By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan of England appears to have taken the world by storm, this, on the heels of May's 11th-round knockout of former IBF titlist, Paulie Malignaggi, during Khan's American debut at the WaMu Theatre at New York's Madison Square Garden.
A man who turned 24 on Wednesday, Khan takes a mark of 23-1 with 17 knockouts into Saturday night's HBO televised, Golden Boy Promotions clash opposite Argentina's hard-hitting, 27-year-old Marcos Rene Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs).
In a match up that will be contested at the Mandalay Hotel, Maidana represents Khan's debut in Las Vegas, not to mention his second bout on American soil.
Maidana has won four straight fights, including three by knockout, since losing to Ukrainian Andriy Kotelnik (31-4-1, 13 KOs), whom Khan dethroned as WBA belt-holder by unanimous decision in July of 2009.
Khan will earn $975,000, plus some upside to British television revenue compared to the $550,000 that will go to Maidana.
In victory, for Khan, there may be other big fights out there, including the winner of an HBO televised, Jan. 29 match up between 23-year-old southpaw WBC king Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs) and WBO champ Tim Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs).
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
