validity questions of Khan's chin will finally be answered, because it will be squarely tested. Most of all, Maidana will have to stay patient and remember that it's a marathon, not a sprint, and KO isn't the only way to seize the victory.

FOUR TO EXPLORE (GAME CHANGERS TO WATCH OUT FOR)

In-and-Out: Amir Khan could have an easy night if he's able to use the speed of his jab and keep Maidana at bey. What makes Maidana so dangerous is that he has a very good ability - (enabled by a durable chin) - to walk through shots and get inside to land powershots his opponent typically can't handle. This makes things for Khan rather simple in theory. If Maidana gets IN, the odds increase of him (Khan) being knoked OUT! If he can keep Maidana OUT, he remains IN (contention for bigger and better things) going forward.

Khan-Fident or Con-Fident: Coming into this fight, everyone has wondered what Khan will do when he finally gets cracked on the chin again. Bredis Prescott made it look easy and his power is quite different from that of Marcos Maidana. The key strategy for Khan from that point moving forward has been to prevent a fighter from being able to get in close enough to land that hard. Well.....tonight, that plan may not be enough. What we know is that Maidana will in fact land something nasty at some point. What we don't know is how Khan will handle it. Confidence appears to be on his side, but many young fighters have conned the fight public with this perception in the past. Tonight, we shall finally learn if Amir Khan (take it), or if Amir simply "conned" us into thinking he can!

Improved Skills vs Untested Will: Anyone who has questioned how good this fight will be can reflect on many battles of the past where one mans dynamic skillset has opposed the others undying passion to earn the "W" in the end. Tonight will be no different, but what will be is the fact that neither man is as polished in their perceived area of expertise as may suggest. While skillful, Khan is far from a finished product. And while the will of Maidana seems very strong, most would be hard-pressed to name a fighter who really tested it outside of the one man (Kotelnik) who found a way to defeat him despite it. In the end, one of these rising stars will have to step beyond the shadow of what they've shown us in the past. Which man is truly ready to take this step? By the end of the night we shall find out.

Round-for-Round: Most fight fans today attempt to equate the rising stars of the jr. welterweight division with eventual Pound-for-Pound greatness; but a deeper analysis helps explain why none of them have yet to reach that mantle. The formula is simple. To become pound-for-pound, you have to have rounds, and this fight is a great indicator on how deprived many in this division are in that department. Marcos Maidana (30 fights, 102 rounds), Amir Khan (24 fights, 106 rounds), Victor Ortiz (30 fights, 123 rounds), Devon Alexander (21 fights, 118 rounds), and Timothy Bradley (27 fights, 176).

The telling stat here is that despite the fact that we all seem to love power, the man with the least in this equation (Bradley) seems to be the one who has gained the most experience, and his resume (which includes a huge win across the pond) solidifies his status amongst them. In this particular fight, things are about even from this standpoint. With all things remaining presumably equal, which man will find the intangible needed to separate himself from the other? Stay tuned.

OFFICIAL PREDICTION (UPSET BAROMETER: SCALE 1 - 5)

In the end, I think the evolution of both men has been quite appealing, but a few major things stand out. Maidana has had great troubles against the two men who presented decent to very good boxing skills (Ortiz and Kotelnik). With Ortiz, his heart simply didn't allow him to execute long enough to achieve a victory with those skills, but Kotelnik had the grit and determination to stand in the pocket and get the job done. While I don't know that Khan has achieved this same level of determination yet, what I do know is that the X-factor can be found in the fact that the man who will steer his effort in the corner (Freddie Roach) puts together the type of gameplan that typically never fails unless the opponent in the ring is intelligent enough to out-think his fighter while in the ring.

Strategy, when executed properly, can be very hard to beat, and in his last big fight (Pacquiao/Margarito), Roach proved that he can forumlate a strategy for this type of fighter. Officially, I like Khan to keep it at a distance, (despite his statement of "making it a fight"), and win on points. That being said, I also expect the hard-charging Marcos Maidana to storm early, and if his will isn't broken (which it normally isn't), I think the upset barometer will play a major role.

OFFICIAL PREDICTION: KHAN via UNANIMOUS DECISION (Upset Barometer will peak at 5 of 5, as Maidana can land flush and stop it at any time).

UNDERCARD PREDICTION: ORTIZ via MAJORITY DECISION (Upset Barometer will peak at 2 of 5, as Peterson could outbox him, but the power of Ortiz will change his execution).

(Check out weekly "Saturday Roundtable" discussions, and daily buzz topics with Vivek Wallace on FaceBook. Vivek Wallace can also be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954*292*7346, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEKWALLACE747), and Skype (VITO-BOXING)

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Khan ready for career-defining bout with Maidana

By Greg Beacham, AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES — Amir Khan has reached the precipice of serious boxing stardom. Although he just turned 24 on Wednesday, Khan realizes his next few fights are likely to determine whether he joins Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. among the elite, or turns out to be an overhyped mediocrity.

Khan is eager to find out for himself, because he's got his eye on much more than a few gaudy title belts. He dreams of global domination — Nike commercials, ridiculous wealth and one-name recognition beyond his native England and his ancestral Pakistan, where he's already the biggest thing going.

If Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) can't defend his WBA 140-pound title in his Las Vegas debut against Argentina's Marcos Maidana on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, those dreams will recede into the distance. Khan isn't eager to chase them down again.

"If I want to be the champion I say I am, I have to win fights like this," Khan said. "I have to leave a statement in the States. I want to get people talking about me, to start looking forward to my fights over here. Fighting in Las Vegas, and beating somebody as good as Maidana, is the only way to do that."

Although each fighter accused the other of ducking him in the months leading up to the bout, Khan isn't shying away from the pressure. He's been carrying an awful lot of it on his slim shoulders ever since he won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics, where the boy from Bolton became a darling of the British press and embarked on his well-covered path up the boxing ladder.

Khan has a winning personality, dazzling athletic skill, strong promotional backing and a multicultural appeal that all seem perfectly packaged for the success he seeks. What he doesn't have are victories over his sport's elite — but there are plenty of opportunities in the stacked junior welterweight division starting with Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs), who also aspires to take control of the weight class with his raw punching power.

"It's like a freight truck hitting a Ferrari," Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer said.

Khan traveled from Hollywood to the Philippines this fall during four months of training with Pacquiao guru Freddie Roach, who pitted his top two pupils in multiple sparring sessions. Khan has been a near-perfect fighter since upending his camp after his only loss, a stunning first-round knockout by Breidis Prescott in September 2008.

"If that loss hadn't happened, I don't think I'd be here," Khan said. "I don't think I ever would have sparred with Manny Pacquiao. When everything is going well, you don't think you need to do anything else. I had to lose that fight to rebuild myself and get to where I am now."

After making his U.S. debut last May in a one-sided win over Paulie Malignaggi, Khan landed in boxing's capital city with his most respected opponent to date. He acknowledges hoping to return to England for this fight before making a bigger splash next year, but Maidana's apparent reluctance to fight in Europe put the fight in Las Vegas.

The bout also is a breakthrough for Maidana, whose only loss was a split decision to Andreas Kotelnik in February 2009. Maidana jumped to the division's forefront last year with a thrilling win over Victor Ortiz, who will fight on their undercard at Mandalay Bay.

While Maidana is thought to lack Khan's speed and skill, his pure power has impressed every opponent — including Ortiz, who knocked down Maidana three times in the first two rounds of their bout before Maidana stopped him in the sixth. If Maidana connects with a big punch, Khan's chin will be tested in a way it hasn't been since his loss.

Maidana also hopes he can finish the year by following up countryman Sergio Martinez's spectacular knockout of Paul Williams with a similar result.

While Khan thinks Maidana is better than fellow 140-pound studs Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander, Maidana has been much less complimentary toward Khan. Maidana said this week he doesn't consider the matchup to be a difficult fight for him, while trainer Miguel Diaz has labeled Khan "ordinary" and "average."

Khan knows his reputation will precede him until he backs up the hype with results. In his first appearance on the Vegas stage, he can't wait to perform.

"You've got a boxer versus a fighter," Khan said. "You've got a big puncher versus another big puncher, but a smarter puncher. If you try to fight him, that's when you'll get knocked out. You've got to box him. I'm not going to fight his fight by standing there and trading shots. I'm going to box him and beat him."

Source: usatoday.com

Khan v Maidana: Big fight preview

A look ahead to Amir Khan's WBA light-welterweight title defence against the dangerously heavy handed Marcos Maidana.

By Graeme Bradley

Amir Khan is set to defend his WBA light-welterweight title against Argentinean Marcos Maidana on Saturday in Las Vegas. The bout will be Khan’s second in the US and possibly one of the toughest fights of his career so far.

The Bolton boxer has made a name for himself stateside after outclassing New York favourite Paulie Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden back in May in what was his first fight under new promoters Golden Boy. The 11th round technical knockout victory launched a new chapter of Khan’s career but he will have to pull off a first class performance if the story is to continue beyond the clash with the heavy handed Maidana.

The 27-year-old Maidana is the reigning WBA interim champion and the mandatory challenger for Khan’s world title. With the light-welterweight division packed full to the brim with world class fighters, Maidana is certainly the banger of the bunch having stopped 27 boxers from 29 victories – 22 of which have came within the first three rounds.

The knockout artist certainly poses a threat to Khan, who has struggled to shake off his glass chin reputation after being comprehensively knocked out by Breidis Prescott two years ago, and will certainly have a punchers chance over his English opponent.

Maidana’s only loss came from then-WBA champion Andrei Kotelnik when the Germany-based Ukrainian won a controversial split decision in Hamburg last year. Kotelnik lost the title in his next fight when he travelled to Manchester to face Khan, who outboxed the champion and claimed his first world title with a definitive unanimous decision.

Since their contrasting battle with Kotelnik, Maidana has been the busier of the two in the ring beginning with a sixth round TKO over highly touted contender ‘Vicious’ Victor Ortiz. Maidana was dropped three times by Ortiz but came back to drop his young opponent twice before the referee intervened. He also knocked out William Gonzalez in three rounds, Victor Cayo in six and fought to 12-round decision win against former world champion DeMarcus Corley.

Khan meanwhile faced the little known New Yorker Dmitriy Salita, who had managed to accumulate a 31-0 record without ever fighting any class of opponent. Salita lasted just 72 seconds in front of a hostile crowd at Newcastle’s Metro Arena. A switch of promoter next for Khan, who left a bitter and furious Frank Warren to begin his US career with Golden Boy. He got their relationship of to a successful start with the 11th round victory against Malignaggi.

Khan and his trainer Freddie Roach are confident they have come up with a gameplan to beat Maidana and evade his devastating punches. Khan certainly is the sharper, more talented boxer of the two and if he can remain patient, keep his distance and work from behind a strong jab he should be able to wear down the man they call ‘El Chino’. However, you can never rule out a fighter who can finish opponents with one punch and so Khan must be focussed throughout the fight if he is to emerge victorious and continue on with his American dream.

Source: sports.stv.tv

Amir! Maidana Means it

Jon Desborough

I've been swotting up on this Argentine boxer, Marcos Maidana.

And I can't help thinking Amir Khan is a lot of trouble when he fights him this Saturday night.

This is some match-up. I'm guessing nothing like Haye against Harrison.

This kid Maidana is raw, unreconstructed, raised on a farm and rumoured to have a punch like a jackhammer.

He has stopped 27 of the 29 boxers he has faced. He's only lost once.

He hunts and fishes. The place where he grew up still doesn't have electricity.

A few years back I spent some time in rural Argentina - a lot. Great place. Unsophisticated and honest. So I've got an idea of what Maidana is made of. When he says he could end the fight with Amir with one punch, he means it.

And his ambition is to unify the light-welterweight belts and make enough money to build houses for his large family.

I bet they'll all have electricity.

Amir Khan fights Marcos Maidana tomorrow, Saturday night on Sky Box Office.

Source: sky.com

Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana press conference a thankful snoozathon

American boxing press conferences are noted for their being bland and polite in equal measure.

And yesterday's head-to-head for Amir Khan's clash with Marcos Maidana excelled on both counts.

In total, the various speakers on the dais said thank you 90 times, as they expressed their gratitude to everyone from God to themselves.

Oscar De La Hoya took the biscuit when he stood up and thanked Golden Boy, which happens to be himself.

No questions were invited from the floor and instead everyone crammed on to the dais was asked up to the lectern to express their thanks.

For anyone listening, it was boxing's equivalent of waterboarding and it truly was painful.

Another low point was the top table leading a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for Khan, who was 24 on Wednesday.

Oscar also presented him with a huge cake, with the words King Khan on it, which cost him $181.

Khan said, you've guessed it, thank you, although as grateful as he was, he still left the monster cake behind.

To be fair, it was rather heavy and he couldn't tuck into it with the weigh-in looming later today.

Oscar cracked a joke at the end when he made a big show of looking at Khan's watch and saying he was two hours and 19 minutes ahead of Don King's press conference.

That may be true, but at least King's press conferences are entertaining.


Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/david-anderson/2010/12/10/amir-khan-and-marcos-maidana-press-conference-a-thankful-snoozathon-115875-22774567/#ixzz17jTtKvD4
Go Camping for 95p! Vouchers collectable in the Daily and Sunday Mirror until 11th August . Click here for more information

Source: mirror.co.uk

Amir Khan faces Marcos Maidana having matured from boy to man

Bolton's WBA light-welterweight champion is in confident, witty mood ahead of his clash with the dangerous Argentinian

Kevin Mitchell in Las Vegas

To watch Freddie Roach taking the pads with Amir Khan is to witness a teacher passing on to his young world champion, with Zen-like calm, knowledge gathered the best and the hardest way, on the end of a glove.

Roach was a good fighter, with an even better trainer – Eddie Futch. He did not always listen to the wise old man, though, and took too many blows towards the end of a career that fell short of its full potential. His Parkinson's Disease may or may not be related to the punishment he soaked up then but, a lean 50, he is in good shape – and still alert enough to help Khan avoid the mistakes that derailed his own career.

Khan will need all of Roach's savvy at the Mandalay Bay when he defends his WBA light-welterweight title for the third time in probably his toughest fight to date, against the dynamite puncher from Buenos Aires, Marcos Maidana. The Argentinian is a quiet, polite soul – "I'm a man of few words – in any language," he said through an interpreter – but his downbeat demeanour and slim physique disguise chilling power.

He has stopped 27 of 30 opponents, 10 of those in the first round, and looked tidy and relaxed in a light session on the pads this week, although he is not the most dynamic mover. He left their shared gym on the edge of town just as the champion arrived for his workout, with his entourage and a birthday cake (Khan was 24 on Wednesday). It was a civilised encounter, each fighter avoiding the other's gaze.

Khan then positively lit up the gym with his lightning combinations. If you hear applause when a fighter is merely going through rehearsed moves it is a sure sign the old gym rats have seen something special. The locals were impressed.

What stood out, also, was the respect and understanding between Khan and Roach. The boy from Bolton has been in a hurry since he won Olympic silver at 17 – and, six-and-a-half years later, he is no less patient for more glory and belts – but he has matured noticeably in the two years he has been with Roach.

"He's definitely grown up a lot," the trainer said, "but we have a lot of fun in training camp and he's still got a great sense of humour. Then, when it comes down to business, he's 100% there.

"He's going maybe from a kid to a man now. He's matured very much, and the maturity shows in the ring also. It carries over. It's great for me, of course. We understand each other completely. We're on the same page. We know exactly what to do in any situation."

The third man in the partnership also happens to be one of the sport's phenomenal talents, Manny Pacquiao. Sometimes Roach can hardly believe his luck. He's got the best fighter in boxing and, potentially, his successor.

"We've all got a very, very solid partnership," Roach says. "Amir has a lot of similarities with Pacquiao, not just in natural ability; they actually emulate each other a little bit. They copy each other – the moves of the other guy that they know work for themselves also.

"It's great to have two talented guys in the same training camp. It brings the level way, way up. Even when they run together, every sprint is a race. They both have pride and they both want to be the winner. It works out very well for both guys.

"Manny went through this. He also went from a young kid to a man when he was with me. So, it's great to see it happening again."

Khan is unrecognisable from the shy teenager who mumbled in front of the media at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He had total confidence inside the ring but was dazzled away from his work place. Now he is still knocking people out but cutting million-pound deals and jet-setting in and out of Vegas as if it were just down the road from Bolton.

There are faint traces of impatience, though. "The last week before a fight always goes really slow," he said. "I always feel like this before a fight. I'll wake up next week and it will all be finished. Right now, I can't wait. I've never trained so hard. I kill myself when I train. I think I'm one of the hardest training fighters in the world. Alex [Ariza, his conditioning coach and nutritionist] really pushes me.

"Even Manny takes a short cut sometimes, but I've never said no to anything that Alex tells me to do. Manny might say to him: 'No, I'm not going to do that,' but I just stick to instructions.

"I'll have no excuses. I don't want to walk into a fight thinking I should have listened to Alex or Freddie about certain things. Maybe that could have helped, especially towards the end, with a few rounds left."

There are those who don't want to hear any of this. Khan, inexplicably, still has haters who bombard blogs with obscene tirades about him. Much of it is ignorant racism. Some of it is pure envy.

It used to bother him. Not now. The kid really is growing up. At the press conference here this week, his was the one address among many that contained even a strain of wit. We should enjoy him while we can, because he might just be about to take his career to another level.

Source: guardian.co.uk