After being knocked out cold by Bredis Prescott way back in 2008, Amir Khan faced good opponents who had one thing in common. They all did not have the one-punch power that Prescott had. Khan used his superior hand and footspeed to defeat all those put in front of him but against Marcos Maidana, Khan faced the most dangerous fight he can have in the light welterweight division.

Maidana is the strongest puncher in the division. Out of his 29 wins, only two opponents survived until the final bell. Khan was taking a big step forward in his career by taking on Maidana. He aimed to move up the rankings by knocking off a highly-ranked fighter in Maidana and he also wanted to exorcise the ghost of his first defeat by proving that he can take a punch.

Khan had a tremendous start in the fight. He landed a big one-two to the body that floored the Argentinean. Maidana appeared hurt but he chose to fight on and Khan, sensing that he had a chance to finish the fight, went in for the kill. Maidana survived the round but still had wobbly legs going into round two.

The middle rounds all looked the same. Khan was using his speed which frustrated Maidana. The ringside doctor and the referee were talking to Maidana’s corner during the round breaks because he was taking too many shots to the head but he never appeared in danger.

In the tenth round, Maidana got the opening he was looking for. He connected with a right that wobbled Khan. This round was eerily familiar to the one against Prescott but there was one glaring difference. Khan was stumbling all over the place and had glassy-eyes but he didn’t go down. He weathered the storm although he did take a massive beating.

Khan fought to survive in the 11th and 12th rounds but he did connect with a few crisp combinations to Maidana’s head.

In the end, Khan received a unanimous decision victory which raised his record to 24 wins and 1 loss while Maidana dropped to 29 wins and three losses. Khan now looks to fight again around April most likely against Victor Ortiz who had a draw with Lamont Peterson. If victorious against Ortiz, Khan will be targeting the winner of the fight between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander.