Kevin Kelly joins choir of Amir Khan disbelievers
The list of doubters keeps growing for Amir Khan in his bid to topple Marcos Maidana on 11 December.
In a recent Youtube video, former WBC featherweight titlist Kevin Kelly testified to Maidana’s power and admitted he has doubts as to whether Khan will be able to steer clear of it (his power), despite many believing Khan, the WBA junior welterweight titlist,
brings more to the ring than his counterpart.
Recounting a sparring session with Maidana, Kelly said, "It felt like he kicked me. The man is the hardest puncher I’ve ever been in the ring with. He hits like a building fell on top of me. This man hits abnormally hard."
There is no denying Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs) is a knockout artist. Before his latest bout with veteran DeMarcus Corley, which ended in a decision, he has knocked out every opponent since 2005 with the exception of one (Andriy Kotelnik, who boasts the only
victory over Maidana).
Last week, WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley weighed-in on the upcoming contest, predicting that Khan will be knocked out by Maidana. His comments were in part a response to earlier ones made by Khan, who had said he didn’t consider Bradley
a viable force in the junior welterweight division.
Bradley retorted, "I really think that Maidana is going to beat him [by knockout]. Khan has a glass jaw."
In November 2008, Khan was knocked out in the first round of a bout with Breidis Presley that he was heavily favoured to win.
Since then he has fought charges of not being able to take a punch, with some even accusing him of exclusively fighting weak-fisted opponents (Paulie Malignaggi, for example).
Khan, trained by Freddie Roach, recently returned from a trip to Baguio City, where he was helping superstar Manny Pacquiao preparing for his upcoming meet with Antonio Margarito. Khan sparred with Pacquiao for a week, earning the respect of the Philippine
congressman.
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